Cycling is a great way to lose weight, improve your fitness, and have fun. It's a low-impact activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and fitness levels. Combining cycling, structured training, and a healthy diet can pave the way for increased performance by dropping the pounds and increasing your fitness.
Can You Lose Weight Training Cycling?
Cycling is an effective way to burn calories and shed excess weight, making it an excellent addition to a weight-loss training regimen. A steady, moderate pace on the bike can burn approximately 300 to 700 calories per hour, depending on the intensity and the rider’s weight. The key to losing weight through cycling is to ensure that you burn more calories than you consume, which can be achieved by combining regular cycling workouts with a balanced diet.
Moreover, cycling is a low-impact exercise, which means it’s easier on your joints compared to high-impact activities like running. This allows longer training sessions without the same risk of injury, which can be particularly beneficial for overweight individuals or those new to exercise.
Consistency is crucial; by cycling regularly, you can increase your metabolic rate and build lean muscle, which helps you burn more calories even when at rest.
To optimize weight loss through cycling, it’s important to vary your workouts. This can include long rides at a moderate pace to build endurance and burn fat, as well as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions to increase calorie burn and improve cardiovascular fitness. By incorporating different types of cycling workouts into your cycling training plan, you can keep your training fresh and challenging, essential for continued weight loss and overall health improvements.
Read also: Is 1 hour of cycling enough to lose weight?
Is It Healthy to Lose Weight Cycling?
Cycling paired with a balanced diet and consistent routine cycling can contribute to a caloric deficit, which is essential for weight loss. The cardiovascular benefits of cycling also promote overall heart health and endurance, which are beneficial for long-term weight management.
Engaging in regular cycling sessions can increase metabolic rate, not only during the activity but also for some time after, enhancing the body’s ability to burn fat. Moreover, cycling can be easily integrated into daily life, such as commuting to work or running errands, which helps in maintaining a consistent exercise schedule.
It’s important, however, to approach weight loss through cycling with a holistic perspective, considering factors such as intensity, duration, and frequency of rides, as well as proper nutrition and recovery. To ensure the weight loss achieved through cycling is healthy, it is crucial to avoid overtraining and to listen to the body’s signals. Gradual progression in cycling intensity and duration will help prevent injury and promote sustainable weight loss. It is also advisable to follow a tailored cycling weight loss plan that is safe and effective for individual health conditions and goals.
Can You Lose Belly Fat by Cycling?
Cycling is an effective cardiovascular exercise that can help you target body fat, including the visceral fat that tends to accumulate around the belly. Engaging in regular cycling workouts increases the heart rate, burns calories, and leads to overall body fat reduction.
While you cannot spot-reduce fat from specific areas, including the belly, consistent cycling can lead to a leaner physique as part of a broader weight-loss strategy. The key to losing belly fat through cycling is to ride at a pace that is challenging yet sustainable, which promotes fat burning over the duration of the exercise. High-intensity intervals can particularly boost metabolism and increase the afterburn effect, where your body continues to burn calories at an elevated rate even after the workout.
Read also: Maximize your cycling results for weight loss
However, it’s essential to balance these more demanding sessions with longer, steady-state rides to avoid overtraining and to ensure sustainable fat loss. Nutrition also plays a crucial role when aiming to lose belly fat through cycling. A balanced diet that creates a caloric deficit, combined with regular cycling sessions, will maximize fat loss results. It is important to fuel the body with adequate nutrients to support recovery and energy levels for consistent training. By integrating these strategies, cyclists can effectively work towards reducing belly fat and improving their overall body composition.
Weight Loss for Cycling Performance
Achieving an optimal power-to-weight ratio is a critical component of cycling performance, particularly for those facing climbs or seeking to improve their overall speed and endurance. This ratio, often expressed in terms of watts per kilogram (w/kg), is a measure of how many watts a cyclist can produce relative to their body weight. A higher w/kg indicates a more efficient cyclist who can sustain higher speeds with less effort, making weight loss a strategic move for competitive cyclists.
Shedding excess weight can lead to significant gains in this ratio, but it must be approached carefully to ensure that muscle mass and overall health are preserved. Weight loss in cycling should focus on losing fat rather than muscle, as muscle is essential for producing power on the bike. A well-designed cycling training program that includes both on-bike workouts and nutrition strategies is key to achieving this balance.
