How Many Calories Does Mountain Biking Burn?

If you’re looking for a fun and challenging way to burn calories, mountain biking is a great option. But how many calories can you expect to burn? And what kind of workout does mountain biking offer?

Mountain biking burns an average of 800 calories per hour, depending on weight and terrain. The heavier you’re, the more calories you’ll burn. Moreover, a rougher terrain will make you burn more calories mountain biking due to the extensive work needed to counter the resistance.

In the rest of this article, I’ll discuss the relationship between mountain biking and calorie burning. I’ll also cover the factors that affect the calories burned in mountain biking. Keep reading to learn how to keep fit while mountain biking.

The Relationship Between Mountain Biking and Calorie Burning

According to Mayo Clinic, calories are burned through metabolism as food is converted into energy. Mountain biking, like any other physical activity, requires energy. Your body burns calories as it works to pedal uphill or against the resistance of a headwind.

It’s worth mentioning that mountain biking uses muscles. When muscles are active, they use oxygen to break down fats and sugars into adenosine triphosphate. Adenosine triphosphate is then used by the muscles to power their contractions. In other words, mountain biking requires energy, which is derived from the food you eat and stored in your body.

The more active you’re, the more calories you’ll burn. That’s why mountain biking is a great way to exercise. Not only does it burn calories, but it also works on different muscle groups. It’s a full-body workout that helps tone your arms, legs, and core.

Factors That Affect Calories Burned in Mountain Biking

The calories burned in mountain biking are not constant. They vary based on the following factors:

The Terrain

Terrain refers to the nature of the ground or surface over which you’re riding. It can be:

• Rough
• Smooth
• Flat
• Uphill
• Downhill

These terrains affect the number of calories you burn while mountain biking in the following ways:

• Rough terrain. This is characterized by obstacles such as rocks, roots, and tree stumps. It’s also the most challenging terrain to bike on. Riding a mountain bike on rough terrain requires more effort than riding on a smooth or flat surface. Your bike needs more energy to counter resistance from the terrain’s roughness. Therefore, you use more energy pedaling, which translates to more calories burned.
• Smooth terrain. Compared to rough terrain, smooth terrain doesn’t have obstacles like rocks and roots. As a result, biking becomes easier since you don’t need to use as much energy to counter resistance. Consequently, you’ll burn fewer calories while mountain biking on a smooth surface.
• Uphill. Riding uphill involves going against gravitational force. According to Research Gate, going uphill adds gravitational pull to the forces that need to be overcome. Ordinarily, your legs only pedal against friction from the ground and potential rough terrain. However, pedaling uphill introduces resistance from gravity, increasing the amount of energy you need to move.
• Downhill. Mountain biking downhill is easier than going uphill because gravity works in your favor. You don’t need to use as much energy when pedaling downhill because gravity acts as an accelerating force by pulling your downwards. Consequently, you’ll burn fewer calories biking downhill.

Weight

Mountain biking provides an excellent opportunity to shed some weight.

Heavier people will naturally burn more calories than lighter people on the same trail because they have more mass. The heavier you’re, the more energy you’ll need to pedal against gravity and resistance.

That’s why overweight people tend to lose more weight than people of average weight when they engage in mountain biking.

The table below shows how weight affects the number of calories burned per distance while mountain biking:

Body Weight	1 Mile General Mountain Biking (kcal)	1 Mile Uphill Mountain Biking (kcal)
70 kg/154 lbs	69.3	128.5
75 kg/165.3 lbs	74.3	137.75
80 kg/176.3 lbs	79.3	147
85 kg/187.3 lbs	84.2	156.12
90 kg/198.4 lbs	89.2	165.37

Table 1: Calories burned by weight and terrain

Age

Mountain biking is an excellent form of exercise for all age groups. However, the number of calories burned will vary based on your age.

Younger people burn more calories than older people because they have a higher metabolic rate. Their bodies are also more efficient at using oxygen to produce energy.

Older people have a lower metabolic rate and are not as efficient at using oxygen to produce energy. Consequently, they’ll burn fewer calories mountain biking than younger people.

Intensity

The intensity of your mountain bike ride will also affect the number of calories you burn. The more intense your ride is, the more energy you use to keep the bike moving.

Therefore, you’ll burn more calories mountain biking at a high intensity than at a low intensity.

You can increase the intensity of your ride by:

• Increasing the speed of your pedaling.
• Riding on rough terrain.
• Going uphill.

The Duration of the Ride

The duration of your ride determines how much work your body does and how many calories you burn. The longer you ride, the more energy you’ll use and the more calories you’ll burn.

