What is a good starting plan for someone who is new to cycling and wants to lose weight?

Question

I am 21 and have just purchased my first road bike. I have read some articles for beginners on the basics of cycling and the things I need to do ie. constant pedaling, interval training, but no real plan to lose weight. Can someone point me in the right direction.

Answer 1

I keep a food journal. Controlling your incoming calories is the best and fastest way to loose weight. I measure  or weigh everything I eat. If I don't know the calories, I don't eat it. Polar makes a heart-rate monitor that can estimate your calories burned on a ride. http://www.polarusa.com/Products/cs/cs20...

I would not worry about doing intervals yet. Do lots of easy riding to establish a strong base fitness. Climbing is a great way to burn calories. I can burn up to 1000 calories per hour while climbing.

You could also get a basal metabolic test to determine your base calories burned in a day. I got this done at my doctor's office and it only cost $80.

Answer 2

Really you will lose so much weight just getting out there.  Just go out and ride.  Also do not include road bike in your weight loss program search.  This is a good starter for you

http://bicycling.about.com/od/cyclingfor...

Answer 3

Basically the further you ride the more calories you burn ... but the more food you will want too, so you have to be disciplined.

To start will, just get out often and ride at a comfortable pace. You should dress comfortably, and ride with the ball of the foot on the pedal at an 70-90 rpm cadence (very important to minimize knee stress).  Don't worry overly about distance to start ... you will be sore and maybe won't do more than 3-5 miles, but that will increase quickly if you get out 4-5 days/week. Don't increase more than about 10% / week.

For weight loss it's most important to do distance at a moderate pace rather than shorter distance at a faster pace ... but you should get your heart rate up a bit.

Don't expect quick results. You will build muscle as you ride, and it's denser than fat, so initially you may actually gain weight. But muscle burns more calories than fat, so as you get fitter you will be able to go faster and further at the same apparent effort level and weight will start to burn off. But realistically expect to ride 2 moths before you will see major changes.

Look for varied terrain ... do flat country one day and mix in some small hills on others. Ride into the wind on the outbound route (that way you have a tailwind to come home with). Use the bike instead of the car or bus to do errands (just remember a lock). Try to find others to ride with as soon as you get comfortable on the bike.

So, to summarize, aim for frequency (4-5 times a week or more), gradually increasing distance (10% / week), aim for moderate effort level rather than hard riding (you will go further and burn more calories), try to find others to ride and vary your route (explore ... it's fun).

You will need to change your diet too ... while riding 20 mph can burn 900 calories / hr your body will adjust metabolism and you will need to minimize fats and control total calories.  Bananas make good snacks. Remember to drink water (get a water bottle for the bike).

I've purposely not suggested a specific plan. You will increase fitness and lose weight through adopting cycling as a part of your "lifestyle". If you think of it as exercise rather than enjoyable you won't stick to it. So read lots, find others who enjoy cycling (even consider joining a club ... most have rides for the weekend rider not just those aiming to race), make it part of your life and you will have fun, get fit and control weight (you will also save money).

Good luck.

Answer 4

Riding at a moderate speed (12 – 14 mph) you will burn approximately 235 calories per half hour.

It takes about 3,500 calories to burn one pound of fat.

Here, this site has a good guide line of what you should be doing:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article...

Answer 5

Just get out & ride.  Don't worry too much about  miles, think more  in terms of hours.  Maybe make a goal to be riding 5 hours a week or whatever.  Keep it fun.  Don't overdo it, because then it can become a chore and then you won't want to ride.

As for what type of riding, high cadence & long sessions will burn the most calories.  Don't worry too  much about power & speed, just keep a nice steady pace as long as you can.  So, if you had a goal of riding 5 hours per week, if you could split that  into 3 rides, that would really get your metabolism going.  But you'll probably have to work up to that much riding in one ride, maybe start out one hour a day for 5 days a week with a couple rest days and adjust as your abilities develop.

Also, check out http://www.sparkpeople.com, it will help you count calories and get an idea of how many calories everything is as well as tracking the nutritional value of the food. It adds everything up and will show if you are lacking in any nutrients, etc. It's pretty cool. On there I logged what I ate and really got a good understanding of how to balance my calorie & nutritional budget. You can also track your exercise on there and it'll tell you how many calories you are burning for various activities. It's a really helpful site, it gave me a great feel for how I was progressing towards my goal. Best of all, it's free.

Answer 6

Start by making loops around your home. That way, when you get tired you can always cut a loop short and get home quickly. As you gain confidence, you can range further and further. Your workouts will then become journeys which makes them more fun.

Get a cyclometer so you can keep track of your mileage and average speed over the routes you ride regularly. Watch your average speed increase. Keep track of your riding on a web site like bikejournal.com

To start, just get out and ride. You need to build up a base level of conditioning before you start doing intervals. The best bicycle racer in the history of the sport was, arguably, Eddie Merckx. He said, "Just ride lots."

To really get into training, get a heart rate monitor (they are about $35 these days) and read the book "The High Performance Heart" by Dr. Phil Maffertone. I followed his plan and it worked very well.

HTH

Answer 7

As a beginner, you should just start out on flat land, and just figure out your own abilities. Ride in places that you are comfortable in, incase you need to stop and take a breather. Ride to someplace that is further away, stop there for a while and then ride back. It all depends on your own stamina really. Once you see whats easy, challenge yourself. Hope that helps!

Answer 8

Try and do about 10-15 miles a week. Burns lots of calories!