Motorcycle riding

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  • booyainyoface
    booyainyoface Posts: 409 Member
    funny this is up here, because i have been commuting on my bike for 90 minutes a day (royal enfield, like a triumph t-100) for the last two weeks and i was just saying it seems like i have lost weight.... i keep my legs squeezed against the gas tank, keep my core tight from the wind, lean with the turns, and lift myself when i get to the old bumpy paved areas.

    ill consider it exercise :) but not add it to my diary...
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    We spent 13 hours riding the Smokey mts today. The constant curves, shifting, braking, and sheer strain of keeping control on some of the hardest roads in Tennessee has left me far more exhausted and physically sore then two hours workout on my Zumba (has NEVER left me so sore!) I assure you, I burned more calories riding these roads today then I've burned working out this week. Saying motorcycle riding takes no effort and burns few calories is an unrealistic and obviously unprofessional opinion.
    I dont think it burns a lot of calories, I definately think it strengthens though.
  • dawnmarie57
    dawnmarie57 Posts: 53 Member
    My DH has a Harley-Electra Glide touring bike...big, heavy bike. I don't drive it, but I know he gets a workout, especially with a rider. Just keeping it upright takes a lot of core muscle strength. Yes it's easy to drive he says, but you do get a core workout if nothing else while driving. I wouldn't count riding as a passenger though as burning any calories other than your "everyday" activity calories.
  • bigjax1
    bigjax1 Posts: 56 Member
    there was an artical about this in a UK mag (Bike I think) a couple of summers ago
    they did a study and found that riding a motorcycle burns a huge number of calories

    the 'study' was done tongue in cheek, does riding a motorcycle count as exercise? Male rider wanting to find excuse for riding and not going the gym

    the results proved that riding burns a significant number of calories

    thus going out on your bike should be encouraged as it is good for you... have since looked for the artical but have been unable to find it
  • mmeddleton
    mmeddleton Posts: 100 Member
    I'm glad I found this thread. I ride all the time and know riding definitely burns a lot of calories. When I'm pushing my bike through twisty roads, it requires a lot of muscle groups working together to make that happen. Especially on a big bike. After riding, the fatigue from all that effort is obvious. This is not just burning calories like sitting in a car or sitting at your desk. Your whole body is involved. I have not found anything that provides an accurate burn rate for riding, so I go on the conservative side and count 125 calories for every hour of aggressive or difficult riding (windy, stop & go, twisty/rough roads, etc.). For normal riding, I count 100 calories per hour. This is at 200 lbs body weight.

    I just got back from a 10 day trip from Houston to the Colorado Rockies, then over to Arkansas before coming home. I averaged 7 to 8 hours a day riding, not counting breaks. I ate as healthy as possible on the trip, but my daily intake was much higher than usual. I did no other exercise on the trip. When I got home, I found that I lost 3 lbs in that 10 day trip.

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  • Shellyyy7928
    Shellyyy7928 Posts: 78 Member
    My boyfriend has two sport bikes - an r 1 and a ninja. He stunts with the ninja. But I'd say he gets a pretty good workout on both
  • Keniplay
    Keniplay Posts: 1 Member
    :noway: I rode 400 miles yesterday fill a little sore today guess it is a work out.
  • modacycle
    modacycle Posts: 4
    I am so happy to see so many female riders with the same question I have, I ride an extremely front heavy HD 07 Springer and swear I get a strenght training workout everytime I stand her up or do any slow speed manuevering due to her 70 lb. front end. I've been commuting to work daily about 20-30 minutes each way and wanted to add that to my exercise tracker. Thanks for the information, especially to the Lady Rider who actually wore her FUEL band to find out.

