When you first hear about electric bicycles, you probably picture teenagers zipping around without breaking a sweat. In truth, e-bikes are embraced worldwide as an excellent option for transportation and exercise. How can you turn a ride on an e-bike into a workout, you ask? You’ve come to the right place! Cardiovascular Health As you probably know, a regular bicycle offers incredible benefits to your cardiovascular health. That’s because cycling makes your heart and lungs work harder, which in turn makes them stronger. Contrary to popular belief, adding a motor into the mix does not negate these benefits. Why? On an e-bike, you get to choose the level of assistance that your motor provides. That means you can push yourself as hard as you want, but you have added assistance. If you push as hard as you can with the assistance turned all the way up, you’ll simply travel very fast! Core Workout On top of the normal aerobic exercise any bike or e-bike can provide, an electric bicycle also gives you a significant core workout. E-bikes come with weight that isn’t included on a regular bicycle (the battery and motor add quite a few pounds), so your core muscles need to do more work to keep everything balanced, especially while taking turns. Your heart and lungs benefit from any bike ride, but only an e-bike ride engages your core, joints, and bones with an added weight-bearing workout. Endurance and Fun If you’re anything like us, you’ve probably started an exercise routine and given up before it was done, at least once. That reaction to a workout is to be avoided at all costs because it makes the exerciser actively dread trying the workout again. In a perfect world, every exercise would be fun and one you could do for an extended period of time. And along came e-biking. Because you can set your pace and difficulty level, riding an electric bicycle should never feel too exhausting. If you start getting tired, take a breather while your motor does the work. If you feel like things are moving a little slow for your taste, drop the assistance level and pedal to your heart’s content. On top of that, we can’t forget about fun. There’s something undefinably exhilarating about traveling up to 30 miles per hour on a pedaled bicycle. It’s a feeling that can make even a scrooge excited every day, without fail. Motivation is a major issue for many people regarding exercise, but an e-bike takes all those worries away. Approachability Many exercises have an age cap. We certainly won’t do any more deadlifts once we hit 80 years old. However, an e-bike offers so much in the way of workout customization that anyone who can ride a bike can enjoy an electric one. If you’re one of many people who feel averse to exercise or think that their day for brisk workouts is over, try out an e-bike. One knock on approachability for electric bicycles is the price. There’s no denying that buying an e-bike outright requires a sizable investment, but there’s no need to drop a f ew thousand dollars for this experience. With a 500-watt front hub motor in one of our conversion kits, you can turn your favorite bicycle into an e-bike in a flash. Almost every bike is convertible, so check out our kits and save big-time on an electric bicycle. Getting Fit With all that said, what’s the plan for fitness? Is there a route you can take from couch potato to Tour de France champion? Well, we’re not promising a yellow jersey, but we can guide you to physical fitness! Start Slow We’ve mentioned that one of the main benefits of an e-bike is increased endurance, but you don’t need to test that just yet. If you’re starting your exercise journey here, it’s much better to get comfortable taking short rides on easy routes rather than risking overexertion. Several short rides are more beneficial than a few long ones, especially early on. Take the first few weeks to learn the different assistance levels of your bicycle and figure out what level allows you to get a workout while not exhausting you. Plan Your Path Try mapping out your route in a car before taking to the streets on your e-bike. This will tell you the distance traveled and help you map out a path that avoids significant climbs. Avoid demanding routes (at first) because climbs can test your limits, even with a motor. As you get more comfortable with your daily routes, consider adding in a turn here and there that takes you on a hilly path. Again, if your area allows for it, gradually increase the steepness as you go. The goal is to make exercise feel doable, not to wipe you out! Opt for a Lower Assistance Level Now that you know your comfortable assistance level and your go-to routes, change things up (when you feel ready) and drop the assistance level slightly. On flat roads, you may be able to cut off the motor completely and travel on your own power. This will give you a more significant workout, but hopefully, your body has been adapting to your new activity and can handle it! Make a Recovery Plan Cooldowns and recoveries are essential whether you ride a normal bicycle or an e-bike. Listen to your body and take a day off when you need to—fitness can feel a little stop-start, but remember, that’s your body changing to meet your new needs. Get Lost in the Ride Finally, you don’t always need to follow the route. We’ve had plenty of rides where, as we drew closer to the end, we realized that another 20 minutes was actually what we wanted. If you’re having fun while riding, don’t ignore that! Enjoy the sights and sounds of your neighborhood—maybe take a moment to appreciate nature—all while getting a great workout. Now that you know how to turn a ride on your e-bike into a workout, get biking and feel the calories burn!
