How to Lose Weight Through Cycling

Losing weight isn’t all about aesthetics, but also about living a healthier life. Dropping a couple of pounds can go a long way towards avoiding health conditions such as diabetes, or issues with your heart. It goes without saying that it’s much easier to lose weight if you actually love the activity, which is why cycling is so good for it. If you choose to implement cycling into your daily routine you’ll soon find out that its benefits aren’t all physical, but that it can also improve your emotional and mental health as well. Here are some of the best tips you can apply to your cycling routine in order to lose weight.

Cycle Your Way to Work

The number one thing about cycling? It’s a transport, so you can commute to work with it at least 2-3 days per week. This way you’ll be exercising regularly without even noticing it, all during the time that you’d waste on transport in the first place. There are many reasons to dust off your bike and use it to get to your office, but most importantly you’ll be burning through excess calories without ever dedicating any extra time for it. Plus, you can save quite a lot of money too if you leave the car in the garage and take the two-wheeler instead. So, what’s not to like?

Ride at a Moderate Pace

If you really want to lose weight by cycling, you’ll need to be investing around 65-75% of your MHR (Maximum Heart Rate). You can easily track your heart rate with a heart rate monitor. This is very important, as anything less than this can’t really be labeled as an exercise. If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, try to reach the pace that will leave you barely breathing, but still able to talk. It might seem to you like you won’t manage to cycle at this pace for a long time, but you’ll pass a point where it will just become natural. Try to cycle at least one hour per day at this pace.

High Intensity Cycling

High-intensity zone of cycling is the one where you’d be at 89-100% MHR for short periods of time. You can read more about different training zones here. Besides being a great help when it comes to your cardiovascular health, high-intensity cycling will burn a huge amount of calories in a short period. You can either have your high-intensity sessions completely separately, 2-3 days per week, or you can add them as a finisher to your moderate sessions. Either way, they are an integral part of a fat-burning process, one that you can’t afford to skip.

Ride before Breakfast

Fasted training is one of the best tips anyone can give you on weight loss, but it has to be done properly. The idea is that you’d be forcing your body to spend its fat reserves because you haven’t eaten food yet. Keep the ride short, anywhere between thirty minutes and one hour, but no longer than that – at least until you’ve eaten your breakfast. If you turn this into a habit you’ll lose weight in no time, and once you reach your goal you can forego this practice.

Choose the Right Bike for Your Terrain

Before doing anything else, though, you’ll want to have a bike that’s suitable for the type of terrain you’ll be using it for. Once you’ve got that, head to a bicycles online store and pick a bike and the gear that’s best suited for you, as this is very important if you’re going to be spending time on it. You’ll also need a helmet, breathable cycling clothing, spare inner tube and a pump. It’s also good to learn the basics of how to fix the punctured tire, so you don’t have to head out to a specialist all the time.

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Eat Healthy

A healthy diet is the foundation of any training that has weight loss as a goal. This means that no matter how hard you practice, eating unhealthy can ruin it all for you. Focus your diet on lean protein and green vegetables, all while completely ditching the sugar and any processed foods. Beans, fish, and chicken are great for recovering muscles, while also being low in carbohydrates – which is the fastest way to a weight loss.

Read More about health here. 

Conclusion

Cycling is one of the most fun ways one can lose weight, especially when you master your bike and reach the speed that makes you go wow. It’s a great feeling and anyone who’s invested some time into cycling can tell you that they’re going to stick with it. It’s also a much healthier form of transportation, not only for yourself but also for our planet. If you follow these simple steps and create a strict routine, you’ll make sure to lose weight effectively and at a steady pace. Just don’t go back to old habits as soon as you reach your goal.