A person who rides for an hour has done more work than one who rides for only 30 minutes. Consequently, the one who rides for an hour burns more calories. Thus, the best way to burn more calories mountain biking is by riding longer.

Types of Mountain Biking Workouts

Mountain biking exposes you to different workouts. The most common ones are:

Interval Training

This type of workout alternates between periods of high and low intensity. For instance, you can start with a two-minute warm-up at a low intensity followed by 30 seconds of pedaling as fast as possible.

You then return to pedaling at a low intensity for two minutes to recover before returning to 30 seconds of high-intensity pedaling.

You can do this type of workout by riding on smooth terrain for the low-intensity periods and rough terrain for the high-intensity periods.

Interval training is an excellent way to burn more calories because it:

• Allows you to ride for a longer period
• Increases the number of calories you burn per minute
• Makes your body more efficient at using oxygen

Apart from burning more calories, other benefits of interval training according to Mayo Clinic are:

• Preventing boredom. Interval training adds variety to your rides and prevents boredom.
• Improving your speed. Interval training helps you ride faster because it makes your body more efficient at using oxygen.
• Increasing your endurance. Interval training helps you ride for a longer period by increasing your endurance.
• Time consciousness. Due to lack of time, interval training can help you accomplish an effective workout in less time than everyday cardiovascular routines.

Circuit Training

According to Healthline, circuit training involves a combination of different exercises targeting various body muscles. This ensures a full-body workout that increases the number of calories you burn.

You can do circuit training by:

• Riding your bike for five minutes, then dismounting and doing bodyweight exercises such as pushups and squats for 30 seconds.
• After the 30 seconds, you mount your bike and ride for another five minutes before dismounting to do another set of bodyweight exercises.

You can continue this cycle for the duration of your workout.

The benefits of circuit training are:

• It’s a time-efficient workout. You can achieve a full-body workout in less time than it would take to do each exercise separately.
• It burns more calories. Circuit training is an excellent way to burn more calories because it combines cardio and strength training.
• It improves your coordination. Circuit training helps improve your coordination by forcing you to switch between different exercises.
• It’s versatile. You can do circuit training anywhere, anytime, and with any type of equipment.

Intense Aerobic Workout

An aerobic exercise involves the continuous movement of large muscle groups that require more oxygen. This type of exercise is excellent for burning calories because it:

• Increases your heart rate
• Improves your cardiovascular fitness
• Is a low-impact workout

Intense mountain biking is an excellent aerobic exercise that provides cardiovascular conditioning. It also helps tone your leg muscles, leading to burning more calories.

Harvard Health Publishing recommends 30 minutes of intense cardio workouts. Therefore, if you decide to use mountain biking as your workout, you need to ride for at least 30 minutes.

The best way to do this is by:

• Riding on smooth terrain at a moderate pace for the first 15 minutes to warm up your muscles.
• After the warm-up, ride on rough terrain for the next 15 minutes at a high intensity.
• Cool down for the last five minutes by riding on smooth terrain at a moderate pace.

How To Burn More Calories Mountain Biking

You must be specific with your riding actions to cut weight. The focus is to ensure you’re constantly pushing yourself. 

Here are a few ways to achieve this:

Reduce Coasting As Much as Possible

Coasting in biking refers to pedaling at a lower intensity or not pedaling at all. When you coast, your body burns fewer calories because you’re not using as much energy.

Therefore, to burn more calories while mountain biking, you need to pedal continuously without coasting for long periods by:

• Riding on smooth terrain where you can pedal continuously.
• Riding on hilly terrain where you need to pedal continuously to maintain your speed.
• Incorporating intervals by pedaling at a high intensity for a minute, then reducing your intensity for the next minute.

Of course, you can’t avoid coasting entirely due to the varying nature of terrains. However, you should ensure that coasting does not account for more than a quarter of your cycling time

Increase Your Intensity

The more intense your pedaling is, the more calories you’ll burn mountain biking. When it comes to cycling, intensity is relative to:

• Your heart rate.
• How fast you’re pedaling.
• How much effort you’re putting into pedaling.

I have a few tips you can follow to ensure your intensity stays as close to optimal as possible:

• Ride on hilly terrain. You need to pedal more to overcome gravitational resistance on a hilly train. The more your pedal, the more energy you use translating into many calories burned.
• Go off-piste. Riding on unpaved surfaces like sand requires more energy than smooth and paved surfaces. Riding on a sand surface, for instance, increases the rolling resistance by up to 15 times compared to pavement and gravel. As a result, you use more energy cycling on such surfaces, translating to more calories burned.
• Cycle at a faster pace. The faster you go, the more energy you use and the more calories you burn.

