Biking to Lose Weight: Cycling Tips for Weight Loss
One of the best ways to start losing weight is by eating less and moving more. By doing so, you’ll create a calorie deficit that over time, will help you lose the weight that you want so badly to get rid of! With that in mind, people often ask what type of exercise is best to encourage weight loss? Well, the best type of exercise is the one that you’ll enjoy and be consistent with!
One of the best ways to achieve the goal of finding an activity that you’ll stay consistent with is by picking up cycling. Cycling is an excellent activity to add into your weight loss journey for many reasons.
- It’s easy on the joints, which will help prevent injury.
- It’s fun to do, which will encourage you to stay consistent.
- There are many ways to engage in cycling, which will allow you to pick the style of riding that you enjoy the most.
Let’s get started learning about how each of these reasons shows how cycling is a good way to lose weight!
Injury Prevention
One of the most common things that happens to people when they get started in their weight loss journey is they start off a little too strong and end up injuring themselves. If you’ve been pretty sedentary for a while, there is a strong chance that if you decided to get up off the couch and go for a run that you’d develop shin splints or experience some pretty strong discomfort in your knees.
Cycling is a great alternative to running as it is incredibly low impact on your joints. This means that you can ride longer and go further than you would if you picked up running as well as remain consistent with your progress as you wouldn’t have to spend a lot of time recovering from injuries.
Consistency
Consistency is paramount if you want to be successful at losing weight. Cycling is an exercise that encourages consistency due to how good it is at preventing injury as mentioned above, but also in how fun it is!
If it’s been a while since you’ve been on a bike, think back to when you were growing up. Remember the feeling of the wind sailing past your face as you cruised down a hill on your bike? Or the feeling of pure bliss that you felt when you won a race against one of your friends? Those feelings can be repeated now! The fun nature of cycling releases dopamine in your brain, which is the reward chemical that makes you feel good when you do something fun like riding a bike! Your body tends to crave dopamine, so the more you ride your bike, the more dopamine gets released, and the more consistent you will be about riding your bike!
If you’re a data-oriented type of person, there are several apps out there that will help you stay consistent with your cycling. Strava is one of the best apps out there for tracking your cycling habits so you can see how consistent you’re being. Plus, it’s nice to be able to use Strava to set goals in terms of how much distance you want to cover, how much vertical feet you want to climb, and how fast you’ve gone up specific sections along your ride! The best part is that Strava can track many different types of exercises, so you can use it no matter what style of cycling you decide to do.
Different Styles of Cycling to Consider
When people think about cycling, there are many different images that may come to mind. That’s because there are so many ways to enjoy the sport! Bike manufacturers have created tons of different bikes over the last 20 years that have revolutionized the sport of cycling. Each bike design has been crafted to fit the specific discipline of riding to get maximum enjoyment out of each ride.
So what style of cycling is best for you? Let’s talk about each one and see which one jumps out at you the strongest!
Road Bikes
Road biking is a great way to start losing weight because the only thing you need to get started is a bike and a road! Since almost anyone can walk out of their front door and step on the road, it’s pretty accessible!
Road bikes can vary in price range and style. The best thing for you to do if you need to purchase a road bike is to visit a bike shop and let one of the technicians help you find the bike that will fit you best.
Mountain Bikes
For those that enjoy spending time off the beaten path and desire a bit more adventure than the road has to offer, consider picking up a mountain bike. Mountain bikes are great for encouraging weight loss because you can pedal them up some pretty steep inclines that are full of obstacles. Steering your bike around and over roots, rocks, and trees helps to burn extra calories as you ride, and it’s all for the best part: the downhill! Ripping up a downhill section on your mountain bike is a great feeling and is the reward for all of the work you put into pedaling uphill!
Just like with road bikes, be sure to hit up a bike shop to get some help selecting the right bike for you!
Final Thoughts
Weight loss is something that seems to be a very complicated process. With all of the programs and specialty supplements out there, it’s no wonder why so many people feel lost and discouraged when trying to lose weight. One of the best things you can do when you’re in that place of confusion and frustration is to go back to the basics.
Remember that weight loss is only possible through a caloric deficit. By eating less and moving more, you can create that caloric deficit! Cycling is a great way to stay consistent with creating a caloric deficit because it helps keep your joints in good shape, it is easily tracked with the apps available today, and there are many ways to engage in it.
Which way is right for you? Let us know in the comments below!
