I want to start bike riding to lose weight/peace of mind. I am on a pretty tight schedule time wise and want to know if I bike for twenty minutes pedeling the entire time, some uphill, will I reach the point where I start to burn fat?
I am 5'7, 194lbs if that helps.

Yes you will burn fat. As a general rule any sustained cardiovascular exercise over 20 minutes will burn calories. Cycling will tone your legs and butt but pretty much do nothing for your stomach and upper body.

It is awesome for you peace of mind. I used to belong to a large road biking club and weekdays were personal training days for the big weekend rides. If you can ride in the country on your own (NO music/earphones) you find yourself going over events of the day and planning for the next day/week.

It generally doesn't work that way. You would be better off getting a stationary cycle or using one in a gym. Twenty minutes on the road will probably not break a sweat unless its all uphill. You talk about pedaling constantly, but that just doesn't happen when road cycling. You will be coasting for stops, downhills, etc.

A twenty minute road ride is just not going to do much for burning calories. On the other hand, cycling is a great tool for fitness. Mainly because you are doing something else, that just happens to help keep you fit. I cycle because it's a great way to see the area, and I cycle with a club for the social aspects. Generally we ride 30-40 miles per ride over a 2-4 hour time frame.

Thanks, but a stationary bike or gym won't help me. The good thing about biking outdoors is that no matter where I stop I'm only halfway done. I still have to ride back home. I don't have the time most days to cycle for that long a time right now, most days I only sleep about four hours.

You won't burn a lot of fat. You really start to burn fat 15-20mins into a workout, so you are finishing just as your body is starting to burn it.

It is great for your peace of mind though, but you should stop and recognise that you should be allowing more time for yourself, even if you could increase the rides to 45mins would make a great difference.

You will have much better results cycling for 60mins 3-4 times a week than 20mins every day.

:) Hope this helps!

Besides my road riding I use an exercycle 20-30 min a day. I do it while watching TV or I read. So I'm multi-tasking.

Interesting topic, I just started riding to work 6.5 miles to and from work, it takes me about 25 minutes each way and there are slight to difficult uphills but they only last 10-30 seconds (there are about 5 of them), I feel like I am getting a pretty damn good workout, I don't stop pedaling and make sure I increase gears when it becomes easy to pedal (former MT bike racer - this is a must in race situations). So far, so good. It is amazing to feel my legs getting so much stronger. Sometimes the ride in the morning sucks but it is great in the evening. Since I have been watching what I eat since since I started riding - both should help with weight loss. :)

You don't need to ride for more than 20 minutes to generate results. The time-proven, aerobic school of thought has shown that hitting one's Target Heart Zone for up to 45 minutes is ideal for utilizing fatty acids as a fuel source.

I.E. you're hopefully burning more fat than glycogen or, worse yet, protein.

But you don't have time for that, and even if you did, steady-state aerobic exercise will almost undoubtedly lead to a training plateau.

Why? Because the body adapts, and that's EXACTLY why working out WORKS. But the problem is that your body adapts, but we keep doing the same exercises that the body already adapted to.

This lead to the discovery of High-Intensity Interval Training. Unlike steady-state aerobic workouts, HIIT stresses our anaerobic threshold.

Here's a quote from another trainer I happen to agree with:


One of the physiological functions/outcomes of interval training is an elevated Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption rate (EPOC). With this, though you burn more calories doing SS cardio over HIIT, HIIT elicits extra energy burn for up to 24 hours! This is huge when you are trying to lose fat. Remember, altering your body composition really comes down to energy (calorie) balance. Using HIIT will help you burn more energy once all is said and done.

Now, there is something that you need to know about HIIT, though, and that is the degree of difficulty in performing it. There is a difference between HIIT and the more-simple IT. The difference is the "High Intensity."

Done properly, HIIT will make you feel like total garbage, you'll lose finer motor functions, and you'll probably want to vomit. It's also not something that I would recommend to a deconditioned person to go out and attempt... you have to be in reasonably good shape to perform at a high-intensity level. Since the goal is reach max heart rate, you don't want to give yourself a heart attack. Be smart and realistic about your fitness level and build up slowly and safely.

Another thing to keep in mind is that HIIT is utilizing the same energy-pathway for fuel as weight-training, and it can also lead to the same overtraining. Personally, I don't do it any more than 3 times per week.

But the benefits of HIIT are proven, substantial, and they're derived in only 12-20 minutes. Better yet, the EPOC will turn your body into an engine that feeds off adipose fat stores long after you're done working out.

Just make sure you're consuming enough calories and protein, otherwise you'll catabolize your own muscle for fuel.

p.s. Sorry I'm a year late, but I just joined this forum last month :)

Great response, I have seen people doing HIIT and it looks hard, I will be getting back in the gym soon as only bike riding is probably not so good, it's too bad there isn't a way to work your upper body when you ride a bike. Someone should invent a bike that would incorporate that into the design.

They made those fan-bikes for health clubs years ago, where the handles move back and forth and a fan is inside the front wheel-well... but they aren't doing much for the upper body other than keeping the blood flowing :)

great response, i have seen people doing HIIT and it looks hard, I will be getting back in the gym soon as only bike riding is probably not so good, it's too bad there isn't a way to work your upper body when you ride a bike. Someone should invent a bike that would incorporate that into the design.
I wish as well that they had a way to work your upper body as well when you bike ride.I quit smoking over a year ago and gained a lot of weight but I have started bike riding the past several weeks and I feel great,true now I have to work on my belly fat,my legs feel great and stronger.I ride 10 miles every day in the country where I live,I actually look forward to it now,some up hill and some downhill,about a hour and a half ride as I have my route planned.I love to get in better athletic shape and take a long trip maybe someday