Cycling to lose weight
The bicycle is one of the best tools to use to burn calories and lose weight. A 145lb woman riding 1 hour at about 12 MPH will burn about 500 calories, speed up to 16 MPH and calorie burn will increase to about 835 calories per hour.
You can increase your calorie burn by doing sprints from time to time during the trip.
Since it takes 3,500 calories to burn 1 pound of fat, then about 4 hours of cycling at 16 MPH will burn about enough calories to burn 1 pound of fat.
Cycling is very low impact, so it doesn’t stress your joints like running does.
Cycling can be done indoors on a stationary bike in bad weather with little or no change in calorie burn.
Personally, I find indoor cycling on a stationary bike boring, but some find it quite satisfying and there are now simulation machines that make it feel like you’re going for a ride instead of just riding a bike. Some of these work with a trainer and increase resistance when going up hills and offer a variety of courses to keep you from getting bored.
You can use the bike to run some errands and at the same time burn some calories that you would never have had the chance to do otherwise. Using a small bike trailer increases the amount of calories burned as well as offering more opportunities for errands since you can carry much more and that allows you to expand the errand you can run.
What I mean by that is that with my trailer I can load up to 100 pounds. of groceries or tools or whatever. I took the purchases of the week from the supermarket. Climbing a 100lb load, even up a small hill, will put a lot of extra resistance on the pedals and improve leg strength.
Most people think of cycling as a full cardiovascular workout, but that’s not always true. Taking your bike uphill, especially with the added load of a trailer, will definitely increase your leg strength and will also be a great way to strengthen your core.
If you ride BMX or Mountain Bike, you’ll also build some upper body strength and burn a lot more calories than if you just ride casually.
Depending on the type of cycling you plan to do, some preparation may be required and will depend on the type of bike you want to buy.
You should check with the local store, they are usually very helpful. Yes, they want to sell you a bike, but most shops realize that they want to make you even happier and if they sell you something that doesn’t fit you, you won’t come back. Since they need your repeat business to stay in business, they will almost always go to great lengths to make the bike you buy the bike you will ride.
There are some general rules here, but they don’t always fit perfectly as each individual is different.
Buy a road bike if you want to lose weight, get fit, ride in a group, and enjoy the speed and agility of road cycling in general. If you do that, also check with the store on how to get into your local bike club or group and have fun getting in shape. I am a member of the Pecan City Pedalers in Albany Georgia and also have contacts in clubs all over the United States. I really enjoy the road bike.
Buy a comfort or hybrid bike if you’re only interested in exercise and don’t mind riding alone, don’t mind speed, but just want to burn calories and get fit. These will usually have narrower rims so they will go a bit faster. They are kind of a cross between a mountain bike and a road bike.
Buy a mountain bike if you live in an area where there are a lot of back roads that aren’t paved, road bikes and hybrids don’t handle loose gravel and grass as well as mountain bikes.
Cruises are fine, not my choice though. That was the main type of bike that existed when I was a kid. These are sort of the single speed bikes like we had in the 50’s and 60’s. They would be fine for riding around town, but can be really rough on the hills.
BMX Cruisers or 20″ for racing. BMX racing can be done at any age and after the first few laps on the track you will either love it or hate it. Most kids love it, adults not so much. Personally , I enjoy it and love it.riding and even racing my grandkids.It gives a great workout and after 3 motos (1 race) I feel like I’ve gotten a good workout.
If you try BMX, rent a bike or borrow one, most tracks have them on the track and will rent or loan one for a practice run. Once you have tried it you will have to decide for yourself if it is for you. BMX Racing is not for everyone, but everyone is welcome to try it out. I think it’s a lot of fun, but maybe when I’m older (I’m only 57) I’ll think differently.