How to Lose Weight While Biking Everyday
Biking is one of the best non-impact methods of losing weight, as it is easy on the joints. Choose terrain that you are comfortable with, and always be aware of your surroundings. The best way to lose weight by biking is to get out there every day.
Instructions
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Ride long distances on a road bike. Road bikes are designed with light frames and narrow, smooth tires that travel well on blacktop and smooth surfaces. After a warm up, ride for 60 minutes. Alternately, set a mileage goal. Bike at a moderate pace.
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Climb hills on your bike. The effort of riding up hills will burn more calories than flat surfaces. Do a drill by climbing a hill, coasting back down, then riding back up. Set a time frame or a goal for reps. For example, try 10 hill climbs or 60 minutes of reps.
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Build muscle by biking regularly. Biking will build muscle in your legs, core--and to some extent, the arms. When muscle is built, it is metabolically active and burns a lot of calories.
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Ride a trail on a mountain bike. Trail riding is a different experience than road riding due to challenging terrain and obstacles. You will constantly shift your body weight around, trying to maintain balance as you alternate from uphills to downhills. This will result in a great caloric expenditure.
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Try interval training. While riding on the road, alternate from a high intensity to a lower intensity. Time your intervals. For example, stand up and ride hard for 30 seconds, then sit down and ride light for 60 seconds.
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Go to a spin class at a gym or studio. Spinning combines standing, sitting, high intensity and low intensity biking. Expect to sweat a lot.
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Put it all together. Bike hard on alternating days and ride long distance once a week. For example, do an interval ride on Monday, a trail ride on Tuesday, a hill ride on Wednesday, an interval ride on Thursday, a spin class on Friday, a trail ride on Saturday and a long distance ride on Sunday.
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Tips & Warnings
When interval training, try using markers instead of time. For example, find a flat strip of road that is about a 1/2 mile long. Find 2 markers to ride in between such as mail boxes, telephone poles, fences or trees. Ride hard one direction, turn around, ride light back to the start, then turn around and ride hard again. Keep going back and forth for a series of intervals. Stay well hydrated before, during and after your rides. Have some fruit or nutrition bars on hand for energy while you are riding. Although weight loss is your goal, you won't be able to get very far if you don't have the energy to move your body.
Make sure to wear protective gear when you ride your bike. At a minimum, wear a helmet. You can also wear gloves and pads for your knees, elbows and wrists.
