Does cycling burn calories?
Cycling burn calories, but just how many depends on the speed you are cycling. The faster you cycle, the more calories you will burn. If you bicycle for 30 minutes at a moderate pace (about 10 mph), your body will use approximately 225-250 calories (the number varies depending on your weight).
If you pedal for 45 minutes at a more vigorous pace (anywhere from 12-15 miles per hour), and weigh about 155 pounds, your body will burn approximately 400-500 calories. This may sound like a lot, but it is important to realize that there are other ways of burning calories that are much easier than cycling. Anyone can walk a mile in 20 minutes or so without breaking too much of a sweat
Getting fit does not have to be boring. Plenty of people try to lose weight through brisk walks or running. While both are great forms of exercise, neither is ideal for those who get bored easily. Cycling, however, is a great way to stay fit without getting too bored.
There are several ways that cycling can help you stay in shape and lose weight if you do it regularly including:
Cycling helps increase stamina and endurance. If you cycle regularly, you will see an improvement in your stamina and endurance. This will help you during workouts, allow you to continue exercising for longer periods of time, and keep your body in shape.
Cycling is a great exercise for weight loss. When combined with a healthy diet, regular cycling can help burn fat and calories, helping you lose those unwanted pounds.
Cycling allows you to get a good workout without going out in the heat or cold. If the weather outside is not cooperating with your schedule, do not worry! You can still go on a bike ride and reap its benefits indoors – no excuses!
Does stationary cycling burn calories?
Many people ask a question does cycling burn calories? You might think that the answer is “Of course!” But it’s not that simple. It depends on your weight, the type of bike, and how you pedal.
And for a 150-pound rider with perfect form who pedals like Lance Armstrong — really hard — only a modest number of calories are burned, about 100 per hour. For surprisingly few people does pedaling even half as fast accomplish much in terms of calorie burning. “Everybody thinks they’re going to burn massive numbers if they go out and ride a bike,” says Dr. Margo Heimerl, associate professor at California State University Channel Islands and an expert in exercise physiology.
“But unless you’ve actually done this for work or training, your body isn’t prepared to pedal at a rate that will burn those calories.” The first thing is your weight, she says. Imagine you’re going to sit on the bike for an hour and read a book: “If you weigh 150 pounds, and you’re on a stationary bike with one of those power meters — which people use so they can compare how many watts per kilogram they’re producing — you’ll be lucky if it’s 100 calories.” (Watts are what the power meter measures.)
If you weigh 200 pounds, it’ll take about twice as long to expend 100 calories, and if you weigh 300, up to five times as long. But these estimates are only rough. Your body composition could affect them; having more muscle means using more energy, even when you’re not pedaling.
Does slow cycling burn calories?
I am sure that many people have asked that question does slow cycling burn calories, but to be honest I’ve never seen any research that discusses the effect of slow vs fast cycling in terms of calories burned. But recently I came across some information I think is pretty important and which may actually provide a scientific basis for why simple recumbent exercise bikes are one of the best forms of cardio training for fat loss.
The reason why I say that is because the information I found relates specifically to the fact that a greater percentage of fat calories are burned in low intensity, rather than high-intensity exercise. So, it may actually be true – or more accurate anyway – to say that a slow cycle session burns more body fat than an equivalent faster one!
The research this refers to was reported by The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and entitled “Exercise intensity does not determine training-mediated abdominal fat loss”. It’s a fascinating read for sure but long story short is that the researchers concluded:
“While both moderate-intensity aerobic exercise and high-intensity aerobic interval training result in significant reductions in waist circumference among obese premenopausal women, waist circumference reduction is greater and occurs at a faster rate in the interval training group. These results demonstrate that moderate-intensity aerobic exercise alone does not provide an optimal stimulus for abdominal fat loss, raising questions regarding recommendations of this modality as a primary treatment strategy.”
Indoor cycling burn calories:
The simple answer to this is yes, indoor cycling does actually burn calories. An average person who weighs 150 pounds will in fact burn around 300 calories an hour according to a study conducted by the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. Therefore, this means that if you weigh 70 kilograms (or 150 pounds), you will burn about 500 calories after one hour of exercise on a bike at moderate intensity.
This is all assuming that no other factors are taken into account such as the type of bike you use or whether or not you use any resistance whilst cycling.
However, there are special stationary bikes that offer additional options such as higher speeds and resistance which can increase the number of calories burned per hour considerably. For example, someicalculator.com determines that an average person who weighs 150 pounds and uses a stationary bike with 10 levels of resistance can burn up to 625 calories per hour, this is if they cycle for 60 minutes at a moderate pace according to their website.
Another study conducted by a graduate student at California State University Dominguez Hills by the name of Matt Obery, and his research partner Dr. Steven Blair found that out of all the different types of exercise which could be considered “cardio” such as running on a treadmill or stair climbing, etc., indoor cycling was one of the most effective forms for burning calories, more so than other forms according to their findings.
Their results determined after testing experienced indoor cyclists (meaning they are used to high-intensity workouts such as this) that when cycling at moderate intensity they were able to burn up to 600 calories per hour if they cycled for 60 minutes continuously.
