Whether you’re a beginner or an expert rider, cycling offers a fun way to lose extra pounds. However, how you ride determines your weight loss journey. You ought to have a workable strategy to achieve your goal.
Here are some of the tips to help you bike your way to weight loss:
- Learn basic maintenance tips
As a beginner, you should learn some basics to maintain your bike. As you progress in cycling, you could even take up a course on bicycle maintenance.
However, as you ride each day, ensure you have a portable bike stand to make your repair easy and effective. Not sure which bike repair stand to buy? Then have a look at https://www.thrillappeal.com/best-bike-repair-stands for a detailed guide.
- Increase speed and distance
The more you ride your bike, the more calories you lose. Experts recommend that to get the most out of your cycling, you should ride between 20 minutes to one hour continuously.
You should also have a heart monitor and a calorie tracker to help you determine the number of lost calories. Ideally, a good ride should increase your heart rate to about 68 percent more for proper weight loss results.
It’s advisable to maintain a moderate to intense pace during cycling. Yes, it’s tiring to ride at very high speeds, but it will give you a sweat that eventually leads to a trimmer body.
- Go for steep terrains
Riding on a flat or down a hill is natural and requires less energy. However, if you choose a steep terrain, you’ll have to push the pedals hard to get to your destination.
For instance, it’s undoubtedly hard to cycle up a hill. You’ll sweat hard to get to the top. But guess what? You’ll burn more calories going uphill.
- Seek an accountability partner
Riding can, at times, seem monotonous, and you may easily give up altogether. However, having a partner to walk with you in the weight loss journey could help.
You could seek out some experienced riders in your neighborhood to help guide you on the best riding routes. Besides, cycling partners act as motivation for those days you don’t feel like hopping on your bike for a morning ride.
If you can’t find riding partners in your hood, you can always seek out cycling clubs to join.
- Have the right gear
If you plan on making cycling a part of your daily routine, then it’s paramount to have the right gear to make your workout comfortable.
The choice of the bike remains the major contributing factor to a fulfilling ride. Whether you choose a mountain bike, an electric bike, or a fat tire bike, ensure you choose one depending on your skill level.
Secondly, you should have protective gear such as a helmet, hand gloves, cycling shorts, and cycling shoes. The shoes you choose to have on your cycling escapades may make your workout uncomfortable or easy to handle.
- Avoid distractions
While cycling, ensure you use a route that doesn’t have many stopovers to ensure you maintain your pace to the end.
Most importantly, avoid listening to music or even texting as you ride. It’s impossible to maintain an individual pace while you keep getting distracted by the phone.
Besides, you need to remain fully alert of any sounds or movements around you during cycling for safety purposes.
In conclusion, you can use your bike to help you achieve that well-toned and flexible body you’ve always desired. All you should do is ensure you ride at moderate to intense speeds, learn how to maintain your bike, avoid distractions on the road, opt for steep terrains, and have the right cycling gear.
This post was last modified on November 13, 2022 2:25 am