Do you remember how much fun it was to ride your bicycle when you were a kid? Would you believe that such a fun activity could also help you lose weight and maintain a healthier weight as an adult?
Bike riding and weight loss are actually a great combination! Riding a bike helps strengthen your leg muscles and buttocks, not to mention providing excellent cardiovascular benefits (provided you’re actually pedaling consistently, not just coasting).
You can burn between 300-500 calories per hour on a bicycle, depending how fast you go and how much you currently weigh. If you bike uphill you’ll burn even more calories, and you can also set the resistance on your bike higher so you have to pedal harder even on flat land.
If you don’t have any challenging hills or trails to bike, you can increase the intensity of your workout by doing a few “intervals” of faster and harder speed, followed by slower periods to cool back down. Experts say that this kind of interval training helps you burn more calories and strengthen your cardiovascular system more than maintaining a constant intensity throughout the entire workout.
Bike riding for weight loss is simple for people who just want to shed a few pounds, but what about heavier folks?
How often to exercise for best results?