With more than 880,000 e-bikes sold by 2021 and researchers predicting sales will continue to skyrocket, it’s clear that e-bikes are growing in popularity. Many cyclists use some form of e-bike for transportation, exercise, or both, but how can riding an e-bike provide the same health benefits as a traditional bike? , which some people still don’t understand very well.
Benefits of an e-bike: With a little effort, you get many of the health benefits you get from traditional cycling. Here are all the health benefits of e-bikes that you can get once you start riding with assistance.
Health Benefits of Riding an E-Bike
1. Improves brain health
Riding an e-bike is uplifting, but it doesn’t take long before that happens.a study was announced in pro swan E-bike riders’ reaction time, executive functioning (including the ability to plan, concentrate, and juggle multiple projects), and self-reported mental health after 8 weeks of 30-minute rides three times per week was found to be improved. . The researchers found these benefits for both regular cyclists and e-bike riders, but said e-bike riders may experience even greater benefits.
View more from a bicycle
“It turns out that people are just having fun.” [e-bikes]. They say it’s fun and that it can have positive effects on their overall health. ” Jennifer DillPh.D., Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University and Director of the Center for Transportation Research and Education.
Other studies have confirmed that riding an e-bike may be psychologically beneficial for older adults who are adapting to the aging process or who have neurological problems. , she added.
with a small one study was announced in disability and rehabilitationStroke survivors say the e-bike helped them increase their physical activity levels, despite having some degree of physical disability (such as having to ride with one hand). This is because the pedal assistance gave us more confidence to cycle longer and farther. Although the researchers point out that larger studies are needed to recommend e-bikes as a form of rehabilitation for stroke survivors, these observations suggest that e-bikes may be less physically active for some patients. has proved useful in bridging the gap to
2. Improve joint health
Cycling is a low-impact sport that is why so many people fall in love with it. This means less strain on your joints (hips, knees, ankles) compared to doing high-impact activities like running or jumping. .
During a run, the body can be subjected to a force of 3 to 5 times its body weight upon landing. Melissa Gallatin, PT, Physical Therapist, and Medical Endurance Team Leader at Ohio State University. “If you have knee osteoarthritis, you put more strain on your joints than just pedaling, but not as much,” she says. “You can train the muscles around the joint without incurring impact trauma.”
3. Aids recovery
Riding an e-bike is a great way to modify and monitor your recovery as you return to cycling from an injury, Gallatin says. “If you are recovering from an injury such as patellofemoral pain, you should avoid a lot of uphills. can take the stress off the quads so they don’t overwork and allow them to recover,” she explains.
Also, a quick ride on an e-bike to get out can help you recover after an intense workout. “It reduces some of the stress so you don’t overwork your muscles, but it does increase joint movement and circulation and prevents any kind of lactic acid build-up,” says Gallatin. research Review the benefits of light physical activity to aid muscle recovery.
Riding an e-bike also helps you maintain the low-intensity training zones you want to keep for your recovery rides between hard training sessions.
4. Maintain physical activity levels
Riding an e-bike gets your heart rate up so you can reach your weekly activity goal.of CDC We recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (plus 2 days of strength training).
“When riding an e-bike, we know that the intensity is lower when using the electric assist. research We found that people are still in the range of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and this is the health recommendation for adults,” says Dill.
E-bike riders also tend to ride longer and maintain activity levels similar to traditional cyclists, says Dill.In fact one studypublished in 2022 Traffic studies from an interdisciplinary perspective, conducted a survey of more than 10,000 e-bike and conventional bike riders and found that e-bike riders averaged 9.8 miles per trip, compared to conventional bike riders. found to average 5.8 miles compared to 4.9 miles for non-students.
Additionally, the study found that many riders are using both, rather than swapping traditional bikes for e-bikes. So if you have an e-bike or are looking to invest in one, this means your activity levels are likely to increase even further. What’s more, riding an e-bike can also get your heart rate up and give you a great workout.
5. Improves overall health
E-bikes not only allow you to travel more and log more miles, they also improve your overall fitness.according to Systematic review and meta-analysispublished in 2022 The Frontiers of Sport and Active LifeResearchers have found that riding an e-bike improves VO2 max, an indicator of aerobic fitness level. For this reason, researchers say this activity can improve health and reduce the risk of premature death, as improved aerobic fitness leads to improved health.
More research is needed to determine what benefits e-bikes offer for specific health parameters such as blood pressure and cholesterol levels, but increased physical activity has many benefits for general health conditions. , there are few disadvantages.
Monique LeBlanc will join the editorial staff in October 2021 as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Health and Fitness. She has a master’s degree in journalism and previously worked for ABC She News and Scholastic. She is an avid runner who loves spending time outside.
