From Evelo.com
Riding an electric bike, whether as you commute or just for fun, can significantly contribute to your health, improving cardiovascular conditioning, improving brain function, and helping you maintain healthy body weight.
Bike riding is one of many kinds of exercise that get you outside, elevate your heart rate, and induce the many benefits of physical activity.
Improve Your Heart Health
Several studies have demonstrated a connection between bicycling and improved heart health.
In 2017, for example, researchers from the University of Glasgow found an association between bicycling to work and a lower risk of premature death after studying 264,337 people for five years. In fact, cycling about 30 miles a week was shown to significantly lower the risk of heart disease.
“Cycling all or part of the way to work was associated with a substantially lower risk of adverse health outcomes. Those who cycled the full length of their commute had an over 40 percent lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and overall mortality over the five years of follow-up,” said Dr. Jason Gill of the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, according to a Cycling Weekly article.
If one assumes regularly riding a bicycle or electric bike (perhaps 30 miles per week) is similar to bike commuting, it will follow that regularly riding — whether to work or not — may help improve heart health specifically and overall health generally.
Finally, UPMC Pinnacle reported that “people who biked regularly had about 15 percent fewer heart attacks than non-cyclists. Even small amounts of time devoted to the activity were linked to lower rates of heart disease.”
Strengthen Your Cardiovascular System
As we have previously reported, “cycling on an electric bike just a few times each week can improve an adult’s cardiorespiratory performance and general health in ways similar to riding a conventional bicycle or taking vigorous walks, according to several clinical studies.”
“One of the most telling studies, released in the May 2018 edition of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, compared the peak oxygen uptake (VO2 max) of 32, overweight adults before and after four weeks of bicycle commuting.”
Separately, according to Dr. Amar Singal, a cardiologist, “cycling is one of the best cardio exercises for people of all age groups and all body types. It not only helps burn calories and keeps weight under control, but also helps build stamina and increase muscle and bone strength. Being a low impact exercise, it is also soft on the joints and unlike hard gym training sessions, it doesn’t put you at risk of overuse injuries or sprains. This is why it can also be taken up by elderly people who have arthritic joints.”
