Spring/Summer 2011
7 Crisk ycling reduces your of heart disease Heart disease is now the biggest killer in the UK, but many studies have shown that bringing cardiovascular exercise like cycling into your life will lower the chance of you having a heart attack or stroke, and reduce the possibility that you’ll need anything like bypass surgery. According to the British Heart Foundation, if you cycle at least 20 miles a week you are half as likely to have heart problems as those who don’t exercise at all. Riding just two miles to work every morning, and two miles home every evening would cover it. That has to be worth the effort.
8 Cprevent ycling helps cancer There’s a growing body of evidence showing that regular physical activity reduces the possibility of some cancers. Research has shown, for example, that physical activity reduces the risk of colon cancer by about 50 percent. Experts think it’s because exercise speeds up the movement of material through the digestive system and colon, giving less time for cancerous agents to become malignant. And we’re not talking about loads of high-intensity exercise here; the American Cancer Society suggest that 30 minutes of exercise a day, five days a week, will reduce your cancer risk. It makes a lot of sense to do it on the bike as you commute to and from work.
Cycling will 9 improve your
cardiovascular fitness
Cycling won’t just protect you against heart disease, your whole cardiovascular system will become stronger and more developed meaning that your body will be able to take oxygen and nutrients to your muscles more efficiently. This isn’t just useful for sport, it’s vital in everyday life too. Normal tasks like walking up a couple of flights of stairs or carrying heavy shopping will feel easier after a few weeks commuting by bike.
ycling will 10 Cimprove your
cholesterol levels
Most studies suggest that endurance exercise such as cycling increases the amount of HDL cholesterol – often called “good cholesterol” – in your blood while lowering LDL cholesterol – often called “bad cholesterol”, the arteryclogging kind. The amount you need to exercise to improve your cholesterol levels has been debated lots, but most health organisations recommend a minimum of 30mins on most, preferably all, days of the week at a moderate to vigorous intensity. You can do that as 15mins on the way to work, and 15mins on the way home again. There’s some evidence to suggest that intense exercise has a bigger impact than taking it easy. 32