World Bicycle Day | Cycling regularly has so many benefits! But...

Today is World Bicycle Day .

Cycling is a healthy way of traveling and a sport that allows people to fully enjoy the beauty of the travel process. In recent years, with the increase of public health awareness and the rise of fitness enthusiasm, more and more people have fallen in love with cycling.

Now is a good time to ride a bike, either with your family or with a few close friends, you can just hop on your bike and set off to enjoy the fun of riding together.

What are the benefits of cycling?

1

Improve cardiovascular function

When people ride bicycles, their arms and trunks are relatively still, and their legs are pedaling back and forth. The blood supply to the lower limbs is relatively large, and the heart rate is often 2 to 3 times faster than usual. The movement of the legs when riding a bicycle can squeeze blood from the end of the blood vessels back to the heart, which strengthens the microvascular tissue, which is called "incidental circulation" in medicine. Long-term and regular cycling can make the heart muscle contract more powerfully, enhance heart function, and promote microcirculation of peripheral blood vessels. Therefore, cycling is one of the best exercises to prevent heart disease.

2

Strengthen lung function

Cycling can increase the contraction ability of lung muscles and lung ventilation . Long-term exercise can significantly increase lung capacity. At the same time, because cycling is an outdoor sport, people in a good air quality environment, combined with increased lung ventilation, will significantly improve the respiratory function of the lungs.

3

Prevent brain aging

Modern sports medicine research has confirmed that cycling is a contralaterally dominated sport. Alternating pedaling with the two legs can develop the functions of the left and right sides of the brain at the same time, preventing premature brain aging and wasting.

Cycling also speeds up blood circulation and helps the brain take in more oxygen. Therefore, after cycling for a period of time, people will feel more alert.

4

Improve body coordination

When riding, people need to pedal alternately with their legs and control the handlebars with their upper limbs, which can enhance the coordination of the limbs to a certain extent. At the same time, it can effectively exercise the hip, knee, and ankle joints, mobilize the muscles, joints, and ligaments in the neck, back, arms, abdomen, waist, groin, buttocks, etc., thereby promoting the coordination of muscles throughout the body.

5

Weight loss and body shaping

Cycling is a periodic aerobic exercise that can make the exerciser consume more energy, burn more fat, and shape firm muscles. Compared with those who only rely on dieting to lose weight, the weight loss effect is more significant and can also make the body more symmetrical.

6

Helps to have a harmonious sex life

Riding a bicycle 4 to 5 kilometers every day can stimulate the secretion of androgen or estrogen in the human body, enhance sexual ability, and contribute to the harmony of sexual life between couples.

7

Promotes mental health

Regular cycling can help reduce psychological stress, relieve anxiety and depression, and cultivate an optimistic and positive attitude.

In addition, compared with other forms of exercise, cycling has the advantages of being simple, safe, environmentally friendly, and economical.

What should we pay attention to when riding scientifically?

Although cycling has many benefits, we also need to remind everyone to pay attention to scientific exercise. If you don't pay attention to the method, it may be counterproductive. Please remember the following precautions.

1

Several special groups of people

Cycling is not suitable for patients with severe hypertension, high myopia, and severe lower limb joint diseases . For patients with severe hemorrhoids , long-term cycling may compress and wear the local area, causing discomfort symptoms such as itching and pain around the anus.

We would also like to remind male long-term cyclists that this sport may increase the risk of prostatitis or prostate cancer, so they should choose a suitable seat.

2

Choose the right chair

Pay special attention to adjusting the height and comfort of the seat.

When buying a bicycle, you must choose a suitable bicycle according to your height, weight, and body proportions. If the bicycle is too big or the seat is too high, and the rider is short, it will cause discomfort, uncoordinated movements, and easy falls. The rider can only pedal up and down and left and right, causing the perineum to rub against the seat constantly, which may cause disease.

3

Riding posture is very important

When a cyclist leans forward excessively, he or she must raise his or her head and neck to observe the road ahead. This is a forced posture that can cause neck muscle tension. The excessive flexion of the waist while riding a bicycle will increase the burden on the lumbar intervertebral disc, which will increase the risk of lumbar muscle strain and lumbar disc herniation over time.

Therefore, cyclists should pay attention to maintaining the correct riding posture. When riding for a long time, they should pay attention to changing the riding posture and take proper rest.

4

Step by step

Adhere to gradual exercise, and do not pursue strength and speed one-sidedly. Some cycling enthusiasts only pursue strength and speed, and suddenly ride at high speed and long distance without long-term training. This is very harmful to the body. In severe cases, it may cause joint effusion, inflammation, and even cartilage and meniscus damage.

Finally, we would like to remind everyone that cycling may involve the risk of trauma and traffic accidents, so plan your route before riding, avoid choosing bumpy roads, obey traffic rules, and wear a helmet to avoid brain trauma and fractures.

I wish all cycling enthusiasts to exercise rationally and scientifically to achieve physical and mental health.

Planning and production

Source: Healthy China

Author: Liu Yulei, deputy chief physician, Department of Sports Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital

Reviewer: Ni Guoxin, Chief Physician of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University, Expert of the National Health Science Expert Database

Editor: Yang Yaping

Proofread by Xu Lailinlin