It’s worth mentioning that maintaining a high intensity for the entire duration of your mountain biking workout is almost impossible. You’ll burn out, and your muscles need time to relax. 

Therefore, incorporating intervals in your cycling is an excellent way to ensure you’re working out at a high intensity.

An interval is when you ride at a high intensity and then take a break to ride at a lower intensity. For example, you can ride at a high intensity for two minutes and then take a one-minute break to ride at moderate intensity.

Increase the Length of Your Stretch

You’ve probably heard sentiments that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a suitable way to burn calories by melting more fats. Infact, the basis of HIIT is what I’ve incorporated into a lot of the high intensity pedaling advice I’ve given so far.

However, while high intensity has its place, long and moderate-intensity biking is also excellent for burning calories.

Increasing the length of your biking workout is a perfect way to burn more calories. Remember, the number of calories you burn on mountain biking is directly proportional to not just the energy you put into it, but also the distance you cover.

The good thing about long-distance biking is that it’s a low-impact workout. As a result, you can bike for long periods without putting too much strain on your muscles and joints.

Some ways to increase the length of your stretch include:

• Increase the duration of your rides. If you used to ride for 30 minutes, make it 45 minutes. This allows you to cover the extra distance in the 15 additional minutes.
• Join a long-distance biking event. This could be a race or a group ride. Joining such events will push you to bike for long periods.
• Increase your speed. This will help you cover more distance in a shorter time.

Expert Tip: When increasing the length of your rides, do it gradually to allow your body to adapt. For example, if you’re used to riding for 30 minutes, don’t bike for two hours on your next ride. Increasing the distance gradually prevents injuries and ensures you don’t get too exhausted.

Incorporate Music Into Your Workout

According to Very Well Mind, music is a powerful tool that has a lot of benefits. As a cyclist, introducing music into your cycling time will help you:

• Concentrate more on your pedaling.
• Push yourself harder.
• Ignore the pain.
• Enjoy the experience more.

The benefit of listening to music while riding correlates with rhythm response. You’re likely to ride faster when you listen to music with a fast tempo. Research by Livescience confirmed that spending up the music increased pedal cadence in cyclists by 3.5%.

Therefore, if you want to increase the number of calories you burn mountain biking, consider listening to music as it allows you to ride at a higher intensity for longer periods.

Take Part in Social Cycling Activities

Group rides and races are some of the best social mountain biking activities. They create a sense of camaraderie as you interact with other cyclists. Also, they push you to ride at a higher intensity to keep up with the group, making you burn more calories.

Riding with a group also has some safety benefits like:

• You’re more visible to motorists.
• There’s someone to help you in case of mechanical issues.
• It’s more fun than riding alone.

You can join social rides organized by your local bike shop or cycling clubs in your country.

However, you should consider the following when joining such groups:

• Join a group of riders who are at your level. This will help avoid getting overly exhausted or injured by riding with faster cyclists.
• Choose a group ride close to home. This is for safety reasons in case you get stranded.
• Consider the weather conditions. Don’t go on a group ride during extreme weather like a snowstorm.
• Look at the group rules. Some groups have rules regarding helmets, lights, and mechanical issues. Read all their rules and ensure you can abide by them before joining.
• Be prepared. Bring enough water, snacks, and a first-aid kit.

Health Benefits of Mountain Biking

Apart from burning calories, mountain biking is an excellent outdoor recreational activity with several health benefits, including:

• Improving heart health: According to the Better Health Channel, regular cycling protects from heart diseases like stroke and coronary heart disease. It also helps lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Cycling improves cardiovascular fitness as it strengthens your heart muscles. As a result, your heart becomes more efficient in pumping blood around your body.
• Reducing stress and anxiety: Mountain biking is a vigorous activity that stimulates the secretion of natural endorphins. The Cleveland Clinic discusses that endorphins are hormones that interact with the receptors in your brain, producing a positive feeling and reducing stress. Endorphins also have pain-relieving properties, which can help relieve migraines and tension headaches.
• Improving joint and muscle flexibility: Mountain biking forces you to adjust according to the nature of the terrain. As you adjust your cycling intensity, you also improve your flexibility. Additionally, mountain biking strengthens your upper and lower body muscles, including your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and core muscles.

Final Thoughts

Mountain biking is an excellent way to burn calories. However, the number of calories you burn while mountain biking depends on your weight, the nature of the terrain, and the cycling intensity. Therefore, ensure you cycle faster along rough and hilly terrains if your goal is to burn more calories through mountain biking.