Nowadays, people are becoming more conscious of their health. More individuals are looking for ways to get fit, lose weight, and maintain a healthy lifestyle. There are many different ways to do this via exercise: running, circuit training, yoga, weight training – the list goes on.
As consistency is key in fitness, whichever you enjoy most is the best exercise. So, if you’re looking for a more fun and creative way, then you might want to try biking. So how many miles to bike to lose weight? Experts recommend you make it a habit of biking 5 miles per day.
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How Many Miles to Ride a Bike to Lose Weight?
Beyond just being a recreational activity, biking is also a great aerobic activity that will help you lose weight, gain muscle, and reduce risk of heart disease.
Fitness experts say that it only takes biking 5 miles (8.05km) a day to contribute to your weight loss goal.
Even a shorter bike ride, like biking 4 miles a day, will still aid in this as you will still be producing a certain amount of effort, which burns a good number of calories.
And if you want to lose more, biking 10 miles a day will get you further along your weight loss journey. If you’re not one to ask about distance (i.e., “how many km” or “how many miles”), then consider instead that a beginner cyclist will take about 30 to 40 minutes to bike 5 miles.
A study by Harvard revealed that a 155-pound person could lose up to 278 calories by just cycling 30 minutes a day. This means you would only need to bike somewhere between 20 minutes to an hour every day to see results.
How Can I Lose Weight Through Biking?
1. If you plan on cycling for weight loss, use it as a mode of transportation.
For instance, instead of driving or taking a cab to work or wherever you need to go, maybe you could bike the way there. It would already complete the 20 to 60 minutes you would need to bike per day to burn a good amount of calories.
2. Cycle with others to make it a positive habit
Cycling is also a great leisure activity for friends and family. You’ll be burning calories without even knowing it!
3. Start with 3 miles per day then increase every week
If you just begin, start with a small distance, say 3 miles per day. Make sure to maintain the same amount for a week or two as your bike every day.
Then, slowly increase the goal, half a mile at a time if you like. As you succeed with biking at an average of more than 5 miles a day, it can benefit much in the long term.
Biking also has other benefits beyond weight loss, it helps build muscle.
Because of how the bike is formed and the way we ride the bike, our muscles in the calves, glutes, quad, and hamstrings are toned and developed.
4. Know that biking helps us stay positive and healthy
It’s not just about losing weight; biking has a good impact on our mental and physical health.
Biking has also been proven to help with boosting brain power. Because cycling helps with better blood circulation, a study in 2013 showed that cyclists’ blood flow in the brain rose by 28 percent.
And last but not least, cycling helps you grow your social circle – there’s a large group of bikers who offer one another support and tips and tricks. It’s always nice to be part of that kind of community to find encouragement to keep going.
5. Eat and sleep well
You should also incorporate a healthy diet as you maintain a biking habit. Make sure to avoid fast foods altogether, sleep enough, and drink a lot of water.
Is Cycling Good for Weight Loss?
Biking is fun as you can choose to take a variety of routes, see different sights, and enjoy being outside as you lose weight.
One of the most effective ways to burn more calories is by doing cardio. Otherwise known as aerobics, cardio is a form of exercise that focuses on getting your heart rate up long enough to get rid of calories.
Its most common examples are running or walking. But most people dread cardio as it tends to be more exhausting and is much more boring than other forms of exercise.
Biking, however, offers a different spin on this. Although biking falls under the cardio and aerobics category, it is not at all boring – especially when done outdoors. Riding a bike to lose weight is preferable over other cardio exercises as it is more impact-free and fun than running.
Once you get comfortable with riding at faster speeds, biking is also much more refreshing, with the wind blowing in your hair and feeling the cool breeze as you zoom past.
Biking for weight loss is also much more low-impact than running for weight loss, as pedaling is surprisingly easier on your joints than running and takes less effort than running.
With biking, it feels like you’re sitting down and pedaling feels lighter once the bike starts moving versus when running and you feel the weight of every step you take. It’s also so much easier to distract yourself from the tiredness you might feel as the outdoors provides a variety of things to divert your attention to.
This leads to biking further distances or for longer times than you would have if you had chosen to run, and in turn, leads to more calories burnt.
Furthermore, check this Youtube video to know how many miles to bike to lose weight.
Conclusion
Losing weight is extremely difficult. Besides a good diet, you also have to find an effective exercise that you can do every day. Bike riding for weight loss is a good choice not only because it burns calories but because it’s so easy and so much fun that it won’t even feel like you’re doing cardio.
With biking, the weight loss journey begins the moment you leave your house and hop on. Whether you bike for the intention of losing weight or as a form of exercise, or it’s just something you want to incorporate into your daily routine – biking is surely beneficial.
“I ride my bike to work for years, but is that enough? Our carelessness towards our surroundings has taken a toll on the environment. And now, everyone is responsible for changes; even the most minor contribution is counted. With this hope and spirit, I started with my partner to establish Biketoworkday to help more individuals commute to their work sites on their bikes.”