Cycling is an aerobic exercise that is known for increasing stamina, endurance, and cardiovascular health. But is it good when it comes to weight loss?
Cycling for weight loss reasons why its a bad idea will be discussed in the article below. Pedal through the facts and find out everything you need to know.
Understanding Calories and Cycling
Calories refer to the energy you gain when you eat and drink. When you cycle, you’re giving your body a good workout, and you burn calories. It’s all about balance: the energy you take in with food, and the energy you use up when you’re moving.
Eating food can give you lots of calories very quickly, but burning them off takes more time and effort. A person starts losing weight when they are in a calorie deficit.
At a moderate pace, cyclists tend to lose between 500-600 calories per hour, which is like the energy in a small meal. But, what if, after your ride, you feel super hungry and eat a big plate of spaghetti?
That big meal might have more than 500 calories, so you’ve just eaten all the calories burned from the bike ride, and maybe even more.
This is why, if you want to shed some pounds with cycling, you also need to keep an eye on what you’re eating. Choosing healthier foods and not eating too much is as important to weight management as the cycling itself.
Getting Too Good at Cycling
When you first start riding a bike, whether it be indoor cycling on a stationary bike or outdoor biking, your body works hard to keep up with the new physical activity. This helps you lose weight.
However, as you improve, your body becomes smarter and more efficient. Your body burns fewer calories for the same amount of work. It is great for improving your fitness, but it can be a surprise if your goal is to burn fat and lose weight.
To counter this, you might think about extending your rides or making them more challenging. This could mean cycling up steeper hills, speeding up, or adding extra miles to your journey. You could start commuting to work or school on your cycle, and run errands.
However, constantly pushing harder can be tough, both mentally and physically.
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
Vary your workouts by changing your routine. You could try high-intensity interval training. This involves short bursts of highly intense activity, followed by periods of low-intensity.
It keeps your body guessing and can help you burn even more calories without spending hours on the bike.
You can hire a certified personal trainer, who can determine how much rest and training volume your body needs while you work your way to your fitness goals.
Remember, it’s important to listen to your body. Rest days are just as crucial as workout days. They allow your muscles to recover and get stronger.
Not a Full-Body Workout
Cycling is low-impact, which means that it is especially good for building strong and toned legs without harming joints. When you pedal, you’re primarily using your thigh and calf muscles.
However, cycling doesn’t engage your entire body in the same way some other activities do. For example, your arms and upper body mostly stay still while you ride a bike.
To get the most out of your workout routine, consider adding cross-training activities that involve more of your body. Swimming is a fantastic option because it requires you to use your arms to pull through the water, your back muscles to stabilize your body, and your core to keep you afloat.
Similarly, cross-country skiing is another great full-body workout. It combines leg work with pushing and pulling motions from your arms, giving your upper body a solid workout too.
For those looking to lose weight, full-body workouts are especially beneficial. They help your fat-burning efforts by engaging multiple muscle groups at once. This means your body works harder and uses more energy.
Missing Out on Muscle
Cycling is a fantastic way to get your heart pumping, but it’s not the best at making your muscles strong and bulky. Muscles are fat-burning powerhouses. Even when you’re just chilling out, your muscles are busy using energy, which means they’re burning calories.
If you have more muscle, you burn more calories all the time, not just when you’re working out. This helps your body use up the food you eat better, so it doesn’t turn into extra body fat. And here’s a fun fact: every pound of muscle uses about six calories a day just to sustain itself, while a pound of fat burns only two calories.
To get those muscle-building benefits, you’ll want to include exercises that work on all your body parts. Think about activities like lifting weights, doing push-ups, or even climbing. These exercises make your muscles work harder than biking does, and over time, they’ll help you build up more muscle.
More muscle means a faster metabolic rate, which means you can burn a ton of calories in a shorter period of time, improving your health and wellness.
Weight Loss vs. Performance
Many people hop on their bikes with different goals in mind. While some pedal away to shed excess weight, others aim to boost their speed or endure longer rides. If you’re in the second group, focusing on your cycling performance, you might find yourself needing to eat more. This extra fuel is essential to give you the energy to push harder and go further.
However, this can lead to a tricky situation. Eating more can sometimes mean you don’t see the numbers on the scale go down, even if you’re cycling regularly. You want to eat enough to power through your rides but not so much that you stop losing weight if that’s your goal.
To strike the right balance, it’s important to be mindful of what you’re eating. Choose foods that are rich in nutrients but fewer in number of calories. Think whole grains, lean proteins, fruits, and veggies. These foods will help you feel full and energized while containing fewer calories.
Your body composition is unique. It’s okay to adjust your food intake as you go. Listen to your body’s signals—if you’re feeling weak or tired, you might not be eating enough. On the flip side, if you’re not losing weight and that’s a goal, you might need to cut back a little.
Conclusion: Lose Weight, But Smartly
Cycling burns fat. It can be part of a healthy lifestyle and can contribute to weight loss, but it shouldn’t be the only thing you do to stay in shape. Eating right, doing a variety of exercises, and building muscle are all important parts of a weight loss plan.
Riding your bike can be one of the easiest ways to help with weight loss. It’s important to choose the right bicycle to help you lose weight. For a sustainable weight and proper body health, you need to take part in other healthy activities.
Remember, the best way to lose weight is to find activities you enjoy and can stick with in the long run, along with eating healthy foods.
