[Butterfly25]

Over the weekend I rode bikes for 2 miles Friday and Saturday evening with my nephew who is 13, in great shape and hard to keep up with. I stuck to my calorie intake and felt really sore since Saturday. My question is did I actually do any good or did I just make myself sore for nothing? I haven't ridden a bike in over 10 years. I'm no where near as sore as I was but I plan to visit with my parents and him in a couple more weeks and wanted to know if I should ride again or just take my workout videos next time.

[PhotoChick]

No exercise you get is "for nothing". If you raised your heart rate, then you did something and burned calories.

For some reason people have this mindset that if they're not in a panting, falling down, sweaty heap at the end of a bout of exercise, that it's "for nothing"!

Soreness is normal since you're probably using muscles you haven't used in a long time ... and that also is a good sign.

And besides, it's nice to mix it up every once in a while!

.

[walking2lose]

Cycling is an excellent work out. Just doing a slow loop around the neighborhood won't burn major calories, but a longer ride where you are pushing yourself surely will. Add some hills in there, and you will be burning major calories. If you had to work hard to keep up with your nephew, I'd say you were burning calories. Why not shoot for a longer ride next time - 10 miles is not unreasonable, even for a beginning cyclist.