Bicycling is one of the best exercises for losing weight and improving physical fitness. There is a consensus among exercise experts that aerobic exercises are better exercises than anaerobic exercises because non-stop activity helps the heart more than on-and-off activity. "The Well Adult" lists bicycling as among the most beneficial and most effective aerobic exercises because it achieves conditioning and causes few injuries to muscles and joints.
Losing Weight
Bicycling is an excellent exercise for losing weight, as reported in the "Harvard Heart Letter." In fact, bicycling more than 20 mph is ranked tied for first with running a six-minute mile among the more than 100 exercises listed in the letter's "Calories Burned In 30 Minutes" chart. You will lose 1,466 calories per hour if you bicycle that fast and weigh 185 pounds, 1,228 calories an hour if you weigh 155 pounds and 990 calories an hour if you weigh 125 pounds.
Getting Fit
According to fitness expert Kenneth Cooper, you can reach "an adequate level of aerobic fitness" by bicycling three or four times per week for 10 weeks if you're an inactive but healthy 30- to 50-year-old man or woman. Cooper recommends bicycling four miles three times per week during the first week and increasing that to seven miles by the eighth week.
Maintaining Fitness
You should bicycle three times per week, eight miles per exercise session, or five times per week, six miles per exercise session, to maintain good aerobic fitness, according to "The Well Adult." The eight-mile trips should take from 24 to 32 minutes and the six-mile exercises should be accomplished in 18 to 24 minutes.
Stationary Bicycling
If you weigh 185 pounds, you will lose 932 calories per hour if you exercise vigorously and 622 calories per hour if you exercise moderately on a stationary bicycle, reports the "Harvard Heart Letter."
In "Controlling Cholesterol," Cooper outlines how inactive men and women can become fit by exercising on the stationary bicycle. He recommends a 14-week program that starts with cycling three times weekly at 15 mph for six minutes and ends with cycling five times weekly at 25 mph for 25 minutes.
Strengthening Muscles
According to "Swim, Bike, Run," bicycling regularly strengthens three muscle groups--the quadriceps, the gluteals and the hamstrings. Cyclists who sprint utilize those three muscle groups plus "muscles that move the ankle and more of the thigh muscles."
The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library emphasizes bicycling's positive impact on upper leg muscles, but reports that the activity is more problematic to people with knee disorders than running. However, Cooper emphasizes that "cycling is less traumatic to the joints than running."
Bone Problems
Bicycling might be bad for bones, "The New York Times" reported on July 1, 2009. According to studies by the University of Oklahoma, competitive cyclists have "significantly less bone density" in their hips and spines than non-cyclists. Researchers suspect that the cyclists are losing calcium when they sweat and recommend lifting more weights and drinking more liquids with calcium.
References
- "The Well Adult'; Dr. Mike Samuels and Nancy Samuels; 1988
- Harvard Health Publications: Calories Burned in 30 Minutes
- "Controlling Cholesterol"; Dr. Kenneth H. Cooper; 1989
- "Swim, Bike, Run"; Glenn Town and Todd Kearney; 1994
- The New York Times: Is Bicycling Bad for Your Bones?
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