Moreover, for those looking to improve their cycling performance through weight loss, it’s important to understand that it’s not just about reducing the number on the scale. The goal is to become leaner and more efficient, which means focusing on body composition and maintaining the strength and stamina required for demanding rides. As cyclists work towards a lower body weight, they should monitor their w/kg ratio to gauge progress and adjust their training and diet accordingly to ensure they are losing weight in a healthy, performance-enhancing manner.
Cycling for Weight Loss: Key Strategies
To maximize your weight loss while cycling, consider these strategies:
Read also: Benefits of Cycling for Weight Loss
1. Ride Fasted (When Possible)
Embarking on a ride before breakfast may boost your weight loss efforts. Fasted cycling involves training on an empty stomach, typically after an overnight fast. This strategy encourages the body to utilize fat stores for energy, enhancing fat oxidation and promoting weight loss.
It’s important to note that fasted rides should be done at a low intensity, as the body’s glycogen stores are lower after a night of fasting, and pushing too hard could lead to muscle loss and fatigue. For those new to fasted riding, it’s advisable to start with shorter durations, gradually increasing as your body adapts. Hydration remains crucial, so drink water or electrolytes to maintain fluid balance.
To optimize the benefits and minimize muscle catabolism, consider consuming a source of protein post-ride. A small, protein-rich meal or shake can kickstart the recovery process without negating the effects of the fasted state. However, fasted cycling isn’t for everyone. Individuals with specific health conditions or dietary requirements should consult a healthcare professional before attempting this method. Moreover, listen to your body; if fasted rides are causing undue fatigue or discomfort, they may not be suitable for you. Remember, the key to effective weight loss in cycling is consistency and a balanced approach to training and nutrition.
2. Incorporate HIIT Workouts
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a powerful tool in the cyclist’s weight loss arsenal. This training method alternates short bursts of intense effort with periods of lower intensity or rest. The beauty of HIIT lies in its ability to keep your body burning calories long after the workout has ended, a phenomenon known as the afterburn effect or excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC).
Studies have shown that incorporating HIIT can increase fat oxidation and improve metabolic rate, making it an effective strategy for weight reduction. To integrate HIIT into your cycling routine, you might start with intervals of one minute at a high intensity, followed by one to two minutes of recovery or easy pedaling. As your fitness improves, you can increase the duration or intensity of the work intervals and decrease the recovery time.
Not only does HIIT help in shedding extra pounds, but it also improves cardiovascular fitness, increases endurance, and can make you a more powerful rider overall. It’s important to note that while HIIT workouts are highly effective, they are also demanding on the body and should be incorporated judiciously into your training program. Adequate recovery time between sessions is crucial to prevent overtraining and injury. For most individuals, one to two HIIT sessions per week are sufficient to see significant improvements in both fitness and body composition. Tapping into the EPOC effect by challenging the anaerobic system in different ways, indoor cycling can be a great way of shredding unwanted fat long after you have finished your workout.
3. Incorporate Strength Training
While cycling is a fantastic cardiovascular workout, incorporating strength training into your routine as a cross training cycling alternative can significantly enhance your weight loss efforts. Strength training builds muscle mass, which in turn increases your resting metabolic rate, meaning you burn more calories even when not exercising.
Targeting major muscle groups with exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and lunges can improve your cycling performance by increasing your power and endurance on the bike. Integrating two to three strength training sessions per week can also help prevent injuries by strengthening the muscles around your joints, providing better support during your rides.
Moreover, it can correct muscle imbalances that are common in cyclists, who often have strong quadriceps but weaker hamstrings and glutes. This balance is crucial for optimal performance, maintaining good posture, and reducing the risk of chronic pain. Additionally, strength training can enhance your body composition, which is beneficial for cyclists looking to lose weight. Lean muscle is more efficient at burning calories than fat, so by increasing your muscle mass, you’ll be able to ride longer and at a higher intensity, leading to greater calorie burn and more effective weight loss. Remember to allow proper recovery time between strength training and cycling sessions to maximize the benefits and reduce the risk of overtraining.
4. Get Good Sleep
Achieving weight loss through cycling is not solely about the hours spent on the bike; sleep quality plays a crucial role in this equation. During sleep, the body undergoes repair and recovery processes that are vital for muscle growth and recuperation, which in turn can improve cycling performance and aid weight loss efforts.
Sufficient rest ensures that you have the energy for your training sessions and helps regulate the hormones that control appetite, such as ghrelin and leptin. An imbalance in these hormones due to poor sleep can increase hunger and cravings, potentially leading to overeating. Moreover, studies have shown that individuals who get adequate sleep-typically between 7 to 9 hours for adults-tend to have lower body mass indexes (BMIs) and are less likely to gain weight over time.
