Reduce Weight By Cycling

One way to reduce weight, is to burn more calories by doing more physical activity. Cycling is a very effective way to burn calories and therefore reduce fat. About 10 minutes of cycling burns about 80 calories. My regular time is about 1 1/2 hours (approximately 25-30 km distance). In one year, this daily fitness workout uses up a total of 29,200 calories per year - about 3.5 kg of body weight.

A daily cycling workout doesn't just help you to reduce weight, it also helps you to increase aerobic fitness, improves circulation and blood sugar levels.

In order to speed up weight reduction, by cycling, it's important to follow a calorie-controlled,
healthy eating-plan, containing an adequate supply of carbohydrates and protein, as well as a full range of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Remember, a well-fed body loses weight faster. In addition, obesity tests show that motivation is improved when you monitor your weight statistics on a weekly basis.

The best type of fitness plan for weight reduction is the one that you find most suitable. If you enjoy cycling, try it. If not, choose another exercise method. I have tried badminton and jogging but I ended up with injuries on my ankles and knees. Then I turned to walking in the Park but I found it rather boring and slow. I started cycling since the past 2 years and I find it suitable to keep myself in shape.

The Benefits of Cycling

First, cycling for exercise, if you choose it, is a great cardio exercise.

Second, it works well for you and me and for anyone.

Third, it gives you these benefits:

• Improves your cardio-respiratory (meaning heart and lung) fitness
• Decreases your risk of heart disease. One study done on cycling and health finds that new cyclists covering short distances can reduce their risk of death (mainly due to the reduction of heart disease) by as much as 22.5% !
• Increases your capacity to burn body fat to lose weight. A 15-minute bike ride to and from work 5 times per week burns off an equivalent of 11 pounds of fat in a year!

  And when you combine cycling for exercise with a healthy weight loss diet , you'll get an enjoyable and effective weight loss program!

• Helps you to maintain strength and coordination as the strength and co-ordination that regular cycling brings reduce incidences of your falling, injuries and hip fractures, when you're older
• Improves your leg strength and you're in for a bonus because leg strength improves other mobility, for example, by allowing you to get out of any seated position more easily and helping you to avoid falls (and the broken bones) and other injuries associated with the falls
• Regulates your blood pressure
• Has positive effects on how you feel too. Cycling for exercise or any kind of moderate exercise has been found to reduce levels of depression and stress , improve mood and raise self-esteem, and has also been found to relieve symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

Not A Professional Road Biker? Don't Worry About That...

Regular Cycling For Exercise Is More Than Enough....

The Power of Cycling for Exercise

It gets your heart and lungs into the cardio-respiratory fitness zone! That's how powerful it is!

I used to do morning and evening walk with my wife at the Reservoir Park, Taman Budaya, Kuching. Besides walking , my other favorite cardio is cycling. Now I have stopped walking in the park with my wife.

All because cycling is, just like walking, an easy and convenient cardio and I can do it any time of the day.

I get on the bike, peddling past my chosen, preferred routes, easily and enjoyably for up to 6 miles per 30 minute session, without feeling strained in my body!

With cycling, I seem to burn calories a lot more easier since I can cover more miles in less time, hence burn more of my body fat.

As I cycle, I get to enjoy and appreciate the fresh air, the warm sunshine and the beautiful scenery - this way I get by to pass fast my exercise time!

In a blink of an eye (so to speak), 30-40 minutes would have already gone by. And I've accomplished cycling for up to more than 6 miles!

(P/S: If you're worried about traffic fumes and smokes, relax! According to a study, cyclists and pedestrians actually breathe in lower levels of pollutants from traffic fumes and smokes than car drivers!)

If you don't like walking, jogging or running, try cycling for exercise.

....Hey.....You don't need to be a professional road biker to benefit from cycling. Just a regular cycling routine is enough to give you effective exercise to improve your physical fitness.......

You'd be surprised at what cycling can do to you and your body's health.

Let's get more acquainted with cycling as an exercise......

(P/S: When talk about cycling, I include here both outdoor cycling and stationary cycling. They're both beneficial to you. But I'll be referring to outdoor cycling since I think this would be your more preferred cycling choice?)

Cycling as a Fat Burning Exercise

As we are living in this busiest world, everyone is too busy and people want such exercisers from which they will remain healthy in very short timer. We also want that these exercises should not be time consuming. To remain healthy we should firstly control our fats.
So there are many different types of fat burning exercises that are popular today. Jogging, walking, running, cycling and swimming are wonderful fat burning exercises, which can be done both outdoors and indoors. Among these exercises cycling is considered as one of the best ways for people to achieve good health and fitness. Cycling will help us to burn a higher amount of calories that from fats.

By Pedaling cycle at a slower pace or riding a bicycle on straight roads burns about 200 calories in 30 minutes, but fast pedaling and riding uphill can increase the fat burned up to 400 calories. The key factor that should be kept in mind while doing exercise is that more muscle group you use, the more fats u will burn. Cycling also increases our daily Caloric output. By doing cycling we require energy, which moves you and your bicycle against the resistance of air and gravity. Cycling can offer benefits for both fitness and burning off unwanted body fat. Cycling also has a positive effect on bone density and strength.

