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Unlike other bikes, mountain bikes are bicycles typically used for off-road adventures. Off-road adventures mean that riders go to unpaved pathways or rough terrains, like the mountains, hence the name “mountain” bike.

What is special about a mountain bike?

As the “Hulk” versions of the 1950s road bikes, mountain bikes preserved the general durability concept of the road bikes but improved on the overall performance to use in more challenging roads. It boasts sturdier tires, stronger brakes, and suspension systems that absorb or lessen the impact of road bumps. As a sport, though, mountain bikes only become popular in the late 1970s.

However, you do not need to be a professional athlete to learn how to ride this bike properly. You just need to have the patience, endurance, stamina, and persistence to keep riding and challenging yourself with each ride. Also, so long as you can ride a bike you might enjoy the adrenaline rush that only mountain biking can give without fail.

Cycling around with a mountain bike expands your range of destinations and pathways from the small streets and highways to the bumpy dirt roads as well as to climb up and down the rocky and hilly mountains. Therefore, if you are the kind of person who likes to pedal your way regardless of the road conditions in long distances, then a mountain bike is something you might want to consider having.

7 Benefits of Mountain Biking

Apart from being fun and thrilling, cycling is obviously a physical activity. We already know that being active promotes our overall physical well-being. In addition, like most physical activities, cycling promotes weight loss and fight obesity. However, are you aware of other benefits of cycling, particularly mountain biking, apart from that? Well, here are the seven benefits of taking up cycling as sport or exercise of your choice:

1.Improves mental health

As we know, a chemical imbalance in our brains trigger these common mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and stress. This chemical imbalance is due to a lower level or lack

serotonin hormones in our brain, also known as “happy” hormones. We can only produce more of these happy hormones through exercise and a balanced diet. That is why we often hear and read from experts that apart from medication and therapies, physical activities also help in preventing the onset of these illnesses.

As a physical sport, cycling is one of the easiest options to take up to start living a life free from mental illnesses. All you need is a bike! With the additional option of outdoor cycling, it also takes away the “mundane” stationary exercises in the gym that most people with mental health issues dislike.

2.Promotes good posture

Recall that mountain biking is used not only on the nice paved roads. Having said this, there is a stark difference in the way you ride a normal road bike and mountain bike. Based on experience, with road bikes, if you just keep your balance, you can assume any posture like slouching. With mountain biking, you CAN NOT do this at all without the risk of falling or injuring yourself easily. Thus, mountain biking requires that you ALWAYS assume the correct and proper posture to enable shifting gears and other maneuverings be done properly and safely.

3.Strengthens your core muscles

Did you know that mountain biking activates your core muscles and thereby strengthening it? Mountain biking is an active and very engaging cycling workout. It does not only rely on your leg strengths. Because unlike riding road bikes around town, you would need to keep your body in the right position and relying on your core muscles is key to maintaining your balance through different trails.

4.Keeps your mind sharp

Mountain biking may seem to be like any cycling activity. However, your brain tends to be more active and alert when mountain biking. The fact that mountain bikers go on long rides and go through various kinds of road conditions, you would need to keep track of the trails so you do not get lost. Also, your skills in mountain biking improve only with your response time to adapt your stance, gear, and speed to the unpredictable terrains that you encounter. As we all know, keep our mind sharp is also key in preventing degenerative brain diseases as we grow old such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

5.Improves your navigational skills

For those people like myself who have a very poor sense of direction, taking up cycling is the safest and cheapest way to improve that.

Cycling is similar to walking around town. The more you do it the more familiar you are with the environment. This, in turn, makes you more confident in trying out different routes from the same point A to the same point B. The only and most wonderful benefit of cycling compared to walking is that you can cover more grounds with cycling.

6.Promotes healthy joints and spine

With good posture, strong core and leg muscles, and an active brain, mountain biking is considered a full-body workout. Nevertheless, as a low-impact sport, this always reduces the impact on your joints and spine while keeping them mobile at the same time.

7.Expands your social circle

Although it is a one-man sport, cycling alone can be boring. That is why there are a wide array of cycling groups everywhere that meet up to cycle together. This is most especially true for mountain bikers as this is for long-distance riding.
It would be no surprise that as soon as you decide to pick mountain biking as a sport, you would a cycling group to start with. Not only to accompany you on rides but also to help you navigate and introduce pathways to you for cycling.

Get Fancy with Mountain Biking: Try 3 Cycling Styles

Depending on your level of experience and thirst for adventure in riding mountain bikes, you can explore various styles of cycling with a mountain bike.

Cross-Country Cycling

The most common one is cross-country cycling that requires a lightweight and more efficient type of mountain bike. This style brings out the “cycling racer” in you. This does not mean though that you can only do this on “official competitions”. Oh no! You can also have fun competing with your friends and see who buys lunch for everyone.

Trail Biking

On the other hand, if you prefer being challenged with “obstacles” while riding recreationally then, trail biking is for you. This should satisfy the thrill-seeker in you. This is where the adventure begins with mountain biking. Yes, you may create your own road obstacles for your mountain biking pleasure. But where is the fun in that? Out in the woods or where ever you and friends decide to venture out cycling, you will never know where and what kind of obstacles you would encounter. The harder the obstacle you encounter on a certain part of the trail, the longer you and your friends would most probably stay and hone your skills. Some people end up NOT finishing the entire trail because of trying to get better at maneuvering at an obstacle. Some even decide to go back to the same spot just to keep practicing!

Endurance Cycling

If you want a combination of both, well, there is such a thing as “endurance cycling”. If you can do this one, you already are a professional cyclist – with or with the formal competitions and medals. The fun races you do with your friends on cross-country cycling and the maneuvering skills you show off to your friends during your trail biking prepares you for this more challenging style of mountain biking.

So, go ahead and challenge yourself with a mountain bike – choose the cycling style that best suits your personality and sense of adventure. If fun and adventure do not entice to try out mountain biking, then I hope the health benefits of cycling could finally convince you.

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