It has perhaps never been more important—and difficult—for both employers and employees to celebrate Global Employee Health and Fitness Month. There are many different tactics that people can take for celebrating the month and getting healthier, but one important way is to incorporate cycling for fitness into your daily routine. After all, bike riding benefits many key aspects of human health. Taking cycling a step further, the outstanding health and fitness benefits of e-bikes should also be considered when looking to celebrate Global Employee Health and Fitness Month.
What is Global Employee Health and Fitness Month?
Many people have probably never even heard of Global Employee Health and Fitness Month. The event, which occurs every May, was created in 1989 to promote “the benefits of a healthy lifestyle to employers and their employees through workforce health promotion activities and environments.” As society continues to shift into more sedentary professions, it has become even more important for employees to find ways to remain healthy—and for employers to create avenues for that to happen.
6 Bike Riding Benefits for Global Employee Health and Fitness Month
Electric bikes are a great way for employees to celebrate Global Employee Health and Fitness Month, as they have become incredibly popular in recent years for their practicality and versatility. If you or your employer are wondering about the benefits of e-bikes and how to take advantage of cycling for fitness, here are six reasons you should get started now.
1. Supporting Heart Health
One of the primary health reasons that employers and employees are uniting during Global Employee Health and Fitness Month is because heart issues are a serious problem in the United States. In fact, heart disease is the number one cause of death in America, according to the CDC. Another way to put it, “One person dies every 36 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease.” Any initiative to support heart health should be a top priority.
Fortunately, bike riding benefits heart health in some important ways. The benefits of e-bikes are the same. Because cycling for fitness is a tremendous cardiovascular activity, you improve heart health by lowering blood pressure, reducing weight, and many other benefits.
2. Improving Fitness
This should be the most evident bike riding benefit on this list. At the end of the day, cycling is an aerobic activity, whether using a traditional bicycle or an electric bike. When employees are encouraged to adopt an electric bike routine, they are gaining the opportunity to greatly improve their fitness—a pillar of Global Employee Health and Fitness Month. Clearly defining what “good fitness” entails can be difficult, but experts agree that fitness is the ability to remain healthy and better perform both daily and strenuous activities. One of the best ways to achieve this status in your life is to ride a bike daily, whether for pleasure or just for pure exercise.
3. Lowering Stress
One of the best ways to improve overall health is to lower stress. That is where cycling for fitness comes in: if you regularly ride a bike, you are contributing to an excellent cardiovascular activity that is proven to lower cortisol, one of the body’s stress hormones. Without this regular exercise, your body can increase these hormones instead, leading to a more stressful life. Especially during a month that promotes a healthy lifestyle for employees, lowering stress is vital to long-term health. If employers want their employees to truly celebrate Global Employee Health and Fitness Month, they should encourage everyone to ride a bike routinely.
4. Building Community
A recent challenge in the workplace due to COVID-19 and the social distancing that accompanied it, employees are losing a sense of community. However, one of the best benefits of e-bikes during Global Employee Health and Fitness Month—or anytime, for that matter—is their ability to build communities. That is because electric bikes make riding a bike easier without sacrificing exercise, so employees can remain healthy while also riding at a comfortable pace, allowing them to better form a riding community.
5. Being Inclusive of All Employees
The unique thing about electric bikes is that the battery-powered motor sends electricity to the pedals, making it easier to pedal in difficult situations—such as for long periods or up steep hills. This levels the playing field for all riders so that anyone interested in adopting an electric bike riding routine can do so. Compared to running or riding a traditional bicycle, which both require tremendous fitness and can cause groups of people to fracture based on ability, riding an electric bike is made for people of all ages, fitness levels, genders, and experiences.
6. Establishing Long-Term Healthy Habits
Because electric bikes make it easier to ride for extended periods and with groups of people, they are also great for building long-term fitness habits, something employers and employees should recognize when celebrating Global Employee Health and Fitness Month. According to James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, most habits are difficult to maintain because they are unrealistic. However, with an electric bike riding routine, you can cater your exercise to your skill level, improving over time without having to adapt any of your habits—simply using less electric power. This will show people the health reward for riding routinely and will reinforce the positive habit.
At the end of the day, celebrating Global Employee Health and Fitness Month is about uniting employees and employers for a single goal of living an all-around healthier lifestyle. When you also recognize the benefits of e-bikes and all the good that cycling for fitness can do for your health, it is clear that bike riding and all of its benefits should be included in your Global Employee Health and Fitness Month plans. Cycling with an electric bike will help lead to improved heart health and fitness, lower stress, help build community among employees, make everyone feel included, and help establish long-term healthy habits.
