Would you like to burn about 500 calories per hour? Then hop on your bike, because cycling is the best workout for anyone who wants to change their body.
Here are some tips to help you get in shape so you can look good in your cycling lycra.
Be strong
If you want to lose weight while cycling, try this: Start by pedalling slowly for 15 minutes. Then, pick up the pace and ride hard for 10 minutes in a high gear. If you can’t keep going at this pace for 10 minutes, just go as far as you can safely handle. Last, shift down to a medium gear and ride for seven minutes at this level. Once you’ve done these three steps once, you can repeat the order until you’ve worked out enough.
In a study that was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, those who did this type of interval training burned more fat than those in the control group who did normal endurance training without the intervals. So, this session will help you get rid of fat you don’t want.
Don’t work out too much.
If you want to get in the best shape of your life, you shouldn’t try to train too hard while cycling. Even though it may sound strange, you can burn more fat if you keep the pace of your ride low over long distances.
When you’re riding for a long time, you can burn more fat if you keep the intensity of your ride at a moderate level.
When you’re riding, you should try to keep the level of effort below 80% of your maximum heart rate. This is because when your heart rate is below 80% (usually between 60% and 70%), the calories you burn come from your fats.
A healthy heart
We all know that cycling can help you lose weight and get in shape, but did you know that it can also help keep your heart healthy? The British Heart Foundation says that non-cyclists who don’t do any other exercise but ride 20 miles (about 32 km) every week can cut their risk of heart disease by more than half.
In the same way, heart disease rates would drop by an amazing 5–10% if people rode their bikes instead of driving their cars for short trips. So, cycling can not only help you look good, but it can also keep your heart healthy.
Moves easily
You can add cages or clips to your pedals, or you can go one step further and use clipless pedals, which can take some time to get used to. Not only will these simple tools help you lose less energy through the pedals, making you go faster, but they will also help you tone your legs. This is because these ways of being attached to a pedal make it easier to keep a smooth motion when you’re riding, which uses more of your leg muscles.
The Audax
Even though cycling is fun, if you always take the same routes and do the same workouts, you will quickly get bored and lose interest. The audax rides help with this. If you haven’t heard of audax rides, they are long bike rides (usually 50 km, 100 km, 200 km, 300 km, 400 km, or 600 km) where the goal is to finish the distance in a certain amount of time. Even so, the events are not races.
The number of riders in each audax is very different, and you could be riding with more than 100 riders or only 10. Audax events are fun and hard, and they will keep you interested in cycling so you can keep doing it.
Wear Lycra to work
It can be hard to find the time to work out, so if you live close enough to your job, you should try putting on some Lycra and biking to work. People who drove to work gained more weight than those who didn’t, even if they worked out regularly, according to a four-year study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
People who ride their bikes often are just as fit as people 10 years younger than them.
The National Forum for Coronary Foundation
Another reason you might want to commute to work is that the National Forum for Coronary Foundation found that people who ride their bikes regularly are as fit as people 10 years younger than them.
A Cycle events
If you keep doing the same kinds of cycling sessions, you won’t get any better. Change up your workouts and rides to keep things interesting and to keep pushing your body. You can sign up for an event as one way to do this. This will not only give you a reason to train and keep you motivated, but it will also help you change up your workouts.
From rides for women-only to sportives to five-day events to charity rides in fancy dress, there are a lot of different types of events to choose from. Get involved and enjoy the benefits of taking part in a cycle event.
