Posted by For the last several decades, mountain biking has been a favourite outdoor recreational activity for many. In the United States alone, more than 40 million people engage in mountain biking every year. Very few outdoor activities can provide you with the kind of adrenaline rush that mountain biking can.
Apart from helping people lose weight and get rid of obesity, mountain biking helps tremendously in reducing the risk of diabetes and countering a variety of heart ailments. It works as a very effective form of cardiovascular exercise and helps you keep your body in shape. The rise in the demand for bmx bikes for sale and other mountain bikes serves as a testimony to the fact that a larger number of people are getting interested in mountain biking every year.
Here are some of how an individual benefits from mountain biking:
Reduces Stress
Stress is a part of everybody’s life today. From a student preparing for his exams to an employee of an organization struggling to meet demands, every individual deals with stress every day. Mountain biking is one of the best ways to reduce or control stress. When you engage in this activity, your body releases natural endorphins and that makes you feel happier and more energetic. It also keeps you away from negative thoughts and improves your mood.
No Joint Pain
As most people grow older, they start experiencing pain and other issues in their joints. If somebody is suffering from a milder form of joint pain and wants to participate in some kind of exercise, they can go mountain biking after consulting a doctor. Since it is a low-impact sport, your joints go through limited stress. Engaging in mountain biking also improves your joint health in the long run. When you run, there is a greater risk of your joints suffering from pain.
Good for Heart Health
When somebody is keen on improving their level of cardiovascular fitness, they must consider looking for a KTM bicycle for sale and going mountain biking regularly. Even cover 20 miles every week, you can reduce the risk of suffering from coronary heart disease by 50%. Large muscle groups are involved in mountain biking and for that, you need a good amount of oxygen. This leads to one’s heart operating steadily. Overall, mountain biking makes your heart fitter by 3-7%.
Complete Body Workout
When you go to a gym, you do a variety of exercises to strengthen different parts of your body. While certain exercises are designed to make your arms stronger, some workout methods strengthen your legs. When you opt for mountain biking, you can be sure about your entire body working out. In this activity, all the muscles in your body are utilized. Along with your legs, your thighs and calves, too, get stronger.
Better Balance and Coordination
Having a strong sense of balance and coordination is important for every individual. To ensure that your body remains in a controlled position while carrying out a task or activity, you need to balance it well. While participating in mountain biking, you have to adjust your body while moving through different terrains, elevations and pitches. While riding, you learn to balance and coordinate your body better and also make your neural pathways stronger.
More Sound Sleep
While an intense mountain biking session could leave you feeling exhausted, it improves your regenerative sleep cycle drastically. When you ride your bike through difficult terrains, the cortisol level decreases. Cortisol is a hormone that helps an individual stay awake. Mountain biking also exposes you to a good amount of sunlight and that helps in maintaining the natural circadian sleep/wake cycle of one’s body.
Exposure to Nature
In our day-to-day lives, we barely get exposed to nature. People spend hours working in their offices or dealing with traffic. Apart from enabling you to move your body, mountain biking also helps you catch some sunlight and have a look at all the greenery around you. It will make you feel relaxed and reduce the level of stress in your body and mind. Staying away from the hustle and bustle of city life for a few hours every day can do wonders for your mental health.
Increases Social Interaction
There are various ways in which you can increase your social interactions. You could either meet people in a café or a restaurant or speak to them on the phone. One of the best ways, however, of increasing social interactions is to go mountain biking with your friends. Mountain biking does not have to be a lonely ride. If you take your friends along, you will enjoy the experience of moving through different terrains far more enjoyable.
Limits Risk of Diseases
When you engage in mountain biking regularly or participate in it at least a couple of days a week, you reduce the risk of suffering from a variety of diseases. Mountain biking contributes towards making your immune system stronger and keeping you healthy. While cycling on the city streets itself has several benefits, mountain biking is far more intense and therefore, helps your body in several other ways. Taking high-5 sports nutrition or some other supplement works well when you participate in physical activity regularly.
Improves Mental Health
Apart from improving your physical health, mountain biking could do wonders for your mental well-being as well. Mountain biking is one of the best ways to improve your cardio-respiratory fitness levels. According to researchers, a 5% enhancement in cardio-respiratory fitness leads to a 15% improvement in one’s mental health. This activity increases blood flow and the amount of oxygen going into one’s brain. By regenerating receptors, it keeps your brain in good health.
Enhances Mood
When you want to improve your mood, you have several options at your disposal. From eating something delicious but unhealthy to binge-watching a show, there is a lot that you can do. However, the best way to enhance your mood is to engage in physical activity. When you go mountain biking, you do a lot of exciting things including changing tracks, evading obstacles and so on. Both your mind and body remain engaged and that helps in improving your mood.