CYCLING PERFORMANCE TIPS

LONG DISTANCE

This ride will definitely cause you to bonk if you don't replace carbohydrates, so snacking on the bike is essential. As intensity increases above 60% VO2 max., it becomes more important to avoid eating in the 4 hour pre-ride interval to avoid GI distress. If this is really planned as a slow, long training ride, that is not as important. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hours before this ride helps "top off the tank" so to speak in terms of muscle glycogen stores.
4 days prior - balanced diet with 70-80 % Calories from carbohydrates; at least 600 grams per day of carbohydrates in the 2 to 3 days prior to the ride
4 hours prior - if the intensity is moderate, eating during this interval is OK, but avoid fatty foods and eat at least 2 hours before the ride. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hour pre-ride is recommended if possible
4 minutes prior - nothing special
during the ride - regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night after the ride. fluids - one water bottle per hour, perhaps a bit more in hot weather
An example of the ultimate long distance event is the Paris-Brest-Paris ride. Here is a question from a reader that provides a good example of how to analyze the challenges of a ride.Q. I have been doing a type of riding called randonneuring (200km to 1200km, moderately-paced bicycle events) and would like to know how I can use heart rate or perceived exertion information to improve my training. The pace of brevets is only an average of 9.5 mph in order to get under the time cut off, but the clock continually runs (flats, eating, resting, etc). Effort at the 600k, 1000k and 1200k distances becomes a challenge. Since these distances are not reasonable training distances, how can/should one use some science to improve chances of successful completion? By the way, the time limit for a 1200k brevet is 90 hours.) M.G.
A. I amgoing to keep this very high level:
PBP is the ultimate endurance event. So cardiovascular training is not the issue. You are probably riding at 50 - 60 % VO2max most of the time and thus are burning a fair amount of fat calories as opposed to sprint type events.No need to worry about intervals.
Nutrition will be important - you have to focus on eating as many Calories as you are using per hour - and maintaining good hydration.
This will really be more of a musculoskeletal challenges - being on the bike for a long period of time - which means body conditioning, not heart conditioning will be the tougher part.
And of course the psychologic component - having faith in your abilities - will be a key factor in your success.

COMPETITIVE EVENT

This is what it's all about, and good nutrition and planning your eating strategy can make a difference. You will need a good carbohydrate base to maximize your muscle glycogen reserves. And you need to avoid eating in the 4 hour pre-event interval to keep your stomach empty or you risk the GI distress that goes with exercising close to or above 100% VO2 max. You will also sweat more so fluid replacement needs to be watched. If this is a ride of less than 1 1/2 to 2 hours, there is no need to carbo supplement during the ride.
4 days prior - balanced diet with 60-70% Calories from carbohydrates; 600 grams of carbohydrate per day in the three days prior to the event
4 hours prior - don't eat in the 4 hours before this ride
4 minutes priorr - a candy bar, energy bar, or other carbohydrate snack is a good idea
during the ride - even for an event of 1 1/2 hours or less, a liquid carbohydrate supplement should be used. And if it's going to be longer, you will definitely need carbohydrate supplements (beginning regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks as soon as the event starts to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night to replace the muscle glycogen that was probably completely depleted during the event.
fluids - one water bottle per hour as an absolute minimum

MULTI-DAY RIDE or BIKE TOUR

This ride is basically the same as the long training ride, but you need to be very careful to eat a high carbohydrate meal each evening or you will slowly become glycogen depleted and chronic fatigue will develop. If this is going to be a high intensity event on certain days, (intensity above 60% VO2 max.), it is important to avoid eating in the 4 hour pre-ride interval to avoid GI distress. But on those long slow days, that's not an issue. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal each day 3 to 4 hours before the ride will maximize glycogen reserves. This is the dietary program most appropriate for a multi-day bike tour.
4 days prior - balanced diet with 60-70% Calories from carbohydrates; at least 600 grams per day of carbohydrates in the 2 to 3 days prior to the ride
4 hours prior - if the intensity is moderate, eating during this interval is OK, but avoid fatty foods and eat 2 hours before the ride. A 300 gram carbohydrate meal 3 to 4 hour pre ride is recommended.
4 minutes prior - nothing special
during the ride - regular snacks, energy gels, or sports drinks to replace the estimated Calories burned per hour
post ride - a post ride carbohydrate snack, particularly in the 10 to 15 minutes immediately afterwards, will take advantage of the window for maximum glycogen resynthesis and may cut down on muscle soreness. Eat a high carbohydrate meal that night after the ride, and try to eat at least 600 grams of carbohydrate per day above and beyond that needed to replace the Calories burned on that day's ride.
fluids - one water bottle per hour, perhaps a bit more in hot weather