The benefit of exercise on your lungs is no secret. While this is widely acknowledged, cycling has often been left out of the conversation due to many believing it did more harm to the lungs than good. The culprit? Air pollution.

Although no one can deny that cyclists will be exposed to a certain degree of polluted air, recent findings by air quality analysts at Kings College London reveal that cyclists actually breathe better air than people in buses and cars taking the same route.

Now that this concern is out of the way, let’s focus on what exactly happens to the lungs during a ride. Here are five changes that occur, and how they contribute to a healthy and happy respiratory system.

Benefits of Cycling Every Day: How It Transforms Your Body

Video by Fitnessdy

Your Lungs Inflate and Deflate at an Increased Rate

As you cycle, your lungs work harder to funnel more oxygen into your bloodstream, enabling you to push further and ride harder.

Once the oxygen reaches your muscles, it is turned into carbon dioxide, the waste product created by the energy your cells generate. This is why exhaling is essential to remove the carbon dioxide from the body.

Lung Capacity Increases

Not only do your lungs inflate and deflate faster, they also take in more oxygen with each breath. Although the ribs protect the lungs, limiting their expansion, your lung volume can still increase by as much as 15% during exercise.

This combination of breathing deeper and faster allows your body to meet its metabolic demands during your ride. Your heart also works overtime to keep up with the increased oxygen supply, circulating it throughout your body to the working muscles.

In the long run, your maximum lung capacity improves by 5-15%, enhancing the efficiency of lung function. This is why the more you cycle, the easier it becomes, and the more you can push yourself.

Your Abs Get Involved

All of this increased lung function comes at a cost. Imagine pumping up a tire — as the tire inflates to its maximum capacity, more force is needed to pump in air. The same applies to getting more air into the lungs during exercise.

This is where your abdominal muscles come in. To expel air faster during your ride, the body recruits your abs, allowing you to inhale more air and provide more oxygen to your muscles. At rest, breathing is accomplished by the diaphragm and rib cage muscles only.

Unlike resting periods, expiratory muscles play an active role in breathing during a ride. During inspiration, as the rib cage muscles contract, your abdominal muscles relax, and vice versa during exhalation. This allows the diaphragm’s workload to ease up, enabling it to focus on drawing in more air. Who knew the abs played such an important role in a sport that mostly relies on the legs?

Your Diaphragm Works Even Harder

Dear Lykkers! Unlike the abdominal muscles, your diaphragm is always at work, whether exercising or not. The diaphragm sits beneath the lungs and, at rest, contracts by pulling downwards, causing you to breathe in, then relaxes by moving upwards, causing exhalation.

As mentioned earlier, the diaphragm’s role shifts slightly when cycling, as your abs take on some of the workload. This doesn’t mean the diaphragm gets a break — rather, it works harder. As it flattens, it enlarges the chest cavity, creating a pressure change. This pressure change forces air to rush inside, which occurs much more frequently during cycling.

Your Respiratory Muscles Get Stronger

We all know that cycling strengthens the muscles — particularly in the legs. What’s less obvious is how the respiratory muscles benefit as well.

As seen, cycling forces the breathing muscles to work overtime to fuel your active muscles. This extra effort strengthens your respiratory muscles significantly more than if you didn’t cycle or exercise at all. Over time, the long-term effects of these stronger muscles result in an increased ability to extract oxygen from the air and a greater vital capacity. This is why you’ll feel fitter the more you ride.

So, the next time you’re cycling, whether you’re enjoying scenic views or navigating busy traffic, take a moment to appreciate how hard your lungs are working to keep you pedaling. Recognizing the respiratory benefits of cycling can provide that extra bit of motivation to power through a challenging ride — it’s a win-win!