Can riding an electric scooter keep you fit?

Exercise is important for everyone, no matter their age. Physical activity can improve muscle strength and boost endurance. Exercise can help us in other ways too including:

-   Improving our mood

-   Boosting our energy

-   Sleeping better

-   Controlling our weight

-   Combating health conditions and diseases 

If you’ve ever had a regular exercise routine, then you’ve probably noticed an improvement in yourself.

But you may be asking, what does this have to do with electric scooters?

Well, electric scooters actually do give you more of a workout than you’d think.

While we’re not saying that you’re going to start shedding kilos after a few scooter rides; there are other areas of health and fitness that will benefit from riding your scooter including core development, balance and coordination.

Is riding an electric scooter good exercise?

Kick scooters, as we mentioned in a previous article, will give you much more of a workout than an e-scooter because you need to kick yourself along to propel the scooter forward. However, an e-scooter can also help you get some exercise into your daily routine.

What are the health benefits of riding an electric scooter?

Hitting the gym, going for a jog and walking are all excellent ways to get fit. However, people get lazy and those expensive gym memberships go to waste.

If you’re not good at incorporating regular exercise into your daily routine, riding an electric scooter to work might be an easier way to start out because it’s a low-intensity workout.  

Balance

Balance is one of the six components of health-related exercise, and while balancing may seem like a basic skill, riding an e-scooter will help you develop it further without requiring much effort. This is particularly useful for clumsy people. When you’re riding an electric scooter, you need to maintain equal weight on both sides. 

For people starting out, balancing may be difficult but over time it’ll become second nature. You will also gain more balance as you experience turning more corners, going around bends and riding up hills. You will notice over time that you have a more upright posture with straightened back. This is also highly beneficial as you get older when your joints start to weaken.

Core development

If you’ve ever been to a gym, then you’ve probably done plenty of exercises to build up your core such as push-ups, sit-ups and crunches. They’re not that enjoyable and you’re in pain for days afterwards. So, why not ride an e-scooter instead?

Riding an electric scooter strengthens your core muscles because your body is in a constant state of movement. Your muscles will tighten and loosen when changing directions, stopping or starting. The muscles involved are those in the legs, thighs, arms and shoulders.

At the same time, you are also strengthening the hamstrings and lower body muscles around your abdomen and pelvic region.

Coordination

You need to focus when you’re riding an electric scooter because many things are happening around you. On top of that, you need to perform different tasks simultaneously such as steer, accelerate, indicate, turn, etc. All of these actions require excellent coordination; otherwise, it may result in an injury or accident. 

Once you’re comfortable riding around on an e-scooter, you’ll notice it takes you less time to balance on your scooter and perform actions much faster. You’ll also be able to avoid any obstacles that come your way. Having good coordination can help you in performing other tasks in your daily life too.  

Feeling of freedom

There’s nothing more exhilarating than the feeling of being free. People don’t like being cooped up inside, which is why there’s such a big market for convertible cars.

Riding an electric scooter gives you much of the same feeling: wind in your hair, travelling fast and plenty of space around you. You also have the added bonus of not breathing in your own car fumes.

Public transport can also be quite claustrophobic and in this day and age where people are trying to socially distance from each other, the appeal of public transport has definitely fallen.

What are the other benefits of electric scooters?

Portability

When it comes to portability, the electric scooter is practically unrivalled. A foldable electric scooter makes it easy to carry onto other forms of transport, walking up stairs and taking it into buildings.

While each electric scooter model has a different folding system, they are designed to be easy to use. You will find that most have a latch or lever system to fold the scooter in half. Some may have a hook to keep the scooter folded in place or you’ll hear a sound that will tell you it’s locked.

However, not all electric scooters are foldable. If portability is what attracts you to buying an electric scooter, research models that have this function.

Quiet

Electric scooters are so quiet that you don’t even hear them coming down the street. When you walk around a city, most of the noise that you hear comes from cars, trucks and buses. Unlike these other kinds of transport, e-scooters are quiet and can get you around town quickly.

Affordable to run

Cars are expensive because you need to pay for registration, licencing, petrol and parking. Public transport costs can also add up if you use it every day unless you’re lucky enough to live somewhere where it’s free.

An electric scooter is cheap to run because it just requires electricity to charge it. This can take between 2-5 hours on average, depending on what kind of e-scooter model you own. There are also few maintenance costs for an electric scooter, making it one of the cheapest ways to get around. You can read more about the costs of owning an electric scooter here.

What are the benefits of using electric scooters over other vehicles or walking?

Convenience

Let’s be honest, Australia’s public transport isn’t great compared to other countries. Even in large cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, you usually need to check in advance when the next tram or train is coming.  

Owning an electric scooter means you can leave home when you want and have a fairly good idea of how long it’ll take you to get from A to B. This doesn’t happen with other modes of transport unless you’re riding a bicycle or walking.

While driving a car is faster than riding an electric scooter, they get stuck in traffic and when there are road accidents, heavy delays can follow. The same can happen for public transport such as maintenance on train tracks or bad weather. An electric scooter is a much more convenient way of getting around.

Faster than walking

Walking is an enjoyable activity, but sometimes you just want to get to where you’re going. Sometimes walking can also be highly inconvenient if you’re carrying large parcels and are getting weighed down.

Electric scooters can zip around very quickly, so even if you’ve got a heavy backpack or groceries from the shops, you’ll be able to get home faster. Walking in the city is usually quite congested as well, which is why you can move a lot faster when you’re able to use the bike paths and lanes that are traffic-free.

There are lots of fast electric scooters available on the market and some of them can reach speeds of 30-40 km/h.