Does Cycling Reduce Hips?

Having wide hips has more of an impact on self-esteem than the overall health of the body. That's because excess hip fat is subcutaneous, meaning it is away from the major organs. If you are looking to melt off some hip pounds, you will benefit from adding exercise to your daily regimen. Cycling is a good option, provided you abide to certain conditions.

Spot Reducing Myth

Misled exercisers often think they can lose weight in one area of the body by targeting it with a dedicated weight training exercise. This might be able to tone the muscle underneath, but it will not take care of the fat that covers it up. Side lying leg raises, for example, will not reduce the fat on your hips. The effective way to remove this fat is through cardiovascular exercise, which is performed in a repetitive motion for an extended period of time. Cycling is a form of cardio, so it will contribute to thinner hips.

Time Needed to Lose Weight

Adherence to exercise is a lacking ingredient with effective weight loss. If you are inconsistent with your workouts and do not exercise long enough, you will hang on to your hip fat. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends at least 60 minutes of exercise performed five days a week to lose weight. This may sound like a lot, but you do not have to get all your exercise in one session. Splitting your workouts up into shorter time frames is just as effective. Be aware that both methods take discipline.

Muscle Gained

Added muscle increases your resting metabolic rate. Cycling does not add a tremendous amount of muscle to your body, but even a 1-lb. gain boosts your metabolism. When you ride a bike, you work your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, calves and abs all at the same time. By adjusting the resistance on an exercise bike or pedaling up hills with an outdoor bike, you will increase the workload on your muscles and boost the effect. This in turn will cause you to burn more calories at rest and help you lose hip fat faster.

Tips About Intensity

Exercising at a steady pace helps promote weight loss, but you can boost your progress by doing interval training. This is performed by alternating your intensity back and forth from high to low. Start your workouts with a light warmup, then follow a 1 to 2 ratio of high to low intensity effort. For example, cycle hard and fast for 20 seconds and cycle slowly for 40. Follow this pattern for your whole workout and finish with a light cool-down.

Diet

Just because you are cycling regularly doesn't give you the green light to eat everything in sight. This will cancel out your progress. A better approach is to cut back on your calories to promote faster weight loss. A daily reduction of 500 calories below your normal, needed amount will lead to about 1 lb. of weight loss a week through your entire body.