10 Health Benefits of Owning A Fat Tire Bike

The fat tire bike is chunkier than a mountain bike and has more resistance than a regular bike. But trust me when I say you need to get one.

To discover how the fat tire bike is great health and fitness (and economic) decision, continue scrolling.

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Here's Why a Fat Tire Bike Deserves a Slot in Your Garage

— This post is courtesy of the Outdoor Warrior shared with permission —

1. Fat Tire Bike Is All-Terrain

The primary characteristic of the fat tire bike is the width of its wheels. With a span of four to five inches, you can bet that it will float and glide over all surfaces with ease.

You may worry about pot holes or rocks with regular bikes, but never with fat tire bikes. Yes, your legs may work twice as hard to move yourself forward, but not worrying about the terrain will help you focus on your (will)power instead.

Serious bikers love this bike because you can take them anywhere – literally. Their brilliance and ingenuity shows on sandy shores, rough terrain, icy roads, and snowy mountains. If you're a hiker, you may want to consider climbing on two wheels for a change.

You can take your fitness challenge to a whole new level – or altitude.

2. Fat Tire Bike Is All-Weather Proof

All-terrain and all-weather, the fat tire bike has no seasonality.

You can do away with the excuse that you can't work out because you're snowed in. In fact, it's one of the best times to bring out your bike.

Ride through the icy wild with piles of snow crunching under the weight and width of your bike. Bring your bike on a beach vacation with your family. Squeeze in aerobic exercise and endurance training around the coast before breakfast.

3. Could Introduce Variety Into Your Fitness Program

We've established that there's nothing you can't do and nowhere you can't go with this bike. This opens up a whole new world for more physical activity and well, fun.

Revive your bones with a refreshing ride in the valley. This can alternate with a more lax endurance training session at the gym.

Your fitness gains may plateau when your body gets used to the same workouts. You may notice that your body doesn't change any perhaps even increasing workloads doesn't feel challenging to your muscles.

To maintain both motivation and fitness gains, you need to keep challenging your muscles. You could address this by introducing a variety of workouts, alternating between different trainings. You can even bring your workout outside the gym.

Fat tire biking just might be exactly what you need. Especially if your fitness goals have stopped progressing and you're growing bored with your routine.

4. Fat Tire Bike Encourages You to Get Physically Active

It won't do anyone any good to stay at home and live a sedentary lifestyle. Having a fun sport like fat tire biking to satisfy the requirement will make exercise feel less of a chore.

Don't worry if you're a newbie at biking. It may be beginner friendly because the tires offer you more cushion, allowing you to glide over rubble.

5. May Be an Intense Endurance and Strength Training

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that adults and older adults get 150 minutes of exercise every week.

Does it sound like a lot? Yes. Is it a lot? No.

Biking is an example of moderate-intensity aerobic training when you ride on a flat surface. However, this increases to a vigorous-intensity aerobic activity when you ride it uphill, requiring much more effort.

You can scatter 150 minutes of physical activity throughout the week however you like.

You can take your fat tire bike out twice a week for 75-minutes each time to serve as your vigorous-intensity training. Then you can do muscle training on two other days of the week. Make sure to hit all major muscle groups in muscle training.

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6. May Be Easy on the Joints, Hard on the Muscle

Biking may require more muscle power, relying less heavily on your joints than running or walking.

It's a muscle-building activity and intense endurance training. As you propel yourself forward, you'll be employing your

• glutes (responsible for lateral movement)
• quads
• calves
• hamstrings

This is a great workout for your lower body. The tires have great traction, so you won't expect a lot of speed from them. You're more likely to rely on your own strength to move the bike.

But if you want to work out another muscle group, then you can head uphill.

7. May Strengthen You Core

When you ride uphill on a mountain or a hill, you may find yourself leaning forward. This could cause you to engage your core and keep it engaged throughout the ride.

Maneuvering a bike as heavy as a fat tire bike could engage your core more than the run of the mill bike. Driving through uphill terrain may also force you to lean forward, really engaging your abdominal and back muscles.

And a strong core may also lead to better coordination, balance, and stability.

8. May Improve Coordination, Balance, Stability

Driving your bike may not employ require leg muscles to propel forward, but also your core to keep yourself upright. This could lead to improved coordination, balance, and stability.

These are health benefits that we most often take for granted, but actually have a large impact on our overall health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a combination of moderate-high intensity strength training and balance training for adults aged 65 years and up. They add that this could help prevent accidental falls and improve functional capacity.

A 2013 study found that older adults that biked for an hour every week had improved in single leg standing and balance. The researchers suggest that cycling may be a promising strategy for fall prevention in older adults.

9. May Improve Overall Health

Cycling, regardless of your bike of choice, could improve your overall health.

A 2015 study found that cycling could decrease the all-cause mortality risk by as much as 28%. Another study in China confirmed the results. They found that women that rode their bikes 3.5 hours a week showed a 21% decrease in all-cause mortality compared to those that didn't ride bikes.

A few of the factors that deter people from biking are worries about air pollution and traffic accidents. Because of this, many people opt instead to commute via cars.

A European study, however, found that the health and societal benefits far outweigh the risks compared to riding a car. In addition, the researchers estimate that those that shift from cars to bikes may gain nine times more life-years. This significantly outweighs potential losses from inhaling air pollution and accidents associated with bike riding.

Walking or commuting via a bike may also decrease cardiovascular risk by as much as 11%.

Biking regularly may especially help older adults manage age-related conditions better.

Sarcopenia is one of the most common age-related disorders. It is the decline in muscle strength and mass, which could also lead to inactivity. You may be able to combat this with strength training, which could improve physical performance and increase lean body mass.

10. May Lower Risk of Diabetes

Commuting with a bike could potentially decrease risk factors for both diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A 2018 study found that cycling could help reduce HDL cholesterol and obesity, risk factors for diabetes.

Purchasing the bike is a big decision. Ask the shop to start you off with a beginner fat tire bike that can accommodate lighter mountain bike wheels. Once you get the basics down, graduate to a fat tire bike.

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A fat tire may be an expensive investment, but it has hefty returns. It's a mountain bike on doctor-approved steroids with even more doctor-approved health benefits.

Where is your bike taking you? The sand dunes or the mountains? Share your biking adventures with us in the comments section below!

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