bicycling

It's just as beneficial as any other form of cardio, and personally I think it's a lot more fun. I love riding my bike and getting out of the gym. Just start with short rides for the first week or two, your butt needs time to adjust When I first got my bike I went on a two hour ride the first day and couldn't ride it again for over a week.

I'm new to cycling myself so take what I say with a grain of salt but I have found that there aren't a lo of tricks to it, you just have to do it. The more you do it, the easier it gets. The hills that I went up at a snails pace in my first week of biking get a lot easier. I also noticed that I am much more comfortable biking in traffic (I live in Brooklyn) but it took me some getting used to.

As for fitness routines, I would set goals of distance (maybe 5 or 6 miles depending on how many hills there are) and then work on getting there faster. Once that gets boring (after a week or so) go a longer distance and then work on getting there faster.

Also, to keep me motivated I made myself a poster to chart my milage (like one of those drawings of a thermometer they have for fundraisers) that shows a goal of 100 miles. I don't care how long it takes me to accumulate 100 miles of riding (probably 2 1/2 weeks) I'm going to celebrate it. So every day after a ride, I fill in the chart and see that I've gotten a few miles closer to my goal.

Biking is really great! Have you ever seen a serious rider w/ a fat butt? Lol

But seriously, it has become my favorite form of exercise. Check out the calories you can burn per hour. It also keeps your joints and muscles in good shape so you can do other things. I noticed the benefits almost immediately when I started to ride regularly. You might want to also invest in a stationary bike for bad weather days so you can stay in biking shape.

Congrats on the new bike. When DH bought mine I wanted to sleep with it, like a little kid on Christmas.

Bicycling is great! And there are so many trails around the country and organized rides. My husband and I have made a goal to ride at least 15 miles in every state that we can. So far we've done Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Wisconsin. We have a map on the wall of the garage and are marking off each state as we ride. It's become our passion. Enjoy!

It's just as beneficial as any other form of cardio, and personally I think it's a lot more fun. I love riding my bike and getting out of the gym. Just start with short rides for the first week or two, your butt needs time to adjust When I first got my bike I went on a two hour ride the first day and couldn't ride it again for over a week.

this

Diets are for losing weight.
However, cycling will lead to greater cardiovascular healthand you should do it!

and this

I hate to break it to you, but the bike you got is a beach cruiser. OK for short rides, but not really suited for the longer distances someone interested in biking for fitness or weight loss would need.

Trying to ride 10 or 15 miles on that bike would be like trying to run 3 miles in a pair of flip flops, or pumps.

Biking is great! I like to add some low impact cardio into the routine.....one thing that has change since the 90's is helmuts (sp) - don't ride without one - not worth it!!!

I hate to break it to you, but the bike you got is a beach cruiser. OK for short rides, but not really suited for the longer distances someone interested in biking for fitness or weight loss would need.

That's true in some regard as long days in the saddle while be difficult.

Having said that lets look at the basics: calorie burn = body weight x intensity x time.

If time is restricted then intensity can be increased. She just needs to get hill repeats in her life

Frankly, cycling is awesome for incinerating calories and getting fit simply because it is just so much fun....