Can You Lose Belly Fat from Cycling?

Can You Lose Belly Fat from Cycling? Yes, there are many studies that show that cycling is an excellent way to shed belly fat and drop pounds. Cycling promotes a healthy lifestyle and allows you to be active, social and content with your body. Riding even a small amount consistently a week will lead to a decrease in overall fat across the body. Many people are asking can you lose belly fat from cycling and the answer is yes. In this post, we will cover:

How Does Cycling Decrease Belly Fat?

• Continuous Exercise
• Healthy Lifestyle Increase
• Body Tone

How Can You Lose Body Fat by Cycling?

• Fasted Cycling
• Weekly Continuous Cycling
• Cycle Commuting

Choosing a Bicycle for Belly Fat Loss

There are many types of bikes that you can choose from. Enjoy the adventure of choosing and get your wheels turning. Your bike shop is a good place to start looking around for bicycles, and Bikes Direct is a good source for purchasing a bicycle online. Though, there is nothing better than the feeling of a test ride on a bicycle before making a decision.

• Road Bikes
• Gravel Bikes
• Electric Bikes
• Cruiser Bikes
• Mountain Bikes
• Cycle Cross Bikes

How Does Cycling Decrease Belly Fat?

There are three main ways that cycling decreases body fat. The special thing about cycling is that these are all automatics if you find that you are putting miles in on your bicycle. As long as you put a certain amount of time on your bicycle, the health benefits will follow, and you will feel content with the way your body is shaping itself.

Continuous Exercise

The reason why many choose to cycle is because there is no limit on the amount that you can ride. Your body or joints will not accumulate damage as you accumulate miles in the saddle. Many endurance athletes have chosen to cycle because this is a sport that they can stick with for years understanding that their body will not deteriorate. This also means that at any point of your life when you are looking to lose belly fat, you can simply purchase a bicycle and get on the road.

Healthy Lifestyle Increase

By getting on a bicycle, you are choosing to care about your body. If you want to go a little bit further and a little bit faster, you may also choose to eat healthier and sleep more consistently. Studies show that when pairing cycling with a more consistent sleeping pattern and healthy food intake your body will respond by decreasing body weight.

Body Tone

When you are riding you are targeting your legs, arms and core. Your legs are engaged while you’re riding – and twice that amount when you are riding uphill. Your arms are engaged when you are breaking, and the holding down on the break brings on a satisfying bur to create tone in the muscles in your forearms. Finally in your belly and midsection, your core holds your body in place and stabilizes the body. Cycling creates a 360° body toning effect that will allow you to look in the mirror and truly be happy with what you see.

How Can You Lose Body Fat by Cycling?

We rounded up three different ways to target fat while cycling to be able to help you get the most out of your bicycle and get your body feeling and looking good. Here are three strategies that you can follow in order to achieve the goals that you set out for losing belly fat.

Fasted Cycling

Typically, cycling athletes choose a carb heavy diet. Carbs are the first level of fuel that the body uses in order to propel itself forward. Foods like oatmeal, bread, pasta and rice all have a high amount of carbs. Before eating that healthy bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, go on a 30-minute moderate ride. Your body will begin burning through fat stored in your body rather than carbs.

After coming back from your morning ride, enjoy the carbs! Your body burned through belly fat and is looking to replenish itself with energy. It is also looking for something substantial to recover so that you can go back out next time.

Weekly Continuous Cycling

You want to set some sort of standard for yourself. If you need to be into work in the morning by 9am (or better if you work from home) when are you going to ride and how long? You would be shocked by the little amount of time that you need to ride to lose belly fat by cycling. Finding 3 times a week to ride 30-60 minutes at moderate pace is adequate to see a positive physical change in your body. 

What is Moderate Pace?

Many people think that the ride should feel intense as if you are starring in a Nike commercial for each weekly ride. This is incorrect. If you are riding at moderate pace, the ride should feel pleasant and brisk. You should not be breathing heavily or looking for an ice pack after finishing your ride. What is more important is consistency over speed to burn belly fat from cycling. At this pace you are training is your body’s endurance and cardiovascular system. This is the system that aids most in targeting fat loss and losing weight.

Cycle Commuting

Another beneficial way to reducing body fat is to commute to work with your bicycle. There are plenty of options for bicycles that are geared to getting around the city. Not a morning person? By cycling to work, you also are stimulating your nervous system and releasing dopamine into your system so that you are arriving to work in a better mood. This is time already built into your day where you can burn fat in your body. 

Increase Overall Happiness

The thing is that by cycling, you are not only decreasing your belly fat, but you are also improving your lifestyle. You are choosing to take care of your body and all the aspects surrounding that choice. You will become more mindful of your food intake. You will become more aware of how you sleep. You will also continue to train in a way that is gentle on your body.

All these items without you knowing this is the case will not only decrease your level of belly fat in the body but also increase your overall happiness! Try cycling and you will be happy with the results.

Conclusion

Can You Lose Belly Fat from Cycling? Yes, there are many of studies show that this is truly the case and that you will improve in your body shape, how you view your body, and decrease your belly fat from cycling. The only question left is which one will you choose?

Sources:

Atakan, M., & Yan, X. (2021, April 25). The role of exercise, diet, and cytokines in preventing obesity and improving adipose tissue. Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8145589/

Grøntved, A., & Koivula, R. (2016, October 31). Bicycling to work and primordial prevention of cardiovascular risk: A cohort study among Swedish men and women. Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5210355/

Ried-Larsen, M., Rasmussen, M., Blond, K., Overvad, T., Overvad, K., Steindorf, K., Petersen, K. (2021, September 1). Association of cycling with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality among persons with diabetes: The European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Retrieved February 18, 2023, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8290339/