This is because a well-rested body can metabolize carbohydrates more effectively, maintaining better insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance, which are essential for weight management. For cyclists looking to shed pounds, establishing a regular sleep schedule is as important as the training itself. Consistency in your sleep routine not only helps in maintaining a healthy weight but also ensures you are mentally alert and physically ready for the demands of your cycling workouts. Prioritizing good sleep hygiene by creating a restful environment, limiting exposure to screens before bedtime, and avoiding caffeine and heavy meals in the evening can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your cycling weight loss training program.
5. Focus on NEAT Calories Burning
When embarking on a weight loss journey through cycling, it’s essential to consider not just the calories burned while pedaling but also those expended through Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT). NEAT refers to the energy used for everything we do when we’re not sleeping or engaged in sports-like exercise.
For cyclists looking to lose weight, optimizing NEAT can be a game-changer. Increasing daily movement outside of structured workouts can significantly enhance total calorie expenditure. Simple changes like taking the stairs instead of the elevator, opting for a standing desk, or commuting by bike can contribute to a higher daily caloric burn without the need for additional high-intensity workouts.
This approach to burning calories is sustainable and can be seamlessly integrated into one’s lifestyle, making it an invaluable component of a comprehensive weight loss strategy. Moreover, focusing on NEAT encourages a more active lifestyle overall, which is beneficial for weight management and general health. By making a conscious effort to move more throughout the day, cyclists can create a caloric deficit conducive to weight loss, without the potential for overtraining or injury that can come from excessive high-intensity exercise. This holistic approach to activity ensures that every movement counts towards the goal of shedding unwanted pounds.
Stationary Bike Workouts for Weight Loss
Research supports the notion that indoor riding can aid weight loss. A meta-analysis of 13 studies, published in the peer-reviewed journal Medicina in 2019, concluded that indoor cycling can improve body composition (along with aerobic capacity, blood pressure, and lipid profile or cholesterol). The researchers recommend indoor riding plus diet modifications to lose weight. Indoor cycling workouts are low-impact, meaning they’re gentle on your joints, making them an option for a wide number of people, including those who may have pain with higher-impact exercise like running. They also provide stellar cardio by simultaneously working multiple large muscle groups, like your quads, calves, and core. And doing regular cardio can contribute to weight loss.
Depending on how much you crank up the gears, spin workouts can provide some level of resistance training, too, which research shows is also beneficial for weight loss. Strength training helps boost your metabolism by building muscle mass. At the end of the day, the best workout for weight loss is the one you’ll do often. Compared to pedaling outdoors, which is awesome but can be thwarted by bad weather or dicey road conditions, stationary riding is easier to do day in and day out.
Here are three stationary bike workouts that can support your goals:
1. The 30-20-10 Workout
This is a very challenging interval workout. It involves pedaling for 30 seconds at a moderate intensity, 20 seconds at a high intensity, and 10 seconds at a very high intensity and then repeating that sequence for four to five rounds… without any breaks. Then, you take a brief recovery and repeat that five-minute block again. The end result? An ass-kicking ride that takes less than 30 minutes to complete. The 30-20-10 protocol, which can be used in cycling or running, has been shown to boost fitness and performance while also lowering blood pressure and body fat in both untrained and trained people.
2. Tabata Workout
Another super-tough interval workout, this 30-minute ride is all about short bursts of high-intensity riding peppered with brief periods of rest. Basically, you ride all out for 20 seconds, then recover for 10 seconds, then repeat that for eight total rounds. After resting one minute, you do the interval block again and again and again (4 rounds in total), with a one-minute recovery sprinkled in between each block. Tons of research supports the Tabata protocol as an effective workout, showing its benefit for boosting both aerobic and anaerobic fitness while also improving body composition.
3. Endurance Pyramid Workout
Compared to the first two workouts, this is a longer one-the whole thing takes about an hour-that focuses on both strength and speed. Newer riders can start with the first half of the pyramid (plus the cooldown) and add on the other half as they become more confident.
10-Week Cycling Plan for Weight Loss
This 10-week plan is aimed at all cycling enthusiasts that want to lose weight, improve their fitness, raise their threshold or start training for a specific event. The plan is suitable for cyclists who currently train a few times a week but are looking for more structured training or those who compete and wanted to get a boost on their fitness to improve their performance.
