Bicycle riding for seniors
Bicycle riding is an agreeable activity for seniors as it improves cardiovascular fitness while being low impact on the hips, knees and other joints. Bike riding is a social and delightful activity that can easily be integrated into day-to-day life.
At first people start riding for their health and fitness and then they continue to ride for the great company and enjoyment that riding provides.
The benefits of riding a bicycle are multiple:
- Builds physical activity into a busy lifestyle
- Improves health and fitness
- Helps with stress reduction
- It is fun and enjoyable
- It is socially interactive
- Naturally reduces risk of chronic disease
- Helps control weight
Riding a bicycle is a fantastic way to exercise and has amazing benefits for seniors as it:
- Is low impact, easing loads on joints
- Is aerobic, improving cardiovascular fitness and reducing the risk of heart attack
- Helps prevent obesity, colon and breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, mild depression, hypertension and arthritis.
An Australian octogenarian named Noel rides his bike about thirty miles (50 km) per day. At the age of 81 that’s an impressive performance.
According to specialists, spending a lot of time sitting is as harmful for our health as smoking.
Noel usually rides alone for some of the distance and sometimes with a group of women. It is a fact that the social component has a great importance - it can help people adopt new habits, and it is a major factor when it comes to happiness.
“Here’s a tip: If you want to unlearn old habits and develop new healthy living habits, spend time with people who practice the habits you want. Your choice of friends and acquaintances is a powerful influence on your behavior. If you want to be a habitual exerciser, keep company with people who exercise regularly and enjoy it,” stated Dr. Weil.
Aerobic exercise has been proved by research to increase new brain cells. Therefore biking is not just a physical experience, it impacts our brain function as well.
“Early studies in humans clearly established a link between exercise and older adults between the ages of 55 and 80. Brain scans showed that participants who engaged in regular aerobic exercise (3 hours per week for 6 months) increased brain volume in the frontal and temporal areas which are involved in executive control and memory processes.” (Women’s Cycling)
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