Do you know that cycling is widely considered to be one of the best exercises for weight loss? It helps you burn lots of unwanted calories. Cycling is a fun, exciting, adventurous, and enjoyable physical activity. Additionally, it’s a low-impact form of exercise that suits everyone (irrespective of any age group and fitness level). So, whether you want to become slimmer, lighter, and healthier or you wish to stave off your weight gain, cycling is one of the most recommended forms of exercise for you. Now, please keep reading the following sections and find out seven steps to lose weight by cycling.
7 Steps to Lose Weight by Cycling
1. Set yourself a cycling-related goal
For successful weight loss, you need to set yourself some cycling-related goals. By setting a cycling-related goal, your brain will be more focused on accomplishing it.
As you already know, the focus is all about concentration. It narrows your attention to a specific target (i.e. weight loss). It even helps you aim your vision, define your view, and prepare your body/brain to achieve it. Staying focused on your per-defined cycling-related goal will reinforce your weight loss mission. Also, kindly make sure that your goal is quantifiable, measurable, and attainable. Please do not set any absurd and ambiguous fitness goals that are difficult to attain.
2. Go long and easy
Cycle riding is indeed an easy and fun way to burn your extra calories and lose weight. Needless to mention, cycling is an aerobic exercise that increases both your heart rate and breathing rate. Furthermore, it even accelerates your metabolism and helps your body to use more energy — that’s the ultimate key to weight loss. And, in order to enjoy the best weight loss benefits, do not forget to take at least one slow, long ride (per week), with a duration of up to six hours.
3. Increase the time you ride
Cycling is an excellent leisure activity that helps you to burn calories. Here, the duration of the ride really matters the most. So, rather than focusing on the actual distance that you’ve traveled, you should increase the duration of your ride for quick and successful weight loss. To start with, you can schedule short and brisk rides of thirty minutes per day. As you become quite comfortable, you should strive to schedule longer rides (at least once per week).
As a generic tip, please practice three types of cycling workouts each week i.e. complete a short ride (thirty minutes), plan a ride of moderate duration (forty-five minutes), and set a long cycle tour (up to six hours).
4. Try interval training
Interval training is nowadays considered to be the best fitness mashup that blends the speeds of both the hare and the tortoise. The primary benefit of interval training is that it pushes your pace and then lets you slow down in order to recover and grab your pace again. So, after a duration of thirty minutes of cycling, please allow yourself to relax and rest for two minutes (as a form of interval training) and then start pedaling again. This brilliant combination of high-intensity cycling efforts & low-intensity recovery efforts will collectively offer you tremendous benefits.
5. Schedule
Please follow a regimented plan which should have regular cycle riding schedules. Following a proper schedule is an important deciding factor in any successful weight loss formula. Please note, the final result depends on frequency, efficiency, and consistency.
6. Eat a healthy low-calorie diet
Are you looking for an easy and effective way to lose weight? If yes, then please follow a healthy low-calorie diet plan. For instance, you can try a slim fast diet. Needless to mention, it is a clinically-proven diet plan that helps you lose weight and stave it off. The best part is — slim fast diet is absolutely delicious. And, you have a myriad of delicious options for this diet, for example, shakes, bars, cookies, smoothies, and snacks.
By controlling your portion sizes and restricting your caloric intake, this diet plan incites your weight loss. For all obese and overweight people who are looking forward to burning excess calories, the slim fast diet will be their go-to solution.
7. Post-cycling rest and recuperation
The last and final tip is all about the importance of post-cycling rest and recuperation. Your body really needs adequate rest and relaxation after a long and strenuous cycle ride. In most of the cases, a sound and peaceful good night’s sleep can offer you the much-needed post-cycling rest and recuperation. Please note, an interrupted duration of good night’s sleep is even important for injury prevention.
Krishan Jangir