How Much Should You Cycle To Lose Weight?
Cycling is a highly enjoyable, feel-good sport that most people can master. One of the main benefits of the sport is that it can fit right into a weight loss and fitness plan, but how much do you need to cycle each week to see results? Moreover, what type of cycling is best for weight loss?
You should cycle at least five hours a week to lose weight. While the required time and intensity will vary from one person to another, this level of activity usually burns enough calories to help you maintain a deficit, which, in turn, will allow you to lose weight.
Deciding to take up cycling is an excellent first step toward weight loss. Read on to discover the best way to lose weight safely and effectively while cycling.
How Much Weight Can You Expect To Lose While Cycling?
It’s crucial to point out right from the outset that there’s no magic recipe for weight loss. Going nuts on the bike and exhausting yourself won’t get you faster results, nor will extreme amounts of dieting.
Adopting a healthy and consistent habit is the key to successful weight loss. Even gentle exercise can benefit weight loss if you show up regularly. As long as you understand that the weight loss will be slow and steady, you won’t feel disappointed when the pounds don’t shed instantly (which would be harmful and unsustainable anyway).
Moreover, the amount of weight you’ll manage to lose will depend on a wide array of variables. These include your metabolic health, lifestyle, age, and starting weight. For example, if you’re overweight or obese, you can expect to lose more weight than someone who’s not.
It’s also important to note that if you combine cycling with other forms of exercise and a healthy diet, you will see even better results.
How Much Weight Should You Lose?
According to the CDC, you should aim to lose around 1-2 lbs (0.45 – 0.90 kg) a week. This type of weight loss is healthy and sustainable, allowing you to remain metabolically healthy even while pursuing aesthetic goals.
According to the same source, after losing 5-10% of your total body weight, you’ll be able to notice improvements in your overall health.
This is a great starting point for your cycling weight loss journey. To calculate how much weight you need to lose, take your total body weight / of 100 x 5-10.
For example, take a 200 lb (90.7 kg) person. 200 lb (90.7 kg) / 100 = 2 lb (0.9 kg).
Let’s assume this person wants to lose 8% of their body weight: 2 lb (0.9 kg) x 8 = 20 lb (9.07 kg)
Therefore, losing 20 lb at a healthy rate of 1-2 lb per week will take between 10 and 20 weeks.
How Often Do You Need To Cycle and for How Long?
The answer to this question largely depends on your age and current health and fitness state.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services gives the following recommendations for exercise levels:
- Ages 6 – 17 years should aim for 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day
- Ages 17 upwards should aim for 150- 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 -150 minutes of intense activity per week
- Pregnant and postpartum women should do 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week
It’s important to point out that this quote does not necessarily have to be cycling. It can be 100% cycling or a mix of cycling and other activities.
Go at Your Own Pace
Always assess your circumstances before starting out. If you’re particularly overweight or unfit, it would be wise to start at the lower end of the scale and gradually increase the amount of exercise you engage in in one go.
Lighter, more frequent sessions are always better than one mammoth session each week. This allows you to assess how you’re getting on, how you feel after each session, and whether or not you need to dial it back a touch or increase the amount of exercise you do.
Start cycling for three to four sessions per week interspersed with rest days and gradually increase the frequency until you’re cycling at least five times a week for a total of 300 minutes per week.
How Many Calories Will You Burn When Cycling?
Depending on the speed and intensity of your cycling, you can expect to burn anywhere between 480 and 880 calories per hour. As you can see, that’s a vast range, and your number will depend on your weight, how fast you’re going, and how challenging the terrain is.
If you’re looking for a more specific answer, make sure to check out the study linked above to get a ballpark estimate of the calories you can expect to burn during your bicycle ride.
What Type of Cycling Is Best for Weight Loss?
There are many different styles of cycling for you to try, and some are better than others for weight loss. While you’ve got your road bikes, you also have mountain and trail biking and static options such as exercise bikes and aqua biking.
