Make Your Cycling Workouts Count

To make your workouts count, here are a few tips to consider the following:

1. Pedal before breakfast. A lot of studies have shown that you burn more fat if you are working out before consuming a full meal. Take caution though. It is not advisable to do your longest and hardest rides on an empty stomach. About 20 minutes of cycling on a fasted state is okay. And if you insist on eating, it is always safe to consume a little something like fruits or smoothies for that extra fuel. You can have your full breakfast after exercising. This will help fire up the fat burning process and will take you closer to your weight goals faster.

2. Fire it up. This is what they call interval training and this pushes your calorie burn. When you are about to finish your ride or if you do not have a lot of time for your work-out, do about 6 sets of all-out effort around 1 minute each. You can take it slow and rest 30 seconds in between those sets. The more you keep doing this, the longer you can go all-out.
A study done by the Journal of Applied Physiology reported that two weeks of alternate-day interval training upped the body’s ability to burn the cyclists’ fat by 36 per cent. The metabolism will also be increased for the next 12 hours. This means that you’ll be able to burn extra calories through the day.

3. Bike on the road less travelled. Off-road riding will help you lose more than 600 calories an hour compared to cruising on a paved path at a steady pace. It works not just your legs, but your whole body. Riding over rocks and roots develop more muscles. Swap your road skinny tires for new thick ones so you can head to the hills and shed more of the extra fat.

4. Bike all the way. Cycling to work-out is good, but cycling to get places is even better. You can ditch your car so you can head to town on your two wheels. This not only endears you to the environment but also gives you more opportunities to burn calories.

5. Add “Signal Clothing” to your wardrobe. Fitted clothes will keep you honest and help you in your fight against unwanted boxes. How? “Signal clothes” like Lycra wear for bikers will help you track your weight gain and loss. Wearing baggy clothes will make it easier to miss the weight you’ve earned because the extra room will not sound the alarm. Spandex cycling wear is perfect signal clothes add them to your wardrobe and keep them in rotation.

6. Pedal at home. A lot of people prefer to slouch on their couches at home. But you can still watch your favourite TV show and burn calories at the same time. Bring in a portable trainer inside your living room, in front of your TV screen. Do this a couple of nights in a week and it’ll make so much difference.