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Electric Bike Fitness
Yes – electric bikes can improve your health AND your fitness – make 2019 a year to remember!
It’s that time of year again. Let’s face it, most of us have all over indulged at some point during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. We’re feeling a tad heavier perhaps, and a tad more sluggish. Whatever our own personal fitness level, there’s a sense that perhaps we could all do just a little more exercise perhaps. We all know that our bodies require exercise to function properly and to fight off potential ill health.
The good news is that there IS a solution, and an extremely enjoyable one at that. We are of course talking about Electric Bikes! Cycling as we know is a healthy, low impact means of exercise. It’s simply very good for you without huge exertion on the heart or limbs. We came across a very interesting study from July 2018 that we thought worth sharing:
Electric Bike Fitness Study – University of Basel, Switzerland
A research group at the Department of Sport, Exercise and Health at the University of Basel examined how the exercise intensity on ebikes compares to conventional bicycles.
They conclude that training with an ebike is by no means less effective, but has comparable health benefits as regular cycling.
Furthermore, the researchers found that even after a relatively short training period of four weeks improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness were achieved.
30 individuals volunteered for the study. They had received no prior training and were overweight with a BMI (Body Mass Index) in excess of 28. People with a BMI greater than 25 are generally seen as being overweight. The oxygen uptake capacity (VO2) was used as decisive criterion for the evaluation of cardio-respiratory fitness. VO2 measures the body’s ability to uptake and utilise oxygen.
The participants then rode a distance of at least 4 miles on at least three days per week. While one half was riding on a conventional bike, the other half was commuting on an ebike. There were no specifications regarding the speed and intensity of the ride.
After a month, the participants had their health tested again and it became apparent that both ebike AND conventional cycle groups had developed comparably well in their fitness – measured by their oxygen uptake capacity.
Furthermore, the study shows that the participants of the ebike group were on average traveling at higher speeds with higher daily elevation gain. This suggests that the ebike can increase motivation and help overweight and older individuals to maintain fitness training on a regular basis.
Conclusion of the Study
Arno Schmidt-Trucksäss, Professor of Sports Medicine at the University of Basel concludes the following:
“Those who use ebikes on a regular basis benefit permanently, not only in terms of their fitness, but also in terms of other factors such as blood pressure, fat metabolism, and their mental well-being.”
Overall, he suggests that the study provides an important indication of the preventive potential of e-bikes.
Take a look at OnBike’s range of 2019 ebikes here.
Read the full study from the university here.