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Some mornings, it’s difficult to find the motivation to hop on your bicycle and bike to work. Especially on a cold, rainy morning, it’s much easier to drive to work in your car instead. However, driving doesn’t offer any of the health or economic benefits of biking.
Gas prices are back on the rise, and with the weather getting warmer outside, now’s the best time to begin biking to work. Paying for gas and tolls will be a thing of the past once you make your bicycle your primary mode of transportation. You also will no longer need to spend any time on the elliptical or treadmill at the gym, as cycling to work will provide you with all the cardio you need. There are many additional benefits, including:
1) Improves Cardiovascular Health
As mentioned, cycling improves your cardiovascular health, which is the heart and lung’s ability to pump oxygen, via blood cells, to the different muscle groups being used during a workout. Cardio is proven to improve the health of the heart, which is instrumental to living a long, healthy life.
2) Increases Bone Density
Cycling helps improve the quality of the bones. Osteoporosis is a degenerative condition in which the body’s bones begin to rapidly thin. Biking is proven to be an effective preventative measure against developing osteoporosis.
3) Improves Joint Mobility
Athletic trainers will be the first to tell you that heightened joint mobility is essential to preventing injuries. Joint mobility helps improve your body’s range of motion, and for people with a limited range of motion, sprains and muscle tears frequently develop.
4) Improves Posture and Coordination
Like a car’s alignment, if your body’s posture is off, you’ll break down. Cycling will help you improve your posture and coordination, which will eliminate the aches and pains you experience.
5) Reduce Stress
Like any workout, when you cycle, your body releases endorphins. Endorphins are proteins that behave as your body’s natural painkillers, which in addition to reducing pain, also create a feeling of euphoria. This helps eliminate stress, as well as help make it easier to fall asleep. Both of these are vital in preventing people from developing depression.
To see if your body is healthy enough to manage you cycling to work on a daily basis, visit us at AFC Urgent Care Watertown. Our board-certified physicians are available seven days a week and would be more than happy to accommodate any patients on a walk-in basis. If you wish to speak with one of our staff members, call us at 617.923.2273. We look forward to hearing about your biking to work successs stories!
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