During the 10-week plan the weekly volume will vary between 5-8:30 hours and see a progressive build in training stress (with the exception of the recovery week which falls on week 6) to get the biggest benefit! The workout intensities are based on power (or perceived exertion). The plan incorporates common cycling language when describing the workouts which makes the plan very easy to follow.
Understanding Training Zones
To follow any cycling training plan, first you need to determine your training zones built around your target heart rate. You will find a training zone reference in most workout examples as this is the easiest way to determine workout intensity. Interval training alternates high and low-intensity training zones.
These are the 5 training zones used in aerobic workouts:
- Zone 1: (50-59% of HR max) - A warm-up pace or recovery ride.
- Zone 2: (60-69%) - Endurance zone, used in steady-state cardio workouts to build the cardio base.
- Zone 3: (70-79%) - Aerobic tempo zone, used to build up on your endurance and lactate tolerance. For high-intensity interval training, your heart rate should be in Zone 3 or higher.
- Zone 4: (80-89%) - Lactate threshold zone or race pace.
- Zone 5: (90-100%) - Above the threshold zone is usually used for short sprint intervals such as REHIT. Zones 4 and 5 are the most effective for burning calories.
Sample Training Plan
This training plan combines the 2 most effective CAROL Bike workouts designed to help you burn more calories than regular training and effectively reduce body fat in the shortest possible time. Studies show you will see significant improvements in just 8 weeks.
REHIT and Fat Burn Ride
CAROL Bike’s Reduced Exertion HIIT (REHIT) and Fat Burn Rides are short, intense interval workouts that create a long-lasting afterburn effect. Research shows that more than 50% of total calorie burn happens after these workouts. For the most optimal results, it’s recommended to do 3x REHIT workouts per week complemented by 1-2 Fat Burn Rides.
Advanced Tabata Sessions
This advanced workout plan includes 3x intense Tabata sessions that may help you burn up to 15 calories per minute. One round of this effective workout consists of 8 cycles of 20-second intense cycling and 10-second rest in between. Complete training usually consists of 5 rounds and takes 20 minutes.
Beginner Training Plan (Weeks 1-4)
During the first month, you get your body used to a regular low-impact workout to build endurance and prepare for longer rides.
- Monday - 30-mins ride at a moderate pace (Zone 2)
- Tuesday - Active rest
- Wednesday - 30-mins ride (Zone 2)
- Thursday - Complete rest
- Friday - 30-mins ride (Zone 2) or Strength training
- Saturday - Active rest
- Sunday - Complete rest
Intermediate Training Plan (Weeks 5-8)
During the second month, you can introduce one interval training and a longer endurance ride to increase your calorie burn rate.
Nutrition for Weight Loss
Losing weight happens primarily in the kitchen. Creating a calorie deficit is what leads to weight loss. The right food choices, coupled with riding, deliver a one-two punch. The goal is to lose fat and spare as much muscle as possible. If there is too much of a caloric deficit, you will lose muscle. A big help in limiting calories is keeping a food journal. Even if you don’t record everything forever, do it for two weeks. When you have limited calories, you want to get the most bang for your buck. You can cut a significant portion of calories by avoiding empty calories like alcohol, soft drinks, junk food, and processed sugars.
When optimizing your diet for cycling performance and weight loss, it’s helpful to think of your macronutrients as a lever. On one end, you have fats, and on the other, you have carbs. At the fulcrum rests proteins. So the first step is determining how much protein you need. Then prioritize carbohydrates because it’s the body’s preferred fuel source when performance matters.
When you are cycling for weight loss, you want to preserve as much lean muscle mass as possible. There are three key things that you can do to preserve lean muscle mass while you are combining cycling and weight loss. First, create a sensible calorie deficit. Additionally, you are going to want to eat plenty of protein. The general recommendation for protein for endurance training and weight loss is around 2g of protein per kilogram of body weight. Eating lean proteins will help keep the calories lower while ensuring you are getting enough. Finally, add in some strength training to help your weight loss. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym to reap some benefits.
The Mental Game of Weight Loss
Before embarking on a weight loss journey, you have to determine the reasons why. Is it for performance or body image? Having a central goal simplifies your decision making when you are trying to lose weight. When you develop your goal, tie it to an event. By connecting your goal to an event, your goal is measurable and timely. Healthy weight loss takes time and change. Consistency is your greatest ally. A steady approach will help you analyze what is working and what isn’t so that you can develop positive new habits.