Eating nutritious foods is important for health and so is regular physical activity. Exercising is one of the most important things people can do to improve their health. There are a variety of ways to engage in regular physical activity throughout the day. Choose activities you enjoy.
Riding a bicycle is great exercise. Biking can be a powerful workout to get the heart pumping and be considered a moderate-intensity exercise. The large muscles of the lower body will get stronger from biking, also.
Bike riding can be a solo activity or a family affair. People cycle on the road, in the neighborhood or on an established bike path in the community. Many parish playgrounds have areas that can be used for riding a bicycle.When the weather is not the best, move the workout indoors by using a stationary bike. A regular bicycle can be transformed into an indoor bike by using a stand, called an indoor trainer.
The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides a comprehensive set of recommendations for Americans on the amounts and types of physical activity needed each day.
Adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and should perform muscle-strengthening exercises on 2 or more days each week.
Youth ages 6 to 17 years need at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day, including aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and bone-strengthening activities.
Bike riding is a fun activity for any age. Young children can ride on the back of an adult’s bicycle in a special seat with a helmet. School age youth can ride a bike appropriate for their size and weight with the helmet. Adults can ride on the road with a helmet.
Are you now motivated to make healthy physical activity choices like taking a spin on a bicycle?
See you on the road or in the neighborhood. It will do the body good.
Riding a Bicycle is Great Exercise and can be so much fun at any age. Three school age children, 2 boys and a girl, wearing helmets are taking advantage of nice weather to enjoy some fun outdoors by ride bikes on a path near the neighborhood.
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture