When we get to a certain age, we tend to not go outside much. That’s a shame. There are so many fun and exciting things we can do just by stepping outside the house. It might seem like a waste. As older adults, we have a bit of an aversion to the outside world.
There are too many things that get on our nerves. Aside from that, it’s just personal preference. In this day and age, people are living longer and have the choice to live healthier lives. Couple that with new emerging technologies and we have a strange and awesome mix that we can definitely take advantage of. Enter: the E-bike. The E-bike is something we can all use, but it has an extra special benefit on older adults.
Exercise
The E-bike is essentially a bicycle with an electric motor attached to it. It’s not the same as a motorcycle. We have the option to use our own legs to get to point B if we wanted to. This is where it serves the older community so well. We can get our exercise in, at intervals that we can choose, rather than have to compete with the concrete.
It’s similar to the electric scooter in that fashion, just with a different twist. E-scooters themselves are also a great option. In an article found on RideTwoWheels, you will discover that the world of electric bikes and scooters is much bigger and much more affordable than anyone thought. It’s just new. This does provide, however, a clear and concise ability to choose what we want and how we want it. That kind of freedom and exercise for the price it’s offered isn’t easy to come by.
Beat Traffic
Traffic is annoying. It’s something that we always have to deal with when we go outside, especially if we live in a city. If your city has a bike lane, take advantage of it! Of course, you’ll have to follow all the rules, but if you add a few minutes of time to your typical grocery or coffee run, you’ll be able to do so without the added stress of sitting behind some kid in a lowered Kia blast ridiculous music. We don’t need that kind of stress at our age. With an E-bike, we can cruise right by that line or let them pass us. We have our own route.
Prevent Lower Back Pain
As we get older, we sit down a lot. In doing so, we’re actually flexing one of the largest muscle complexes in our body: the Iliopsoas. The iliopsoas is the root cause of over 70% of lower back pain in patients over 40.
This two-muscle combo and its subsequent shortening is the culprit behind all sorts of strange and complex pain. The E-bike forces us to not just get up off the couch, but continuously strengthen and stretch the muscle, thus reducing our chances of developing future lower back pain.
Lifestyle Change
Promoting an active lifestyle doesn’t just affect our workout habits. It affects every aspect of our day-to-day life. We end up redoing our routines around conscious and positive habits. When we get on the E-bike, we get to go back to a lifestyle we probably had when we were younger. Back when we were trying to impress our peers.
Back when we wanted to look good. That may not be the motivation anymore, but there are definite benefits to giving that extra 10% to look and feel your best. If somebody said that they didn’t care about how they looked, they would be lying. Everybody does. That little bit of exercise boosts our confidence, helping release hormones in your bloodstream that make us feel good. Endorphins are not just for the young. They are for everybody. Why not boost your levels with the new lifestyle?
Vitamin D
Everybody these days has a vitamin deficiency. We think that we’re doing okay because of our diet. But a lot of us are missing that one crucial vitamin that ties everything together: vitamin D. Vitamin D is crucial in over 2000 different processes relating to our metabolism. Vitamin D most importantly is a precursor to sex hormones.
That’s how we produce adequate testosterone and estrogen in our body. As much as we would like to believe vitamin D supplementation works, most of it is cleared by the liver. Nothing beats going outside in the sun for half an hour on the E-Bike. Being outside for a half hour with adequate skin exposure to sunlight, three times a week, is enough to normalize vitamin D levels in our body.
An example of “adequate skin exposure“ shorts and a tank top. Being on the E-bike helps give you that vital time in the sun, effectively ramping up testosterone production in males and balancing out hormones in females.
Time To Ourselves
Many of us older individuals spend a lot of time with family and work mates. We go to work, surround ourselves with peers, make jokes at the water cooler, and go back to our office. We go home, say hi to the significant other, maybe say hi to the kids, and share a bed. For a lot of us, the only time we really have is on our way to and from work. It’s understandable if you need to keep cool so you don’t sweat under your suit, but giving yourself an extra few hours to be alone and really pars out your thoughts can do wonders. We can block out the noise of our day-to-day lives and focus on a singular task: peddling the E-bike. You can turn a leisurely hour into a much needed, calm meditation.
The benefits of E-bikes and E-scooters are virtually endless. There’s no bad argument for them. They’re fun, easy, affordable, and can do some serious good for your posture. These are basic things that, as older adults, we need to look for. E-bikes are a great start.
