Pro2AInPA Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Can any of the fitness gurus here chime in on whether or not bicycling is an effective exercise for the purpose of losing weight? My goal at this point isn't to build muscle necessarily. The prime goal is to burn fat. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Hello: Riding a bicycle is great for burning fat. It is easier on your joints also. Lots of reps and longer distance will work best. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeMartens Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I just don't how the seat feels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lumpygravy Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Like any aerobic activity, cycling can be a great activity for losing weight. I'm no fitness expert, but I believe the key is to ride at a pace that elevates your heart rate to a safe percetage of your maximum heart rate and maintain it for increasingly longer durations. Steady effort over time with intervals of high output are also very effective. Make sure the bike fits properly. There are online guides to proper bike fit or find a local bike shop. They will do it for a nominal fee maybe even for free. Make sure you have a helmet (analagous to eyes and ears for shooting), padded bike shorts (either baggies or lycra) and get to spinning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 The only key to loosing weight is to eat less energy than you use. If you ride, and then eat more because you're hungry it's not going to do anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twodownzero Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 (edited) I bought a road bike last year for just this reason. I'm too lazy to ride when it's cold outside, so I can't wait for the weather to come back. I bought mine online from Bikes Direct and I do my own work. The local shop tried to sell me a women's bike because it was the end of the season and they didn't have a men's bike in my size and price range. That left a taste in my mouth that made me very willing to buy online and avoid their shyster-ness. Edited March 18, 2011 by twodownzero Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calvary45 Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 (edited) dont forget the 80/90 rule in that 80% of your weight loss will come from 90% of how and what you eat. Bicycling is great excercise and fun also, although it can quickly turn in to more fun than exercise. I would prefer to walk long distance at a slow to moderate pace for nonworkout days. Every chance you get walk take the stairs instead of the elavator, walk to the store if you have the time just stay active. If your going to bicycle it is going to have to be long distance at 75% of your max heartrate, or maximum effort for about 15 minuites,only do any maxumim effort exercises max 3 times per week, the other days just stay moving all the time at a slow to moderate pace. I would have to point you to a book that will dramtically change your life if your serious about being healthy,Primal blueprint by Mark sission. Check out his website at marksdailyapple.com. My link Marksdailyapple Edited March 18, 2011 by calvary45 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeMartens Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 The local shop tried to sell me a women's bike because it was the end of the season and they didn't have a men's bike in my size and price range. Did it have a basket on it and streamers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madone Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I just don't how the seat feels So take the seat off and see how that feels! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 If you want to lose weight, go to a spinning class. Some guys laugh at girls who take spinning classes, but I've gotten more of a workout from 45 minutes in a spinning class with an instructor who knows how to motivate you to on keep going, than I have from riding 20-30 miles at my own pace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanfogliocoe Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 I would agree with the last comment totally. I have been doing spinning for the last year and I have lost more than 40 pounds. 40 pounds and I can tell you that I am not as committed as I should be. I don't eat like I should. Spinning is more like HIIT than pure road cycling. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I used to be a fairly decent runner, definitely second tier at best. I did lots of 10Ks +. There was a lot written about burning fat. They concluded long slow workouts are better. Some high intensity fast workouts go almost immediately to using muscle to fuel the workout. They found that a long workout at low or moderate pace is most conducsive to burning fat. From an aerobic stand point a workout should be about 15-20 minutes to maintain a level of fitness. We had a professor from the University talk about running/aerobic exercise. He went on to say that the benefit from the marginal increase from 20 minutes to 30 minutes far exceeds the benefit from the first twenty minutes. BTW: we had a couple of University professors who were researching running. One Med Prof took a group of runners to Tibet to run at really high altitude. He also measured them running at our 10K foot mountain east of the city. He did some pretty interesting stuff with regard to running, altitude and what the body uses to fuel the exercise. So biking for 45 minutes or more is what I have been told by my drs. is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastmtnbiker33w Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Cycling rules! Just watch out for cars on the road and rattlesnakes on the trail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBorland Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 Can any of the fitness gurus here chime in on whether or not bicycling is an effective exercise for the purpose of losing weight? My goal at this point isn't to build muscle necessarily. The prime goal is to burn fat. My background is as a competitive cyclist, and professionally, I do research the area of diabetes and obesity. And I'm also from PA originally. So...couple o' things: Sure, cycling can take the weight off. But whether it will, largely depends on your caloric balance, i.e. calories in/calories out. You may be riding a bit, but if you're still in a positive caloric balance (read: you're still eating too much), you won't lose weight. This business of staying in your aerobic "fat-burning" zone is really over-hyped. As a cyclist and researcher, I can tell you that I've rarely see one little "fact" get so over-interpreted. Yes, you technically burn fat while you're exercising in your aerobic zone, but at the end of the day, a calorie is a calorie. If you go to a spinning class and peg your heart rate, you'll simultaneously be breaking down glycogen