    On a side note, I'm thinking of purchasing one how is the FUEL band working out for folks?
  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    Riding sculpted physique

    fat_biker.jpg
  • acebedo58
    acebedo58 Posts: 1
    I have ridden my HD cross country several times and while I don't notice a weight change, I certainly notice a BIG difference in my muscle tone plus I am able to eat larger meals without packing pounds on. If you ride on straight stretches of highway or just hop down to the local bar then you probably don't use up any more calories than riding in a car. However if you are riding curvy mountain roads, you are most certainly burning up the calories as you balance and maneuver through the curves!
  • Catyoung28
    Catyoung28 Posts: 2
    Great thread - thanks!

    Been pondering what to log.
    I'll not log riding to work (30min each way) because I'd have to do that in a car/van anyway, so only a small gain.
    Won't bother with the short, fun trips out.
    But will log any longer trips, ride outs and challenging journeys.
    Am going to go with the 150/hr as the baseline to be on the conservative side (I weigh 120lbs).

    Here it the UK, bikers stop for tea and fry ups to compensate for the cold, rainy & windy weather.
    Guess that explains why there are a lot of fat bikers, despite riding being a good workout!
  • Catyoung28
    Catyoung28 Posts: 2
    Stop press!

    Just found a great online calculator into which you can put your weight and it'll tell you how many calories you can expect to burn for LOADS of different forms of exercise:

    http://www.caloriesperhour.com/index_burn.php

    Motorbiking is under Driving.

    My hourly burn rate came out at 143 so I wasn't far off with my estimate of 150, but I'm going to edit it to the more precise measurement. Just working my way through the rest of my exercises now... (how many calories do you burn thinking about exercise?!)
  • karennh65
    karennh65 Posts: 27 Member
    I was curious about this also so I wore my bodymedia band while riding my harley and I burned 300 calories during an 1 hour ride.

    That is amazing............I will be burning a crap load come the long weekend!!!
  • yamsteroo
    yamsteroo Posts: 480 Member
    I burnt a load when my battery died, it was a level road and I tried to bump start it for an hour before giving up and calling recovery!

    I don't think I'd log riding my bike though - even if I do have to do the garage-shuffle as him indoors always blocks mine in grrrrrrr lol
  • jollyjoe321
    jollyjoe321 Posts: 529 Member
    It makes sense that it burns off calories I suppose.

    At 161lbs I burn off approximately 180 calories an hour allegedly, I can believe it too, I like flinging my bike around twisties!
  • yasashiikuma
    yasashiikuma Posts: 3 Member
    I rode for about 10 hours last Saturday, and could have used a crane to get off the bike at the end. I figured there had to be SOME calories being burned, but I originally plugged it into the WW Activity tracker and it said 39 points! I'm glad I found the caloriesperhour site - that will help me determine what I am burning as I lose :bigsmile:
  • IMStrongerNow
    IMStrongerNow Posts: 1
    I love driving my bike, but can't find where to account for it in My Fitness in the exercise portion. I want to be sure to count every bit of exercise that I do. LOL We were riding for hours on Saturday and I didn't know you could count all this fun as exercise.
  • speedy740
    speedy740 Posts: 141 Member
    At risk of starting a Harley / sportbike rift in this thread... I'd agree you're probably not buring that many calories on the "Hog." Every cruiser I've ever been on has a very relaxed riding position and uses a high, wide bar with plenty of leverage for steering inputs... it's set up to maintain comfort over long distances and to steer gradually with little effort. You can hold the cruiser riding position all day without effort - try it in your chair in front of your computer.

    Now try holding the sportbike riding position with just the edge of your butt on the edge of your desk chair. Then start shifting your weight from side to side like you're throwing your bike into the corners... how long before you start to feel it? Which one do you think burns more calories?
    [/quote

    I 100% agree, I ride a cbr 929 rocket... Ride for a day you will know you lost calories, trust me! Now ride a sled in the backcountry and 8x those calories lol
  • ammadove
    ammadove Posts: 97 Member
    I think that 170 calorie burn is from motocross, which is a bit more physically challenging that just street driving a motorcycle. :smile:
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