How far should I ride my bike to lose weight?
How much distance to cover for weight loss. On an average, one must do cycling for around 20 to 30 kms. But Channa suggests that instead of focusing on the distance, one must focus on the duration of cycling, which should be for one hour or more.
It takes approximately 45 minutes of moderately intense cycling for most adults to reach their calorie expenditure needs through cycling. Do this five times a week, and you'll burn 2,500 calories! Cycling can be an affordable and efficient way to get in some exercise and lose weight.
Depending on your health goals and the intensity of your workout, 30 minutes on a stationary bike can be enough to improve your fitness and lose weight. Adults should aim for a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week to reduce the risk of lifestyle diseases like cardiovascular disease.
Benefits of Cycling for Weight Loss
As per a report by Harvard Health, cycling at a moderate speed of around 12 miles per hour can burn roughly 7 calories every minute for someone weighing about 155 pounds. This sums up to approximately 210 calories in half an hour.
Yes, cycling can help lose belly fat, but it will take time. A recent study showed regular cycling may enhance overall fat loss and promote a healthy weight. To reduce overall belly girth, moderate-intensity aerobic exercises, such as cycling (either indoor or outdoor), are effective to lower belly fat.
After one month of regular cycling
After a couple of weeks, your strength and fitness will start to significantly improve. Now you can cycle in higher intensity and without any greater sore.
As the table above shows, cycling tends to burn more calories in the same time period compared with walking (1, 2). Thus, cycling may be the better choice if you want to lose weight but don't have a lot of time for exercise.
How long should I ride a bike to lose belly fat? In order to effectively lose belly fat by riding a bike you should aim to ride between 30 minutes to an hour per day if you have the time.
Therefore, walking typically burns more calories than biking at a similar pace — and is thus more beneficial for losing fat.
- Start off pedaling at a low intensity for 5-10 minutes.
- Switch to medium intensity for 3-5 minutes.
- Alternate between high intensity (1-3 minutes) and medium intensity (3-5 minutes) for the next 20 to 30 minutes.
- Cool down by pedaling at a low intensity for 5-10 minutes.
How long does it take to lose 20 pounds on a stationary bike?
It's easy on your joints and torches massive calories. With discipline and commitment, you could lose a whopping 20 pounds within weeks.
What many do not know is that a daily cycle ride of only 20 minutes is sufficient to achieve this target! Regular cycling helps in burning around 1,000 calories a week, and even cycling at a mild pace of 12 mph will help you burn 563 calories per hour, says research.

If you're looking to get fitter, trimmer and lighter – not to mention healthier – then cycling is a great way to lose weight. It's efficient, enjoyable, easy to slot into a busy day and, best of all, has emotional and mental benefits as well as physical ones.
I used to figure calorie burn while riding to be about 40 cal/mile at 20 mph when riding solo. That would take about 90 miles to burn the 3,600 calories in a pound of fat.
uses muscles like your glutes, abs, and even your biceps and triceps. A 20-minute bike workout can engage much of your body, which can lead to better muscle tone after a month of consistent riding. Despite the fact that cycling engages so many muscle groups, it is a less “stressful” or low-impact form of exercise.
How can I burn fat by cycling? The short answer is by riding slower. As intensity increases, the proportion of fat to carbohydrate your body resorts to fuel cycling decreases.. This is because fat reserves are nearly unlimited even in the leanest athletes.
Cycling can reduce thigh and belly fat as well as benefiting the circulation of blood around the body, strengthening the heart and other muscles and increasing the metabolism. It is a low-resistance exercise which means it puts less pressure on the joints than running, walking or jogging.
- Salmon. Good for: This fish is packed with important nutrients so is a great one for satisfying your hunger for longer, and is relatively low in calories. ...
- Sardines. ...
- Chicken. ...
- Mackerel. ...
- Carrots. ...
- Sweet Potato. ...
- Cucumber. ...
- Beetroot.
Cycling is mainly an aerobic activity, which means that your heart, blood vessels and lungs all get a workout. You will breathe deeper, perspire and experience increased body temperature, which will improve your overall fitness level. The health benefits of regular cycling include: increased cardiovascular fitness.
Exercising on the bike for at least 30 minutes a day will build up your cardiovascular and muscular endurance. By putting in consistent effort, you'll notice an improvement in your aerobic capacity, enabling you to bike longer or on more intense rides.
What body parts benefit from cycling?
Cycling improves overall function in your lower body and strengthens your leg muscles without overstressing your joints. It targets your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
Cycling is more efficient than walking, so you'll probably work harder by walking briskly and probably exercise your heart, lungs and major muscles more. On the other hand, cycling is probably less hard on your hips, knees and ankles than walking.
Overall, both treadmill and bike help you stay fit. If you are looking for something low-impact or are a beginner then we would recommend you to go for a stationary bike. However, if you are in a mood to run and are not worried about getting injured then the treadmill is a better deal.
Make cycling your go-to form of cardio for chasing down visceral fat. A study published in the Journal of Physiology showed that cycling for at least 20 miles a week led to a 7% drop in visceral fat and a 7% overall drop in fat around the waistline after eight months.
In order to lose weight, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) says you'll need to cycle at a moderately intense level for at least 30 minutes at a time. To burn even more calories, you'll want to cycle for longer. ACE also suggests incorporating two activities into one cross-training session to boost weight loss.
In general, running will burn more calories than cycling, but it can also be more damaging to joints, since it's a high impact workout, while cycling is lower impact. It is also logistically simpler to run or walk than cycle – especially when travelling away from home.