City/Road Biking
City or road biking is a great option as it is relatively easy and can be done on any bike. It’s probably the most accessible option for people to try, and it can even be incorporated into your day-to-day life.
For example, if, for any reason, you can’t or don’t want to dedicate time solely to your workout, you can start by biking to and from work (if the commute is short enough). If that’s not an option, you can use your bike to run your errands.
You can always start easy, covering short, flat routes, and increase the difficulty of the activity as you go. After a while, you’ll be able to start climbing hills and mountainous terrains with ease.
Mountain Biking
Adventurous souls may prefer going off-road and tackling tough terrain and steep inclines. This is a particularly good option if you live somewhere that has a mountainous landscape.
Mountain biking is particularly good for weight loss because riding the trails takes more strength and fitness. While being one of the most effective forms of biking for weight loss, it’s not so good for very unfit people or those that suffer from injury or chronic conditions.
Trail Biking
Trail biking is a type of mountain biking that focuses on riding on trails rather than on roads or other types of terrain. This makes it a great option for those who want to explore the outdoors and get some exercise but don’t necessarily want to deal with the challenges of mountain biking.
Trails can be gentle or extremely tough, so seek appropriate trails for your level.
This type of biking is excellent for weight loss as it’s more challenging than road biking. It’s less intense than mountain biking, so beginners and unfit people should be able to pick trail biking up easily.
Static Cycling (Exercise Bikes)
If you live in a busy city and can’t easily get out on the open road, you can still cycle to get fit. All gyms have static cycles and regular classes that you can attend.
Exercise bikes are perfect for beginners, as they allow you to increase or decrease the intensity and try out the sport before committing to an expensive bike purchase.
Some classes are extremely fun and have disco lights and rave music to cycle along to. Others have video screens, so you almost feel like you’re in a video game. Check out your nearest gym for these options.
Aqua Cycling
Aqua cycling is a specially adapted static bike submerged in water. This type of cycling is particularly beneficial for people recovering after an injury or those requiring an ultra-low-intensity workout.
Because of its gentle nature, aqua cycles are also good for very overweight individuals and total beginners. However, it’s not the best for weight loss, so once you’ve mastered aqua cycling, you will need to move on to a more effective type of cycling.
Tips To Help You Lose Weight While Cycling
There are a lot of elements that can help you stay on track with your weight loss goals. Here are my top tips to help you on your way.
Set Realistic Goals
When starting a new exercise plan, it is important to set realistic goals. If your goal is too ambitious, you may become discouraged and give up, or worse; you could injure yourself.
While you will have a goal for weight loss, don’t set this as your actual goal because weight loss can fluctuate. The amount you exercise should be the goal, as this is something you can control and stick to.
Try to set an exercise goal that is achievable and that you can reasonably achieve within a few months. If you find you’re easily surpassing your goals, increase the difficulty level so you have a new target to aim for.
Join a Local Club
A great motivator is to find a team of like-minded individuals and go on bike rides with them. Mountain biking or trail riding clubs are commonly found all over the USA. Here’s a useful club directory from MTB Project.
Facebook is another good place to find more casual cycling meetups. Why not start your own if you can’t find one for your area?
Remember, Muscle Weighs More Than Fat
Remember, muscle weighs more than fat: When you start to exercise and lose weight, you will notice that your body composition changes.
However, you may not see a change on the scale right away, and that’s okay.
Even though you’re losing fat, you might be gaining muscle simultaneously. This is a good thing! Building muscle will allow you to progress even further in your weight loss journey, as it burns more calories than fat even at rest.
Cycle at an Elevated Heart Rate
When you cycle for weight loss, you’ve got to put the effort in. You know you’re exercising optimally when your heart rate is elevated and breathing hard, but you can still hold a conversation.
If you’re breathing normally, you’re not cycling hard enough. If you’re huffing and puffing and can’t speak, dial it back a touch.
