Last Updated on December 7, 2021
Mountain biking is no doubt fun and enjoyable. You get to spend time outdoors riding your bike and basking in Mother Nature’s grandeur.
Unlike road cycling where you spend hours on paved roads brushing along with speeding cars, you just get to breathe fresh air on a mountain bike while you’re out in the trails.
But it’s more than just sightseeing and breathing fresh air. Mountain biking also comes with various health benefits that many people wouldn’t have comprehended.
In this article, we’ll show you the biggest benefits you can get out of mountain biking. We are also going to discuss these in deep detail so you know the great things you can get when you hop into this sport.
Better cardio
The first best thing you can get out of mountain biking is that you improve your cardiovascular health. Mountain biking is a perfect form of cardio workout because you get to exercise your heart’s performance.
Although you might think that it’s just stressing up your heart whenever you’re in for a tough steep climb.
What actually happens there is that you take in a lot of oxygen for every inhale that you do. This then improves your cardiovascular system’s oxygenation and leads to your blood vessels being dilated. This way, your heart, along with your blood vessels, are cleared up.
Lowers blood pressure
Another nice thing about mountain biking is that this is very effective in lowering blood pressure. This is the reason why aged men who are 40-years-old and above are into mountain biking because it wards off hypertension.
The mere act of pedaling for hours or even just a few minutes is enough to regulate blood flow and release tension build-up in your cardiovascular system.
Just make sure that you don’t overdo it. We recommend you ride before sunrise and then finish your ride before 7 or 8 AM so you don’t end up being exposed to the sun’s heat too much. Also, avoid riding at noon because there’s that lurking risk of heatstroke. As long as you avoid those, then you’re good to go to getting rid of hypertension.
Stronger lungs
Regular mountain biking gives you stronger lungs because you exercise it in a rhythmic way. You breathe in and out at a constant pace whenever you ride your bike, especially when going uphills.
This leads to improving your lungs’ performance by up to 25%. Your lungs will also expand and work more efficiently because it gets used to the constant expanding and contracting motion of breathing. This is also the reason why many doctors recommend asthmatic patients to try out cycling because this lowers the symptoms of asthma.
Toned muscles
You might have noticed that mountain bikers have a more toned body compared to road cyclists who are usually very thin.
Unlike road cycling where you need to lose a lot of weight to be as light and as fast as possible on your bike, mountain biking motivates you to have a better-looking ideal build with the help of physical exercise. This is one of the best benefits of mountain biking, specifically when it comes to health benefits and physical benefits.
Constantly riding through rough offroad trails are surely enough to tone up those upper body muscles, especially your shoulders, biceps, and abdominal and core muscles.
Not only will you look in great shape, but you’ll also be literally stronger if you ride regularly and you match it with a body workout for a stronger immune system for your whole body. Get the alpha male bodybuild with the help of mountain biking!
Better stamina
What’s great about mountain biking is that you don’t just build up a strong and healthier self. Instead, you also build up a lot of stamina which makes you far more capable of doing other physical tasks.
Your lungs, heart, body, and even mind are all trained to receive enough stress and tolerate it to achieve something such as a steep climb or a technical downhill mountain bike ride. Your endurance increases a lot and you become a stronger person overall.
One of the biggest benefits of mountain biking is that you won’t easily get tired and your mind and body will be trained to endure more for the sake of accomplishing something. You see, it’s not just about climbing uphills and conquering downhills or long distances. It’s also about learning self-discipline to achieve a strong body.
Stronger joints
Mountain biking gives you strong joints, especially those found on your knees. The constant pedaling motion is enough to put up your legs in shape and beef up all the joints around it.
The regular pedaling movement and effort exerted in maintaining balance are also enough to burn calories surrounding your joints. This makes them move smoother and more efficiently.
What’s also great about mountain biking is that it does not beat up your muscles and joints too much compared to other physical contact sports like basketball and football.
Just make sure that you maintain the right seat height where your legs are stretched just enough to pedal you forward.
Fitness
Another very nice benefit you can get out of mountain biking is that you can lose a lot of weight in a healthy way. Although the amount of calories you lose varies, the average number is around 1,000 calories for every hour that you ride.
This depends, though, on various factors such as intensity, mountain bikes, terrain, and weather conditions. Nonetheless, this is a great way to increase your metabolic rate and help you lose all those unwanted fats that make you heavy and sloppy.
You might have also noticed that mountain bikers usually eat a lot of food all the time, but they don’t rake in much weight. This is because of their fast metabolism, which is made possible with the help of regular mountain biking.
Improves mood
Nothing beats the feeling of being in the outdoors and breathing fresh air that has just passed by the pine trees. Not only does this help us breathe clean and fresh air, but this also releases happy hormones which improve our mood.
This is one of the biggest reasons why many people are addicted to mountain biking. It’s not a boring sport where you just always pedal on the roads.
Instead, you play just like a kid as you shred down singletrack trails in the forest while enjoying the view. If you want to have fun and get rid of the stress from work, then mountain biking is for you.
Competitiveness
Some people might think that mountain biking is all about having fun. Well, it is, just like any other sport. But you also gain a sense of competitiveness here because you really need to be tough especially if you are riding along with friends.
Chances are, is that you’ll be compelled to join races sooner or later. And when this happens, be prepared to feel the urge to train and practice a lot. Well, you are also most likely going to buy a bunch of expensive gears and equipment after you’ve joined one.
Sense of community
Unlike other sports where you feel a sense of rivalry between groups and teams, in mountain biking, you get a sense of brotherhood and community.
It’s a very friendly atmosphere out there because making friends and expanding networks have become the norm and culture of the mountain biking scene. If you’d want to meet new people and have fun with some cool dudes, then mountain biking is the way to go.
Conclusion
In conclusion, you can clearly see that mountain biking brings a lot of benefits to your personal well-being.
It makes you healthier, happier, and more alive. You can even expand your network, make friends, and have a more optimistic outlook in life, all while having a stronger body. Just be sure you don’t go beyond the boundaries of safety. Ride your bike, and just enjoy the great outdoors.
