Kenny Lane
Electric bikes have soared in popularity in recent years as people become more conscious of their health, the environment, and the need for physical exercise. Electric bicycles use a motor that assists the rider in pedaling, allowing them to gain all the benefits of exercise without straining their muscle and joints, and also allowing them to travel a further distance – making them an excellent alternative to other modes of transportation.
How exactly do e-bikes contribute to a healthy lifestyle? Electric bikes boost your health through physical fitness, weight management, mental health, cardiovascular health, joint health and mobility, and environmental benefits.
Don’t assume that just because an electric bicycle has as motor, you’re not getting an effective workout. In fact, e-bike users tend to work out longer – and more consistently – than regular bicycle users, all while contributing to a healthier planet! In this article, we’ll dig deeper into how electric bikes can help contribute to a healthier lifestyle. Let’s get started!
What Are the top health benefits of electric bikes?
Electric bikes aren’t just fun – they can provide a wonderful boost to your health, including your overall physical and mental well-being. The top areas that benefitted from e-bike use are:
- Physical fitness
- Weight management
- Mental health
- Cardiovascular health
- Joint health and mobility
- Environmental benefits
If you’re not convinced yet that electric bikes are for you, let’s explore each of these positives for your body, brain, and environment in greater detail!
Health Benefit #1: Physical Fitness
First and foremost, electric bikes provide low-impact exercise and assist individuals in staying active, improving cardiovascular health and stamina. Ride your e-bike and you’ll start seeing the difference in your body!
Thanks to their motorized components, e-bikes can be a lower form of impact than regular bicycles – but that also means riders are likely to stay on them longer, helping you build up greater overall endurance through longer and more frequent cardio sessions. Pedaling increases your heart rate, and is a great form of resistance training, helping you develop your leg muscles just like leg day at the gym (but way more fun). Electric bike riding stimulates your calf muscles and reduces pressure on joints, allowing you to move and stretch while toning your legs and abs.
Don’t be put off by the fact that e-bikes weigh a little more than your standard non-motorized bicycle. Think of it this way: every time you move your electric bicycle, you’re giving your biceps, triceps, glutes, and abs their own little workout too. Full body toning!
E-bikes are not just designed for exercise – they are also created as an eco-friendly alternative to gas-guzzling cars and buses, or crowded trains. Incorporating an e-bike into your daily commute doesn’t just contribute to a more environmentally friendly commute, but it also means that your travels to and from work become exercise! A leisurely bike ride is also a great, healthy way to cool down and recover from an intense workout, or it could be a good option for light but effective cardio on what might otherwise be a “rest” day. In other words, e-bikes keep you moving when you might otherwise be seated.
Read Also: Ride To Health – Exploring The Fitness Benefits Of E-Biking
Health Benefit #2: Weight Management
Regular use of e-bikes can help you burn calories and aid in overall weight management – and even weight loss! Don’t be fooled by the common misperception that the “electric” part of e-bikes means it’s a lazy form of exercise. While the electricity can help a rider travel greater distances and tackle tough inclines, electric bikes can still keep you pedaling and burning the calories. Sports medicine specialists estimate that one can burn between 100 and 600 calories per hour riding an electric bike, depending on effort.
Read Also: How Many Calories Can You Burn Riding an Ebike?
Those looking to use an e-bike for weight management should put the motor on a lower setting, meaning that the bike will rely more on the rider’s physical effort than on the electrical power in order to move. Using an e-bike can actually inspire you to ride more than a regular bike would, since you know that if you get tired you can always use the motor if necessary. This psychological safety net makes a big difference – one study shows that e-bike riders use their bikes 60% more than regular bike users.
Health Benefit #3: Mental Health
E-biking reduces stress, boosts mood, and positively affects mental well-being. You truly can ride your electric bike to happiness! As mentioned above, e-bikes are more accessible than regular bikes thanks to their backup motorized option, allowing for greater peace of mind while riding. They allow others who might not be able to exercise to experience the joy of bike riding.
Exercise generally helps boost one’s overall mental health, and e-bike riding is no exception. The cardio activity can reduce stress, and the exposure to new (and changing!) scenery and fresh air can contribute to an overall sense of greater well-being and a new, brighter perspective. Focusing on your breathing and/or motions while riding can be a form of moving meditation, calming your mind and keeping you grounded in the present moment.