to free up glucose, which burns like gasoline. The thing is, afterward, your body will break down fat to replace the glycogen. In other words, from a weight loss perspective, a calorie is a calorie - your body will rob Peter to pay Paul. My message is simply...ride...ride because you enjoy it. If you enjoy it, you'll do it, and the weight will take care of itself. If it doesn't, ride more and eat less. But don't get too focused on staying in one zone or another, as that may turn riding into a reward-less chore. Wernersville is a great area for riding. Ask around at the local bike shops about group rides. Some can be miserable hammer-fests, but others are just a bunch of people who enjoy riding together. Once you get some miles in your legs, cruise on up to Trexlertown and go one one of the weekend rides, The Derby Ride in particular. It's an easy spin out to Fleetwood, where you can ride and chat with the Who's Who of cycling. Just Joe riding next to an Olympic gold medalist. Where else can you do that? On the way back, it's flat out, but it's not too far back to the parking lot if you get dropped. Heck, if you're still there at the sprint, you can test your stuff against that same gold medalist. Where else can you do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastmtnbiker33w Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Can any of the fitness gurus here chime in on whether or not bicycling is an effective exercise for the purpose of losing weight? My goal at this point isn't to build muscle necessarily. The prime goal is to burn fat. My message is simply...ride...ride because you enjoy it. If you enjoy it, you'll do it, and the weight will take care of itself. If it doesn't, ride more and eat less. And if you get addicted to it, the money you have in firearms will pale in comparison to bikes. At least chains and tires last longer than a box of ammo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EurAzn12 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Cycled from coast to coast last summer, burnt 25 pounds in 20 days, can you lose weight cycling?... yes Longer distance cycling will burn more fat and create leaner muscle. Shorter sprints will burn fat and give you thick muscle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soaringf22 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 i started with a junk craigslist road bike last year and loved it all though it broke more times than miles i put on it. last month i bought a new road bike at a local shop and its addictive, i wake up earlier just so i can fit in my ride, range time, and work. i try to ride a minimum 4 times a week and i aim for more than an hour and try to keep a 12-15 mph pace, 18-20mph when i want to push it. i live in a relatively flat area so i can keep that pace and not worry about hills and what not. i would not recommend buying a bike online if it is your first bit, my craigslist bike was too big for me and i didnt know better i started to get all sorts of pains and sores, after a knee surgery and shoulder surgery (for other reasons) i decided to get a bike the right way now its totally fitted and no more pains or problems just soreness from riding too much because now its like the range one more mile is one more you just have to before you go home. your second bike you can buy online because you will know which size bike to order and your preference for component size and type at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pro2AInPA Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Thanks guys. I actually got a road bike from a local bike shop last year, but didn't get to put many miles on it due to weather. I'm hoping once this string of rainy days breaks, I can get out more. I'm planning on combining cycling with P90X. I need to search for some flat roads. Lots of hills around here, which I'm not really ready for. I'd love a nice stretch of flat road to keep a constant spin going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soaringf22 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 when you hit the hills drop the gear you will keep the same cycle rate going up hill, of course you will be slower but your cadence wont change and wont take too much more effort. google bike trails in your area that may help sometimes it is still roads but they plan a simple route to follow and give it a difficulty rating. you will also find group rides posted at your bike shop. itll be fun because weekends you cant find a match you will find yourself going on a group ride or quater/half century instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Flat road are windy...wind - y. At least with hills you can "see" the end...wind is sneaky and you can't see it. FWIW - I hate spin classes. Good excercise maybe - but not cycling. Like comparing nintendo games to 3gun match... fine if you like it just don't "be deceived" they are different. Ahhhh, wind in my hair...errr...through my helmet ymmv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastmtnbiker33w Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Everyone I work with thinks it's so AMAZING that I ride my bike to work and home everyday. I have to go up a decent hill to get home. It's no big deal considering the price of driving is about $5 a day and considering it's only 20 minutes home compared to the 2 to 6 hour rides I put in on a weekend. I always tell people, it's not the hill that gets me on the way home, it's the wind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpenDot Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 I just don't how the seat feels So take the seat off and see how that feels! LOL probably like Mr. Garrison's Bike... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe4d Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I took the seat off mine and use it for splitting firewood, How on earth anyone can call that a seat is beyond me, when I was younger a normal bike actually had a seat, I ask for one now and not only do the bike people dont have em, they dont even know what I am talking about, I bought a diamond wood hybrid 30" I think, nice to not have to ride with my face in my crotch, I put a cruiser seat with a gell pad on it and its about as good as I can find. When in Hawaii it was my primary form of transportation other than work. Most of the day and evening traffic is total gridlock, you can get where you are going faster by bike. Havent rode much since I came home, I live on a 55mph road with no sholders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiserb Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 I just don't how the seat feels Seat technology as advanced greatly in the past 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Bicycles have saddles like horses...something to hold and steer with. Seats are something you just sit on. Buy padded shorts, find a good saddle. Ride. Lose weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now