Typically many people take to a bike when it comes to losing weight. Cycling is a fantastic way to lose weight and makes the process really fun. Why is cycling so good for weight loss? Here are a few reasons;
- It burns lots of calories
- Low Impact
- Cheap to do
- It can be done pretty much anywhere
- Compared to other sports can be done for much longer
Cycling is pretty much as simple as just riding a bike, and there’s a good chance you’re going to lose weight, but if you do cycling and struggle to lose weight, where do you go from there? In this article, we will tell you six ways to help you lose weight while cycling.
Before we go into that, you have to remember that weight loss comes down to pretty much one thing. Calories in and Calories out, so you need to be burning more calories than you are eating. We highly advise alongside these tips to track your diet and keep your eating controlled.
Ride More
Quite simply, cycling burns calories. The more you ride, the more calories you are burning. So if you want to lose some weight, all you need to do is eat the same amount as you’re currently eating and ride more. The beauty of cycling is that it is a low-impact sport. It can be done a lot, unlike other sports like running.
The body quickly conditions itself to riding a bike, and it doesn’t take long for it to feel natural. This means it’s pretty easy to be cycling five or even six days a week without feeling too sore and building up too much fatigue.
Ride Harder
It’s all well and good riding more, but what if you struggle for time? Then what other options do you have? Well, you can ride harder. Typically we roughly burn 400-600 calories per hour cycling, but if you upped the effort and gave yourself a tough time, you could push that all the way to 600-800 calories per hour.
Although 200 Calories extra doesn’t sound like a lot, it makes a huge difference. Riding 3 times a week would equate to an extra 600 calories burn which is another hour of training at a high intensity. This soon adds up and will help you lose weight much faster.
Related: 10 Best Bikes for Heavy People
Spinning sessions
If you’re looking for a way to lose weight while cycling and have a lot of fun, then spinning classes could be a fantastic way of doing this. A spin class typically happens in a studio. You can go there and join a group for an indoor workout.
Typically the work is very intense, and you will be giving everything you have got with the extra work rate though you will burn a massive amount of calories. If you like loud music and want to make some new friends, this is a great way to lose weight while cycling.
Intervals and hill reps
If you want to lose weight while cycling and push your own fitness boundaries, a great way of doing this is by doing intervals. Intervals are workouts where you have a mix of very heavy power and rest.
A typical interval session will be riding 5 minutes as quickly as possible, then 5 minutes recovery riding, repeated over and over again. The same goes with hill repetitions. Find a hill local to you, cycle up it giving a decent amount of effort, and then go to the bottom again and keep repeating.
You would be surprised at how many extra calories you will burn when doing a session like this. The overload of work on your body will also require your body to use extra calories with recovery. I wouldn’t advise doing a session like this more than 2-3 times a week as they accumulate a lot of fatigue on the body.
Commute
A great way of losing weight is to commute. It might not sound like much, but adding a commute to your life could be the extra calories you will burn, which will help you lose weight. I think commuting is an excellent way of getting yourself motivated before work and helping yourself release the stress from the workday.
Ride before breakfast
A great way of losing weight when it comes to cycling is riding before breakfast. Although many health gurus will tell you it kick starts your fat-burning system into overdrive, scientists have proven it makes very little difference, but it does do one thing many people overlook.
When you ride in the morning before your breakfast, you typically get home have a high protein breakfast for the rest of the day your appetite stays much more controllable.
Also, mentally because you have made an excellent start to the day in terms of exercise and eating, you mentally have a better chance of sticking to healthy food for the rest of the day.
Conclusion
Cycling is an excellent way to lose weight, and it’s very enjoyable. It also has many other benefits for weight loss, such as increased metabolism in some people, and can completely change your body shape. If you’re thinking of going on a weight loss journey, we highly recommend cycling as a way to do it.
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