Most fitness experts who have calculated calorie burn for both exercises base their numbers on time spent rather than distance traveled. In several studies conducted by reputable scientists, it was determined that, under equal conditions, bike riding was at least equal to walking.
“Cycling is a nonweight bearing activity, so it is better for your knees and joints,” Dr. Tanaka said, “and it does not cause much muscle soreness.” Walking, likewise, results in few injuries, unless, like me, you are almost comically clumsy.
Iqbal explains that aerobic exercise can be effective in helping to reduce belly fat. "Using a bike is a form of aerobic exercise and coupling this with some strength training can be highly effective," she says. While Furey agrees, she also says it's important to remember that you can't 'spot reduce' fat.
Setting a realistic time frame
Generally, most health experts recommend aiming for about 1–3 pounds (0.5–1.4 kg) of weight loss per week, or approximately 1% of your total body weight ( 33 , 34 ). Therefore, it may take anywhere from a few weeks to several months to lose 30 pounds safely.
How to lose 20 pounds in 3 months?
- Count calories. ...
- Drink more water. ...
- Increase your protein intake. ...
- Reduce your refined carb consumption. ...
- Start lifting weights. ...
- Eat more fiber. ...
- Follow a sleep schedule. ...
- Set reasonable goals and stay accountable.
- Make A Commitment.
- Cut Your Caloric Intake.
- Up Your Protein Intake.
- Eat More Fibre.
- Plenty Of Sleep.
- Avoid Refined Carbs.
- Increase The Intensity Of Your Workouts.
- Set A Nightly Food Cutoff Time.
Is Cycling Two Miles a Day Good? By cycling two miles per day, you'll burn around 100 – 120 calories and whilst two miles isn't a long distance to cycle, it's a reasonable distance for beginner cyclists to start with.
As long as each biking session is at least 10 minutes in length — which is enough for a healthy adult to receive their aerobic benefits — then daily biking can provide an easy way to get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week.
How Seniors Can Use an Exercise Bike. According to the World Health Organization, people aged 65 and above should aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity. For seniors who are new to cycling, Simpson recommends starting with three times a week for 20 to 30 minutes each time.
When it comes to cycling for weight loss, you can use the calories burned through this exercise to create your deficit. An hour of cycling could see you burn up to 500 calories, so if you don't change your eating habits and cycle for an hour a day, you could burn up to 1lb per week.
Cycling one hour a day for weight loss is an excellent way to boost weight loss. A 180-pound individual cycling for an hour at a moderate intensity burns about 650 calories. If you ride six days a week for a year, you will burn about 202,800 calories, which translates to about 58 pounds of body fat!
With the average cycling speed ranging from 10 – 14 mph (16-22.5 km/h), you can expect a 5-mile bike journey to take 21 minutes to 30 minutes. Whilst riding five miles by bike, there are many factors that will affect your speed.
By cycling 3 miles a day, you can burn between 150 – 180 calories. Increasing the number of calories you're metabolising is key to helping you lose weight. To maximise the number of calories you're burning, try to stop as little as possible and push yourself to cycle faster and further each day!
The general rule of thumb is a 1:3 or 1:2 run to bike ratio in miles. In other words, 1 mile of running at a moderate level is equivalent to biking 2-3 miles at the same effort level. Running is a high impact activity and requires the entire body to be moving.
How does cycling change a woman's body?
Cycling can help change body shape by burning calories and resulting in weight loss or by helping build muscle in the lower and upper body. However, for a dramatic change in body shape, cyclists will need to add strength training, especially if they're looking to increase power for speed over shorter distances.
What muscles are used in indoor cycling? Indoor cycling is a total-body workout and works all of the major muscle groups.
Cycling is great for toning the lower body, particularly the legs. The hamstrings and quadriceps are two of the most targeted muscles during a cycling workout, as they play a huge role in pedalling. The hamstrings are positioned at the back of your thighs (the posterior) and are involved during the upstroke motion.
Recommended Minimum Daily Allowance - 15 km
At a moderate rate of exertion, 30 minutes of cycling at a rate conducive to maintaining health equates to covering about 15 km at an average speed of about 30 km/h. 15 km per day equates to about 100 km per week or about 5500 km a year.
Go for a spin on your stationary bike. It is possible to lose belly fat by exercising for 30 minutes to an hour two to three times per week. Regular physical activity assists you in burning several calories but also assists you in relieving anxiety, which is a major contributor to belly fat build-up.
Cycling can be better for burning more calories, and it helps increase your lower-body strength. On the other hand, walking may help with bone density and tends to cost less than cycling.
The differences in fitness and aerobic improvements between using a treadmill or a bike are negligible. Either is a much better option than doing no exercise at all.
The 75-percent rule states that during a given training week, at least 75 percent of your miles (or time) should be at or below 75 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR).
Cycling is mainly an aerobic activity, which means that your heart, blood vessels and lungs all get a workout. You will breathe deeper, perspire and experience increased body temperature, which will improve your overall fitness level. The health benefits of regular cycling include: increased cardiovascular fitness.
Minimum of 3 rides a week: To make sustained improvements, you should ride at least 3 times a week. This is only the minimum amount, and you may choose to ride more often. Don't overtrain: Different riders respond differently to varying levels of training.
Is it OK to ride bike everyday?
Regular or daily cycling has been found to prevent weight gain, fight depression, and help stave off a host of health problems, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Cycling just 20 miles a week reduces your risk of heart disease to less than half that of those who take no exercise, it says.