There’s no doubt to the fact that activities such as cycling can really be helpful for losing an extra pounds from your weight while enjoying the scenarios passed by. It does not only help with weight loss but also gives pretty good leg toning results.
And overall, there’s a list of other reasons too that makes cycling a very popular activity choice for those who want to work on their weight. But one question that pops into mind related to this is how long does it take to lose weight from cycling? Well, there’s not a one-line answer to this clearly. Quite a few factors and scenarios play important roles in deciding this answer for individuals. Let’s find out those factors so that estimating an answer for yourself is possible.
Understanding How Long Does It Take to Lose Weight from Cycling
Your weight loss goals and the time you’ll spend cycling along with other fitness activities will vary from someone else with similar aims. Some may work out alongside cycling. While a few just focus on pedaling really hard and quick rather than spending time on more activities. You see, it’s obvious that there’s no way one can guess a certain time period that should be applicable for all to lose weight. Keep on Reading…
The Very Basic Answer.
According to the centers for disease control and prevention, it’s safe to lose about one to two pounds of weight every week for a healthy person. This rate is known to be a sustainable and risk-free one to keep one’s body far from any side effects.
One pound of body mass loss is similar to burning almost 3500 calories. If you consume 14000 calories every week, then to lose 3500 calories you’ll need to burn a total of 17500 calories throughout those 7 days. Depending on workout intensity as well as your current body weight, the calorie burn rate with cycling will vary. However, let’s throw an example to make the situation seem more understandable.
Let’s assume you are a person with 125 pounds of weight. Now if you cycle at a speed of 12-13.9 mph then you’ll be able to burn around 480 calories. In the case of cycling at a speed of 14-19 mph, you can burn 600-720 calories. And those who are capable of pushing it the furthest by cycling at 20 mph, a total of 990 calories can be burned through this.
Now if you weight more than 125 pounds, then the same cycling speed will result in burning more calories. Because a person who has more body mass will feel it difficult to cycle. And the difficulty is basically from the more effort they need to put into cycling. This means their applied effort will be much more than the person who has less weight resulting into better fat loss.
Let’s assume you are 185 pounds in weight. If you cycle at 12-16 mph, then you’ll burn somewhere between 700-900 calories. If you push further and cycle at a speed of 16.1 to 20 mph then this calorie-burning will result in somewhere between 1000-1470 calories.
Factors That Change This Time Period of Losing Weight for Individuals.
If you think about finding a certain time period for trying cycling and then expect a result, then there’s a good chance of not getting a satisfying outcome. Because there are factors that will play the obstacle to not let you get into whatever weight loss goal you’ve through cycling. But if you focus more on these factors instead, that can impact your weight loss route, then maybe you’ll have better chances of hitting aim. So more than thinking about how long you need to do a certain thing, worry about working with the factors that impact it. The critical onez of these are four generally.
Work on Raising the Intensity (The Most Important One)
The first rule of making sure your cycling works in getting you weight loss favor is about increasing intensity. You should constantly keep on increasing your intensity of cycling. The first few days you’ll feel it very hard to keep up with a certain speed. But after a while, it’ll become easier.
Then you must not stick with the now easier speed and increase it for the next level. You don’t lose weight when a certain cycling speed is achieved. You shed the pounds when you’re struggling to pedal. Once things get accustomed to body, make sure to level it up for your energy to be used more. Only then the weight loss scheme is going to work for you.
HIIT Implantation is Fantastic!
High-intensity interval training also known shortly as HIIT is a great way to ensure whatever time you’re spending cycling is worth your weight loss goals. Why? Because with HIIT, you work very hard for a less time period, probably 30-60 seconds. During this time frame, you try a short burst of intense cycling.
You can go for one round of HIIT and then pair it up with a 2-3 minutes of low resistance cycling. Keep doing this for the next twenty to thirty minutes. This type of cycling experience can help you get your cardio fitness right and eventually lose fat drastically.
Even when you stop pedaling, your metabolism does not lose engagement. And so, it keeps on burning calories at a higher rate even after you are done with your cycling session.
Endurance Training is Effective.
When you feel like you’ve had enough, don’t stop there instantly and rather try to go a bit further. This is known as endurance training and several pieces of research supporting the idea of it. This is highly recommended for burning fat aka weight loss.
At the beginning of endurance training, give it a slow start. For example, if you cycle for ten minutes every day, then by the end of a week you’re completely 70 minutes. Let this become 100 minutes a week. Then try to aim for 150 for the next week. Gradually increase your endurance.
Don’t Lock Yourself with One Activity.
Some people lose their focus when they try to achieve a goal with only one activity. That’s where cross-training works fantastically. If you think that alternating activities will help you since you’re quite easy to become bored with a certain thing, then don’t hesitate to try different things.
Try cycling one day and then hit the gym for next. You decide what activity you’re going to engage in. That way your brain won’t feel cumbersome of an activity thinking it as a burden but more like something fun and interesting.
Wrap Up
And now you know more than just how long does it take to lose weight from cycling. This low-impact cardio activity is undoubtedly very helpful when you know how to make it to your goal. It’s not going to cause pain or soreness to your joints and instead, help you recover lost metabolism.
However, if you decide to go for the high-intensity version, just make sure your leg muscles are strong enough to support the idea. You don’t want to trouble yourself, especially if you’re someone suffering from knee-related pain or issues.
