Cycling to burn calories
Photo by Gary Knight
Cycling is somewhat like walking in that it’s always a great outdoor activity, but whether or not it qualifies as a workout depends entirely on how you do it. A quick ride around the neighborhood with the kids can be a great family outing, but it won’t burn the calories necessary for weight loss unless your kids are in training for the Toddler Tour de France. If weight loss is your goal, then read ahead to learn how to tailor a bike ride into a calorie burning endeavor.
The bottom line is that you need to maintain an aerobic intensity for at least 30 to 40 minutes. Speed and mileage are less important than intensity and duration. A five mile ride at 10 miles per hour might burn megacalories if those miles are through a hilly, muddy off-road path and you are riding a full suspension mountain bike. But you won’t see results if you spend those five miles on road bike pedaling across smooth asphalt with the wind at your back. To burn calories, measure the intensity of your effort during the ride.
Either heart rate or perceived exertion can be used as your guide. To measure heart rate, either invest in a heart rate monitor or take your pulse for 15 seconds. Use this formula to determine whether or not you are maintaining an aerobic intensity.
220 – age = max heart rate
max heart rate x 70% = target aerobic heart rate
divide target aerobic heart rate by 4 to find the number you want to reach in a 15 second count.
If you know your resting heart rate, then the Karvornen formula is generally considered to be a more accurate assessment tool for finding target heart rate.
A more simple method is to measure perceived exertion on a scale of 1- 10. With the number 10 representing maximum effort, simply choose a number on the scale which represents how hard you feel you are working. Seven or eight represents an aerobic effort.
In order to get in a solid 30 to 40 minute ride, try to avoid neighborhood streets, which have short blocks that require frequent stops and changes in speed. City paths can also be a good route as long as they are not too crowded. Safety rules for runners are handy for keeping cyclists safe as well.
Photo source: Gary Knight on Flickr!
