The european mobility week remind us about the advantages of using alternative means of transport, as for instance riding the bike. It is a healthy habit with a lot of benefits: it improves heart rhythm, strengthens muscles, avoids pollution and can make you know people. Ride the bike is one of the alternatives to leave the car at home and to take all the advantages of using the bicycle. In this article we tell you about them.
Riding the bike is something that arrived late, if we think that the wheel was invented in 3.500 b.C. The first bicycle with pedals appears in France (1860). In less than 40 years it already had the first motor. But the bike has still more benefits that the motor-powered vehicles:
Riding the bike is good for health
Riding the bike is a form of doing exercise and a good way to fight obesity. It also reduces up to a 50 percent of the heart rhythm and decreases blood pressure. Another advantage about riding the bike is to burn fats, lose weight and strengthen legs.
While riding the bike, 70-80% of the body is on the seat. If we ride in a good position, our back will get stronger and we will prevent back pain. It increases lung capacity and reduces cholesterol and the chances of suffering from an heart attack.
It is important to ride the bike in a good position. This can prevent injuries and pains. It concerns different issues: the position and the height of the seat, the distance, the handlebars and the way we put the foot on the pedal. In order to make sure that we are riding in a right position, we suggest to adapt the seat so that the feet only touch the ground tiptoes. The elbows have to be slightly bent and the physiological curvature of the spine has to be respected.
Another benefit of riding a bike: increases self esteem
When we make physical exercise, we secrete hormones (endorphins) that make us feel better. By riding the bike we avoid stress and sleep better. You will not find none of these advantages in driving a car, no matter how powerful it is.
Riding the bike is ecological
Like other group activities, riding the bike make it easier to know people and it is an outdoor activity. It also is a clean mean of transport: it does not pollute, doesn’t provoque any CO2 emission and it is faster than walking. In more and more cities, no matter how big they are, the use of bicycles is promoted with municipal bike rental services.
if you drive a car, you are producing 17 kilos of CO2 every 100 km. Both you and your environment will see the benefits of riding a bike.
Last week it was the european mobility week and it may be an excuse to start changing our habits. Riding the bike can be a good purpose. It is healthier, it enhances our health and it has nothing to envy to other means of transport for short trips. It occupies less than a car, it is easy to park and it is the perfect solution for the “no car” days or areas of the cities. Don’t wait more, today may be the day to form this new and healthy habit!
Photo credit: Richard Elzey via Foter.com / CC BY
Photo credit: paukrus via Foter.com / CC BY-SA
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http://www.electrolisisterapeutica.com/en/running-5-mistakes-we-make-while-practicing-this-sport/
