Cycling builds both cardiovascular fitness and strength. When you are riding at a moderate effort in a light gear, cycling is mostly an aerobic activity and burns calories from carbohydrates and fat. When you feel a burn in your muscles while climbing a hill or riding in a hard gear, you are also strengthening and toning the muscles in your thighs and rear. You can burn between 3.3 and 5.7 calories per pound of body weight riding a bike for an hour, depending on the intensity of your effort. It takes 3,500 calories to burn a pound of body fat.
Get Started
Step 1
Build your fitness for the first six weeks of your program by riding on relatively flat routes. Gradually lengthen your rides until you are able to ride for an hour or more.
Step 2
Coast as infrequently as possible. Pedaling is the part of cycling that burns calories, so practice shifting gears as the terrain changes so that you can pedal throughout your ride.
Step 3
Choose a gear that allows you to maintain a cadence between 80 and 100 pedal revolutions per minute (rpm). Pedaling faster than 100 rpm is difficult on your knee and hip joints. Pedaling slower than 80 rpm means you are in a difficult gear, and your muscles will fatigue more quickly. Riding in a hard gear builds muscle, but it should be limited to a few minutes at a time.
Improve Muscle Tone and Weight Loss
Step 1
Riding up steep or long hills burns more calories than riding on a flat road and builds leg muscles. Riding uphill also tones the muscles in your back, chest and arms as you pull up on the handlebars to increase your leverage. Climbing in a standing position tightens the muscles in your core (back and abdominals), which must stay rigid to maintain balance and transfer power between your upper and lower body.
Step 2
Incorporate intervals into every other workout, once you have established a fitness base. Intervals build leg muscles and burn a greater number of calories per hour than steady rides. Your intervals may be improvised (such as sprinting between traffic lights) or structured periods of hard riding, mixed with pre-defined rest periods.
Step 3
Try mountain biking if you are used to riding on the road. Mountain biking requires larger bursts of power to ride up steep grades or over obstacles. Balancing a mountain bike on uneven terrain also trains the muscles in your core and upper body more than riding on pavement.
Step 4
Try indoor cycling classes. Since there are no stop signs or downhills to interrupt your pedaling, you can burn more calories per hour in a studio cycling class than on the road.
Tips and Warnings
- Eat a snack, such as a granola bar or piece of fruit, during rides lasting longer than 90 minutes. Wear padded bike shorts to relieve pressure in the saddle region. Drink fluids on your rides.
- Wear a helmet every time you ride. Always follow traffic laws and be alert for anything that may cause a crash.
Things You'll Need
- Bicycle (road bike, mountain bike or hybrid)
- Padded cycling shorts
- Water bottle
References
- "ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer, Second Edition;" American College of Sports Medicine; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2007
- "The Cyclist's Training Bible: Third Edition;" Joe Friel; 2003
- EK Endurance Coaching
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