With so many health issues you risk getting due to unhealthy habits, everyone wants to start living a fitter lifestyle. Thankfully, there are countless ways to do just that.
Among the simplest tricks is to change your diet. You will find that there are certain foods you should avoid and ones you should eat more.
Many people turn to books to learn how to eat properly.
In addition to eating right, exercise is also essential.
Any workout you do is going to help burn calories, but belly fat is stubborn. This leads many to ask, can cycling help lose belly fat?
If that’s the only area where you want to lose fat, cycling could be an excellent choice.
What Is Cycling?
Cycling is the same as bicycling. Though it’s used for transportation and recreational purposes, some treat riding a bicycle as a weight-management tool.
Most people find it to be fun; this ensures that you want to continue doing it. After all, no exercise regimen will work for you if you don’t like what you’re doing.
While some prefer to go somewhere and use a traditional bike, you can find stationary bicycles, too.
That way, you can actually work out in your home whenever you desire. This also means you get to burn extra calories through exercise regardless of the weather.
What Is Spot Reduction?
Spot reduction is a term used to describe when you try to reduce the fat in a particular part of the body.
Often, you use specific exercises to do this. For example, you may do a lot of stomach crunches to try to reduce belly fat.
However, this is a myth, as stated by many health professionals and scientists. You lose fat from your entire body, and this happens through regular exercise and your diet.
Can Cycling Help Lose Belly Fat?
Any exercise and workout can help you to lose fat. However, if you do want to work primarily on shrinking your belly, cycling can help.
It’s very easy to do, and most people can effectively incorporate it into their routine. You may also find it inexpensive to buy a bicycle or a stationary bike.
If you choose the traditional route, you can ride the bike to work or when running errands. It also reduces your need for gasoline and prevents wear and tear on the car.
Of course, cycling burns calories, which is the primary way to lose weight.
It’s a simple solution, too; you just need to exercise and burn more calories than what you consume every day.
There are other health benefits of cycling (and exercise in general).
For example, you could actually lower your risk of obesity, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and many others.
Tips for Losing Belly Fat While Cycling
While you may think you can just hop on your bicycle and start pedaling, in reality, there are a few things to consider.
The pace you go and how long you ride can make a difference. Also, plateaus are a real thing, and you could find yourself facing one after a short time.
Here are some tips to help you on your journey to lose belly fat.
1. Keep Your Pace Steady
To lose belly fat, you must engage your core when cycling.
Most people feel that they work their glute and quad muscles more than their bellies. For better results, you should tighten the core muscles while you cycle.
While having proper form is essential, you also need to ensure you’re going at the right speed.
A leisurely stroll around the block on a bicycle isn’t enough to burn belly fat. You may feel worked out when you’re done, but it’s not going to be as effective.
The pace should be moderately intensive, which means you can still talk but not easy to do so.
If you have a heart rate monitor, use that. Make sure you’re using less than 80 percent of the maximum heart rate.
It’s often best to cycle for two hours, three times per week. Though it may seem like a lower-intensity workout (and it is), it can burn more fat.
Of course, you aren’t going to burn as many calories, so you’ve still got to stick to your diet.
2. Use Interval Training
To really help with calorie burn, consider adding interval training to the mix. Instead of working at a steady pace throughout your workout, boost it every so often.
For example, you can ride for two minutes at the fastest speed you can manage. Then, rest or ride slowly for about 30 seconds.
Continue this process for a total of six times. This should take about 15 minutes in total.
However, you shouldn’t do it every single day. It might be best to do intervals two or three times a week and have steady cycling sessions on alternate days.
The benefit here is that you’re burning more calories (or the same as a longer session) in a shorter period. This boosts your metabolism for up to 12 hours later.
In a sense, you’re burning more calories throughout your day even when you’re not moving.
It can also help prevent a plateau, where you don’t see results even if you continue with the same efforts.
3. Consider Cross-Training
Though you can use cycling to help burn belly fat, you may see better or faster results when you do cross-training.
This means you can alternate between cycling, interval cycling, and other forms of exercise. You can try circuit training or join a class with a focus on aerobics.
Also, consider adding weight training to the mix.
Most doctors recommend that you don’t wear weighted vests or ankle and wrist weights while cycling. Talk to your healthcare professional if you choose to do so.
Yoga and stretching can also play a crucial part in your exercise routine. These are often relaxing and can help work out the soreness in your tired muscles.
4. Sleep More and Worry Less
You should be getting enough rest every night because this helps with weight loss.
When your body is too tired, you can’t focus. It’s sluggish and might cause you to burn fewer calories throughout the day.
Stress is also a big issue. When you’re overstressed, you might eat more than normal, which can cause weight gain.
On the other hand, you may stop eating as much. Though this can help you lose weight, it isn’t a healthy way to do so.
Though you must exercise to burn fat, you also have to eat right.
This book is designed to help eliminate cravings, control appetite, and stay on track to a healthier you.
You’re going to learn about cholesterol, saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, and much more.
It debunks many popular myths about so-called superfoods and focuses on the right foods to eat instead.
These are going to help you heal your body, boost metabolism, and fight the aging process.
Because a certified nutrition specialist wrote it, you can guarantee that it can help you turn yourself into a fat-burning machine.
Conclusion
Can cycling help lose belly fat? Many tried and proved that it does, but you may also want to incorporate other workouts and exercises into your routine.
On top of exercising, you’ve got to focus on getting plenty of quality sleep and worrying less, as well as on eating right.