Doing this will allow you to sustain your exercise for extended periods without facing burnout.
Monitor Your Progress
One of the best ways to stay motivated when on a weight loss journey is to monitor your progress following a sensible, realistic approach.
While you should track how much weight you’ve lost, you should also track how many inches you’ve lost and how your clothes fit. Remember, if you’ve gained muscle, you may not have lost as much weight as you’d like, but if your clothes are suddenly loose, you know you’re on the right track.
However, the most important progress metric of all is how you feel. A weight loss journey that leaves you feeling unmotivated and lethargic is unsuccessful, even if the scale is where you want it to be. On the other hand, increased energy and stamina are both excellent indicators of progress, even when the scale isn’t.
At the end of the day, the point of exercise should be to better your health, which is why taking note of your energy levels, stamina, and overall mood will help you gauge how your weight loss journey is going.
Take Rest Days
Don’t overdo it. While it’s tempting to get out there and go for it as often as possible, your body also needs to pause. Regular rest days interspersed throughout your exercise days will help prevent injury and burnout, allowing you to stay on track with your schedule.
Start Commuting
I mentioned this earlier in this article, but it deserves another mention. Many people put off exercising because they find they can’t fit it into their day, and they’re just too busy to get out on the bike.
Cycling to work and back is a great solution to this. You have to get to work anyway; why not cycle? Other options, if you don’t work, are cycling to the shops or cycling with the kids to school.
Essentially, anything you’d usually get in the car for, see if you can do it on your bike instead. For shopping, you can get special bags and carriers, and for kids, there are plenty of attachable seating and trailer options available. The extra weight will give you that extra workout boost too. Bonus!
Mix High Intensity With Moderate Rides
To lose weight, you need to exercise at a moderate to high intensity. However, you don’t have to go all out every time you exercise.
You can mix things up by doing some shorter rides at a higher intensity and some longer rides at a lower intensity. This will help to keep your body guessing and prevent boredom.
Eat a Balanced Diet
I won’t go into detail about diet here because it’s a whole other subject on its own. That said, if you eat a balanced diet, you’ll see better and faster weight loss results. In a nutshell:
- Eat plenty fiber-rich fruits and veggies
- Up Your protein intake
- Avoid sugary foods
- Reduce your alcohol intake
- Drink plenty of water
Get Plenty of Sleep
Getting enough sleep is important for overall health and well-being and can also help with weight loss. When well-rested, you are more likely to make healthy choices and have the energy to reach for your bike and head out for some exercise. Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep each night, and you’ll be grand.
Mix in Other Types of Exercise
Cycling is a fabulous way to lose weight, but it’s not the only type of exercise you can do. Mixing in other types of exercise, such as strength training and aerobic activities, will help to boost your metabolism and burn even more calories.
For example, cycling is amazing for strengthening those glutes and leg muscles, but unless you’re doing extreme mountain biking, it does little for upper body fitness. Try mixing in some upper body conditioning, such as weights or swimming, for a more holistic approach to your fitness regime.
Find a Bike You Love
You won’t enjoy cycling if you do it on an uncomfortable or unsuitable bike. We always want to use the things that look great or serve us best, and a bike should be no exception.
Set your budget and buy the best bike you can afford. Take some for a test ride and pick the bike you love the most. Remember to choose the right bike for the type of riding you want to do.
If road biking is your thing, I particularly like this Eurobike Road Bike XC550 on Amazon.com. Besides, it looks super stylish and is really high quality for the price.
If you’re going for static biking, choose a gym that makes you feel welcomed and comfortable exercising without feeling self-conscious.
Conclusion
Cycling for weight loss can be an enormously fun and rewarding activity if approached in a sensible manner.
Remember, no matter what weight and health condition you’re starting from, kick things off slow and easy and build up until you’re capable of pushing yourself. Fitness will come, and so will weight loss. Keep cycling and enjoy the process. Before you know it, you’ll have achieved your weight loss goals.
