Does Cycling Help Slim Your Butt?

Does Cycling Help Slim Your Butt?
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From an emotional standpoint, excess weight in the posterior end tends to lower self-esteem and cause feelings of embarrassment. This is evident especially when trying to look good in tight shorts or pants. Cycling is a form of exercise that has the ability to change all of this. As long as you have discipline and take certain conditions into consideration, you can find success.

Cycling and Cardio

Cardiovascular, or aerobic, exercise is performed by moving the limbs in a continuous motion for an extended amount of time. Cycling falls into this category. When you perform cardio, your body taps into stored fat for energy and you lose weight. This takes place in your butt and throughout the rest of your body. Any form of cardio — including cycling — will slim you, including your backside, as long as you perform it regularly.

Guidelines for Weight Loss

Cycling is only going to be effective for slimming your butt if you have discipline. This simply means you have to work out long enough and often enough. The American College of Sports Medicine notes that 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity performed five days a week might be necessary for weight loss. If this seems drastic, exercise two or three times a day and accumulate your minutes. This method works just as effectively as long-duration training.

Muscle Definition

The muscles of the butt consist of the gluteus maximus, medius and minimus. You activate these muscles when you perform hip extension. This occurs when you move your thigh backward during the pedaling motion. Regular bouts of cycling work the glutes, which will give your butt a more toned and lean look as you lose weight. Exercise bikes offer a resistance adjustment. By turning up the resistance, you will increase the emphasis on your butt. Pedaling an outdoor bike uphill provides the same effect.

Tips for Quicker Results

If you want to get faster results, integrate interval training into your cycling program. Interval training is performed by alternating back and forth between a high and low intensity. This not only causes a higher caloric expenditure, but it also boosts your aerobic capacity. On an exercise bike, you have the option of increasing your speed, resistance or both for your high-intensity bouts.

Metabolism

Exercise naturally boosts your resting metabolic rate. With a higher metabolism, you will burn more calories over a 24-hour span of time. This furthers help you slim your butt. Increasing the intensity of your cycling creates an even greater effect on your metabolism.

Dietary Discretion

What you eat needs to be taken into account when you are trying to create a slim butt. If you follow a diet that is high in calories, saturated fat, simple sugars and processed meats, your results will be seriously compromised. You are best served cutting back on your daily intake and eating foods that are high in nutrients. A daily reduction of 500 calories causes about 1 pound of weight loss a week.

References

Article reviewed by John Hagemann Last updated on: Sep 1, 2011

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