Read Also: How E-Bikes Boost Mental Well-being?
Health Benefit #4: Cardiovascular Health
Consistent e-bike riding improves heart health and reduces cardiovascular risks. Cardio health is all about your heart – making sure that it is pumping blood efficiently to the muscles, with ideally with fewer beats per minute. Getting your heart rate up occasionally during cardiovascular exercise is a way of training the heart to pump more effectively over time. This ensures that your muscles receive oxygen and other essential nutrients. Cardiovascular health leads to greater athletic performance overall and better physical fitness and endurance.
Electric bicycles are a wonderful form of cardio exercise, meaning they really get your heart rate going (safely). They offer the exact same cardio benefits as a regular bike, even with the pedal-assist feature, which can be used as a backup once you’ve reached exhaustion, or can help you with just the hardest of inclines so you don’t hurt yourself.
E-bikes have a similar cardiovascular effect as walking since the effort level is comparable. To make the workout more intense, you can try for more inclines, increase the resistance by adding ankle weights, and ride on an economy setting (meaning less or no motor is used).
Health Benefit #5: Joint Health and Mobility
E-bikes can provide reduced impact on joints and improved mobility compared to other high-impact activities. Athletes who consistently work out in gyms lifting weights, playing sports, or running, can do a number on their joints – especially their knees. Electric bikes can provide a similar kind of cardiovascular exercise and weight training but without the strain and impact on joints.
Electric bike workouts are akin to swimming or using an elliptical trainer in the gym – all the movement and resistance but without the hard impact that can damage delicate joints and tissues. E-bike use can actually reduce pain by moving aching joints without putting pressure on them. But unlike swimming or using the elliptical, you can take your e-bike anywhere – and even enjoy a chance at scenery mid-workout! The flexible opportunities are endless.
Health Benefit #6: Environmental Benefits
Last but certainly not least, electric bikes have tremendous environmental benefits – and this impacts you! There are indirect health advantages stemming from reduced pollution and cleaner air due to e-bike usage.
Yes, the word “electric” in “electric bike” does mean that the bicycle uses energy. But the amount is minimal and they are infinitely more environmentally efficient than other common forms of transportation. E-bikes are zero-emission modes of transportation, meaning they do not emit any carbon dioxide or air pollution, helping to keep our air clean, fresh, and breathable. They are powered by electricity rather than fuel – just plug in the bike, charge it up, and you’re good to go. Charging the bicycle during off-peak hours can reduce the individual bike’s stress on the overall power grid.
A healthier world means a healthier you – the more people use e-bikes, the cleaner our air will be, and the healthier we will be as well. But how to ensure more people use e-bikes? The electric element of the bike means that they can travel greater distances than normal bicycles in the same amount of time, so this mode of transportation can be comparable with – even compete with – gas-guzzling cars and buses that are normally associated with longer riding ranges.
Read Also:
10 Environmental Advantages of Owning an Electric Bike
The Environmental Impact of E-Bike Use on Air Quality
Final thoughts
As you can see, there are many reasons to incorporate electric bikes into your daily exercise and transportation routine. Whether you’re looking to improve your overall physical fitness, manage your weight, or boost your cardiovascular health, e-bike riding could be for you! Riding electric bikes is also proven to improve joint health and mobility and contribute to greater overall mental health through stress relief and exposure to the great outdoors. And by riding an electric bike, you’re reducing carbon emissions, leading to a healthier planet and therefore a healthier you! Consider embracing the e-bike lifestyle so you too can begin reaping the health benefits.
Reference Sources
Canyon: https://www.canyon.com/en-cn/blog-content/advice/e-bike-calories-burned-weight-loss
Pedego: https://pedegoelectricbikes.com/blog/top-health-benefits
ScienceDirec: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259019821930017X
Momentum Bikes: https://www.momentum-biking.com/global/10-amazing-health-benefits-of-riding-a-pedal-assist-electric-bike
SimpliFaster: https://simplifaster.com/articles/e-bikes-cardio-staying-fit/
Small Town Bike Co: https://www.smalltownbikeco.com/blogs/news/environmental-benefits-of-electric-bikes
