2016/7/25 9:39:49
The benefits of a good ride are immediate. Within 24 hours, your blood pressure drops, your blood sugar improves, your metabolism burns hotter, and your mood gets better. Long term, the positive hits just keep coming as you get fitter, faster, and healthier. Everyone needs a rest day now and then, but rack your bike for too long and those hard earned benefits slip away—some, almost immediately. Here are some really good reasons to keep on rolling.
More: 8 Tips to Lose Weight From Cycling
When you stop riding...
Your metabolism stagnates. Riding revs your metabolism five-fold above its resting rate at your desk job. You lose between 400 and 500 calories burned for every hour you skip. That adds up to a pound of fat a week you could have lost but didn't.
Your blood sugar surges. When you're riding regularly, your hungry muscles suck up the sugar that enters your bloodstream after you eat to store as energy for later. After just five days of downtime, that post-meal sugar just stays in your blood, which over time can lead to heart disease and diabetes, according to one study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. What's more, the enzymes that mop up fat and sugar in your blood stream start shutting down when you're sedentary, so both blood cholesterol and blood sugar rise.
More: Understanding Heart Disease Could Save Your Life
The good news is that it doesn't take much to halt this rapid decline. Research has shown that just going out for a good brisk ride once or twice a week can help you maintain those hard-earned fitness gains. When time is tight, try cross training or high-intensity intervals (tabatas!) to keep your fitness and health from hitting the skids.
More: Bike Your Way To a Better Body
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