Bike riding

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Frappuzzino
Frappuzzino Posts: 342 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
What kind of benefit would I gain from bike riding around the neighborhood? I power walk 20-30 minutes every day and do 20 minutes of high impact aerobics 3x a week, but I feel like I need a little extra. Any advice?

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  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    It's additional exercise, so it's additional calories burned. It would probably work your muscles from a slightly different angle and would be less impact on your joints.

    Is there something specific you are wondering about? The questions seems a little to open ended...
  • Frappuzzino
    Frappuzzino Posts: 342 Member
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    It's additional exercise, so it's additional calories burned. It would probably work your muscles from a slightly different angle and would be less impact on your joints.

    Is there something specific you are wondering about? The questions seems a little to open ended...

    Sorry for being so vague. :) I was just wondering if it would be worth it to buy a bike to ride around on for additional exercise, or if I should just continue walking. I haven't ridden a bike in years, especially for exercise, so I was wondering if anyone has lost weight with regular biking, etc.
  • SportySpiceVT
    SportySpiceVT Posts: 59 Member
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    It is exercise so it will burn calories. You can check the database to see if you like how many calories it burns and think it would be worth it. :)
  • bikingpanda
    bikingpanda Posts: 68 Member
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    I believe the bike works a different set of muscles than walking does. I am not positive on that though.
  • boku70
    boku70 Posts: 80
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    Bike riding has, from the start, been one of two cores of my diet regimen. It probably doubled my pace (to 4 lbs instead of 2/week--medically supervised, do not try this at home :-) ). It's now also a crucial part of my maintenance regimen.

    It was totally worth it to me to buy a bike. The problem is that I've gotten addicted, and am riding 100+ miles/week now. :-)

    Go for it!
  • carlajp18
    carlajp18 Posts: 50 Member
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    My girlfriend lost 20 lbs after buying a mountain bike on craigslist and using it 2 -3 times a week. She didn't want to spend a lot of money on another piece of equipment and the used biked ended up being a great deal. She lost a lot of weight and loves it! She has since upgraded to a nice road bike but the mountain bike gives her the most workout. I'm assuming because of the frame and tires being bigger/heavier than her lightweight road bike. Anhow, hope that helps!
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    If you're looking to add another type of exercise to boost fat burning, I'd look at adding a in some weight training.

    As far as the biking... I don't think general riding around time would give you much more than what you're currently seeing. Yes, it's more calories burned which is never a bad thing, but I think you need to change up how the exercise challenges your body/muscles.
  • kristopher8888
    kristopher8888 Posts: 3
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    I love riding my bike, its a great way to get outdoors and its not too hot even during the summer because the wind always blows when you're riding. Besides, I can't run an hour but I can ride my bike for as long as I want.
  • janet_pratt
    janet_pratt Posts: 747 Member
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    I may be the wrong person to answer because I think I may be crazy, but that is how I started. I started out riding my teenager's bike around my neighborhood. Then I bought a K Mart bike and started using it to run errands around town as well. Then I found the bike path. I was so excited the day I rode a whole ten miles. I now own a $1,000 bike (never thought I would spend that on a BIKE) and I just now got home from my 20 mile morning ride, three of it up a big hill. I have completed 452.5 miles ridden in the month of August alone. I have legs of steel and my cardio vascular system thanks me. So, you just never know.
  • NiciS72
    NiciS72 Posts: 1,043 Member
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    You will definitely get a better burn with the riding, especially if you push it. A casual ride won't get your HR up much. Like another poster said, you should add in weights at least a few days a week.

    FYI, I typically burn around 1000 calories on an hour ride, but that's at a 10-13 mile/hour pace.
  • barbarella
    barbarella Posts: 609 Member
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    I'm looking around for a bike to buy too. I'll be mostly riding around the neighborhood or venturing out farther as I get used to it again! I also haven't ridden for years. But you know the saying: "Just Like Riding a Bike!" :bigsmile:

    I figure, any movement is GOOD! And we can also get a bike rack to put on the car and drive to other places for fun rides. Surely calories will be burned. Look at the numbers in the exercise diary for an idea of what the burn would be.

    Good luck and let's get biking! :flowerforyou:
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    FYI, I typically burn around 1000 calories on an hour ride, but that's at a 10-13 mile/hour pace.
    Holy crap!! That's crazy! I burned 1600 on a 2.5hr ride at 18mph. I ride A LOT so my body is used to it, but still... GREAT burn for you!

    Sorry for the hijack... now back to your regularly scheduled thread.
  • batlou
    batlou Posts: 97 Member
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    Get a bike, I highly recommend it. Just like anything else though you will get out of it what you put in. I can ride all day at 8-12MPH and not really burn a ton of calories. However, if I am riding to get a workout in on the road or mountain bike I am going to push hard to get my HR up and hold 18-20MPH on the road and as hard and fast as the trails will allow on a Mountain Bike.

    I would suggest looking for a local cycling club and let them know what you want out of a bike and they might be able to hook you up with something used or point you to a local dealer that can put you on something that will fit your needs.
  • rocketpants
    rocketpants Posts: 419 Member
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    I think a bike is a great way to loose weight. And it is tons of fun.

    In my opinion varity is very important in your workouts. You will remain more engaged / interested over the long term if your workouts aren't the same thing every day. Also your body tends to adapt to a particular exercise routine and it stops improving. Changing routines causes quicker improvement.

    Another important factor on a bike is that you can burn a ton of calories and build tremendous cardio endurance without beating your body up much.
  • NiciS72
    NiciS72 Posts: 1,043 Member
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    FYI, I typically burn around 1000 calories on an hour ride, but that's at a 10-13 mile/hour pace.
    Holy crap!! That's crazy! I burned 1600 on a 2.5hr ride at 18mph. I ride A LOT so my body is used to it, but still... GREAT burn for you!

    Sorry for the hijack... now back to your regularly scheduled thread.

    Heh heh, I see it's going down now that I'm doing it more often. I use a HR watch, so am pretty comfortable with the number. I do see it's harder for me to get my HR up now. I just have to push HARDER! On the flip side, the added strength in my legs makes me able to push A LOT harder at water aerobics and get my HR up there too!

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