How can riding a bike help lose weight

This closed chain makes it a gentle option for people who want an intense workout without stressing their joints. By adding resistance and speed to your routine, your body must work harder. This added resistance builds strength in your legs , butt, and lower back. When you exercise, your heart pumps faster to get more oxygen to your muscles. This in turn causes you to breathe faster to take in more oxygen, increasing your lung capacity. This increased breathing exercises your lungs.

Besides improving balance, the stationary bike helps improve coordination and gait. This can be especially useful for the elderly to prevent falls and fractures. Unless you are on a designated bike path, riding along highways, roads, and city streets can offer obstacles and rough riding that can prove unsafe.

Riding a stationary bike eliminates these dangers. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [5] statistics show that most years since , between and Americans have been killed in bike crashes while thousands more have been injured, mostly from automobiles. Everyone has a certain number of calories they use and burn each day just to function normally depending on factors like your gender and age.

The number of calories you burn depends on your body weight, how long you cycle, and the intensity of your cycling.

You will find different answers as to how much weight you can lose riding a stationary bike. Basically, how much you lose is dependent on how many calories you burn. To maintain your specific weight, you need to eat food that will supply the number of calories you need. Everything that your body does is fueled by calories, from running and jumping to smiling and even just breathing.

When it comes to weight loss, you need a deficit in calories. In other words, you need to eat fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight. Exercising burns calories, thus contributing to the deficit that you need to lose weight.

To lose weight, you need to make sure your heart rate HR is in the fat-burning zone for a minimum of 30 minutes. The fat-burning zone refers to how fast your heart rate should be when you are exercising.

You will need an HR monitor on your bike or an HR monitor bracelet or watch. You can also calculate your HR by using the simple calculation of minus your age. Getting up to this fat-burning zone and maintaining it for at least 30 minutes will help you to reach your goal.

The right diet will help you to achieve your weight loss and muscle tone goals by giving your body the fuel it needs. By drinking plenty of water throughout the day you can also boost your metabolism and curb hunger.

Regular workouts on your stationary bike have great benefits for your body, health, and mood. Exercise helps us feel good and this positive effect is not only psychological but beneficial for your body. Exercise bikes are great for weight loss because they get you moving and burning calories, which in turn assists in creating or maintaining a calorie deficit. A professional bike fit is a good idea - skimping here is a false economy if you end up spending more cash on physio.

The lack of weight bearing also means that cycling does not do as much to increase bone density as other sports - so it's a good idea to add a little strength training in to your programme. Short journeys contribute massively to global pollution levels, and often involve a fair amount of stationary staring at the bumper in front. Get on the bike, and you'll save on petrol or cash on public transport, as well as time. In the world of car sat navs and Google maps, sometimes there's just not that much incentive to sharpen your natural sense of direction however superior or otherwise it may be.

Unless you've invested in a GPS cycling computer with mapping capabilities such as a Garmin , then getting out and exploring the lanes can provide essential exercise for your internal mapping capabilities, giving you with practice a better idea of which way is West. Most of us know that sex is a good thing, but not everyone knows that it's actually good for your overall health. In fact, regular sex could indeed prolong your life. So can cycling improve your sex life?

Well - it builds some rather essential muscle groups. The better developed these muscles, the longer and more athletic intercourse will be. Add in that - thanks to spending plenty of time showing off all the lumps and bumps in skintight lycra and occasionally double-oh-AND-seven - cyclists tend to be fairly comfortable in their own skin, and you've got a recipe for success.

It probably isn't rocket science that tiring yourself out on the bike will improve your sleep - but now it's been proven.

Researchers at the University of Georgia studied men and women aged 20 to 85 over a period of 35 years, and found that a drop in fitness of 2 per cent for men and 4 per cent for women resulted in sleep problems. Dr Rodney Dishman was one of the lead authors, and commented: "The steepest decline in cardiorespiratory fitness happens between ages 40 and This is also when problems of sleep duration and quality are elevated.

Looking for causes behind the link the scientists suggested it could be a reduction in anxiety, brought about by exercise, that elevates the ability to sleep. Exercise also protects against weight gain with age, which is another cause of sleep dysfunction. Exercise has been repeatedly linked to brain health - and the reduction of cognitive changes that can leave us vulnerable to dementia later in life.

A study found that during exercise, cyclists' blood flow in the brain rose by 28 per cent, and up to 70 per cent in specific areas. Not only that, but after exercise, in some areas blood flow remained up by 40 per cent even after exercise. Improved blood flow is good because the red stuff delivers all sorts of goodies that keep us healthy - and the study concluded that we should cycle for minutes, at per cent of max 'hear rate reserve' max heart rate minus resting heart rate four times a week.

Nothing stopping you riding more, of course. Cycling isn't just about raising your heart rate and getting you breathless - unless you're doing it on Zwift. There are technical elements - climbing , descending and cornering all teach you to use your body weight to get the bike to go where you want it to. Gaining the skills to manage these technical elements can provide a massive confidence boost - especially when you start to see improvement.

Plus, you might just find your abilities to manage that dodgy shopping trolley with the wonky wheels greatly improves. Cycling is an incredibly sociable sport. Grassroots cycling revolves around cycling club culture - which in turn revolves around the Saturday or Sunday club run: several hours of riding at an intensity that enables easy chat, interrupted only by a cafe stop or the occasional puncture. But some riders don't feel steady on this style of bike.

A road bike requires that you lean slightly forward while you ride. If you have back issues or concerns about safety, this may not be the bike for you. You may prefer the comfort and ease of a cruiser or a mountain bike that has heavy, thick tires.

These bikes usually offer some suspension and cushioning to make the ride more comfortable. And you are usually able to maintain a more upright posture when you ride this bike style. Also, the thicker tires provide more stability so riders often feel safer on these bikes, especially if they are new to cycling. If you are new to cycling or if you plan to use your bike for an extended daily commute, an electric bike also called an e-bike might be the perfect option for you.

Brands like Trek make cycles that you ride like a standard bike, but you get a boost of assistance when you need it. For example, Trek's Super Commuter provides a comfortable upright ride with the option to use eight different speeds. Some exercisers use recumbent bikes at the gym, preferring the reclined body position to an upright position that is typical in standard cycles.

However, some riders choose a recumbent bike for their outdoor ride. These bikes allow you to sit closer to the ground, generally have a wider saddle, and are generally better able to accommodate riders with back problems. However, because of their low profile, recumbent bikes can be more difficult and less safe to ride in traffic.

So consider where you plan to ride before investing in this style of bicycle. You can find the best bike for your body and cycling style by shopping at a dedicated bike shop. The salespeople at these stores are trained to measure you for a proper fit and to provide recommendations based on your budget and riding style.

They will measure your body and make suggestions or adjustments not only to the seat height, but also to handlebar height and width, top tube length, and saddle size so that you ride in the most comfortable position. Now that you've got a good bike and you've figured out how to structure your cycling workout, you'll want to get a few pieces of equipment to keep you comfortable and safe on your rides.

Keep these safety tips and workouts in mind as you prepare for your rides. Biking for weight loss is a great way to burn calories, reduce stress, and enjoy the outdoors. Invest in safety equipment and the best bike for your body to keep your rides safe and enjoyable. Looking to lose weight? Our nutrition guide can help you get on the right track. Sign up for our newsletter and get it free! Benefits of different intensity of aerobic exercise in modulating body composition among obese young adults: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

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