Hi guys,

I was thinking of starting to cycle to try and shift some weight. Starting at 2 miles a day then gradually increasing the amount of miles.

Does anyone else use cycling as a form of exercise and has it helped you to lose weight? As ive heard it wont help me lose much weight but gain muscle instead :S

I want to start cycling as a way to exercise as well -- in fact, I'm buying my bike this week, and I'm really excited!

I've researched a bit about the benefits of cycling, and... it is a good exercise, but pretty mild. (unless you plan to go uphill straight!) It definitely will help you in losing weight, just as any other exercise does. And no, as far as I know it won't make you gain a huge amount of muscle. It's not even a intense enough exercise to do so!

But I'd love to know more opinions from other people who cycle to lose weight, too, since I'm planning on using it to get me started in exercising.

Cycling is great cardio exercise. For me it burns calories at about the same rate as brisk walking at a low incline (so not as many as running or lifting heavy weights, but as it is lower intensity, I can do it for longer).

I love, love, love going for long bike rides in the spring and summer and burning 800 calories in the process. Plus I can ride my bike to work or to buy groceries for bonus movement.

I was cycling a fair bit (about 70-90 miles a week). I like it because I can incorporate it into my daily movement, and because I just enjoy the feel of bicycling.

I had knee pain and swelling of unknown cause, and had to take two weeks completely off. The orthopedist said to ramp back up slowly, and this is my first week back so I've been doing 10-15 mile days at "spitting in the wind" intensity with a day or two off in between. I need my knees more than I need the exercise.

I credit about half of my weight loss to exercise, but I was cycling more intensely than "average". A couple times a month I go and climb hills that push me to my functional threshold (uncontrolled panting - I can't move enough oxygen to work harder) and about once a week I work at my lactic acid threshold (loud, rhythmic breathing through the mouth) for a ride. Most of the rest of my riding is longer distance/lower intensity.

I love to cycle!

I do for it fun and the weight loss/maintenance has been a great by product of cycling.

I ride about 60 miles per week, maybe more, I ride my bike to spinning class and to my Pilates class. I also ride with my friends (we have our own group) and we do a short ride on Saturdays and a longer ride on Sundays.

If cycling only created big muscles, weight lifters would be dying to bicycle every day and would have these humungous quads. Sadly, that's not the case at all. Have you seen the Tour de France cyclists? They're lean and strong. They are not bulky and muscular!

Cycling is great for ME because I can't run -- I had knee surgery and they recommended cycling instead. It keeps my knee in top shape. Cycling is great cardio, it just depends on how much/how long you do. When I ride a mile or so to my Pilates class, I'm probably saying more money in gas than I am spending in caloric burn, but when I ride 40 miles on a Sunday morning, I can easily burn 1500 calories on that ride.

If it's exercise and you enjoy it, do it! Spin class is good if you want to dial up the intensity. I have a real bike and I go to spin.

I lost 40 lbs going to spin class 4 times a week - it most certainly did not make my legs (or any other part of my body) bulk up.

It's a great, low-impact exercise.

Thanks for getting this thread started. I know there are a lot of cyclists out there. I am in "training" for a 65 mile ride in march and my first 100 mile (century) ride in April. I currently ride about 60 miles per week but that will go up the closer I get to these rides. I am almost 55 and have been riding for years. I loss my first 50 pounds by cycling and other strength training exercise. Since I have kicked up my cycling I am losing more weight, but most important, gaining strength. There is nothing better than getting outside and ride. I also have a trainer and on those real stormy days I train in my garage (which I hate). Cycling is great for those who want a great workout without damaging our legs/knees.

I just wanted to share this: today I finally bought my bike and I love it so much already!

I usually hate to exercise but with the bike I simply can't wait until the next time I go out of the house. I bicycled about 7 km today! It's just so awesome. Thank you for starting this thread!

Anity - I hear you. I love going out for a ride.

This morning I wanted to get 25 miles in, but it was just too cold. I called it quits after 20 miles. It was 43 degrees out and the wind was howling. My feet, face and upper thighs were frozen but it was so beautiful outside Attached photo is of the Sutter Buttes. I ride to the Sutter Buttes from my home. They are located in Northern CA. Suppose to start raining in Northern CA starting mid-week. We need the rain so I will probably ride the bike on the trainer in the garage.

Wow -- the landscape is so beautiful. California is just wonderful (I used to live in central Cali about 4 years ago)

Toonses, I hope someday I can cycle as much as you!
I probably did about 15 km today, so I'm slowly raising my resistance. Cycling feels too good, I just love it!

This weekend was a short 20 mile ride on Saturday and it was freaking cold. I was constantly blowing my nose or breathing through my mouth. Sunday, our little group did 47 miles, we headed out originally to do over 50, but we have in our group of friends who had issues -- one has a medical problem and she didn't come prepared so she was dangerously close to having a heart attack and the other one didn't eat enough breakfast to do all 50 miles!!!! (And it was still freaking cold on Sunday, so much so I rubbed my nose raw from all the blowing.)

Can't wait for next weekend!!!

Cycling can be as intense or as mild as you want it to be. I grew up in the foothills of a mountain range and cycled all the time on my gravel road, and believe me cycling up a steep hill on a gravel road is every bit as intense or more so than any other exercise can be. Also, spinning class is notoriously intense. You can get a great workout in biking. It is also so much fun! It is primarily cardio, but I find when I bike alot, I end up with quads and calves of steel. You won't build muscle like you would with weight training, but you may gain some more strength/muscle in your legs. It can burn a lot of calories, and help with weight loss, but remember weight loss is mostly about what you eat.

Thanks for posting this, I was actually looking for this exact topic... I recently bought my bike... as you can see from my name its kind of the focus of my weight loss plan...

I am using an iphone app called "MapMyRide" to track my bike rides. My goal is to ride every single day even if its only 1 mile. I also take my dogs running using the bike which is much lower intensity than if I was riding on my own but I figure it has to be better than sitting on the sofa!!

For example yesterday I went 1.17 miles with the dogs in 9 minutes and then 4.15 miles on my own in 24 minutes. That is by far the most I have gone so far in 1 day. I am in a really flat land area so no hills etc but when I ride on my own I try to pedal as hard and fast as I can etc... I'm definitely working up a sweat. In December I rode 30 miles over the whole month, so far for January I have ridden 27.19 miles so far. I'm sure its not as intense as other forms of exercise, but considering what I was doing before (uhm, nothing) I figure its a pretty good start!

Today I did 5.05 miles in 28:41 minutes