Cycling has become a popular trend for eco-friendly and safe commuting for daily lives. Also, many people prefer road biking as a good form of exercise and workout. In general, we know that cycling is good for our heart, health and prevents us from many serious diseases.
However, many people still ask, “Is road biking a good workout?” Well, this question has a tricky answer depending on your expectation. Road bikes are a great option if you consider road biking as a regular exercise for sweating, body weight control, and slight muscle build-up.
But if you expect extreme workout benefits such as reducing 10lbs in one month or massive body transformation, road bikes won’t be going to serve your purpose, at least, fully.
Is Road Biking A Good Workout:
A road bike combines its shifters with the tires for quick and prompt gear changes. As you change gear and pedals the bike, it moves forward. To know more about road bike’s mechanism, “click here.”
During pedaling the bike, your legs need to put ample pressure to allow the road bike to move forward. So, it works as a nice form of workout.
But how beneficial is such a workout, and is it an alternative to working out in the gyms? Let’s find the answer.
Expected calorie burn:
Those who take road biking as a serious workout option would like to burn as many calories as possible while cycling. Thus, knowing how much calorie road biking can burn is a good way to estimate its usefulness as a good workout option.
Recent data show that you can expect around 240-400 calories burned in a 30-minute road cycling at a moderate pace. Here, moderate pace refers to 12-14MPH speed. It depends on your body weight as well-
- A 125-pound person will burn around 220-245 calories in 30 minutes of moderate biking.
- A medium-weight person at 155-pound can expect to burn 280-300 calories.
- A heavyweight person weighing 175-190 pounds will lose 340-360 calories in 30 minutes of road biking.
The intense your road biking becomes, the more calorie you will burn.
But, where does calorie loss of road biking stands compared to regular workouts in the gym? The following data can give you a proper idea-
- A moderate weight lifting session of 30 minutes will burn 100-130 calories. It depends on your weight, sex, and weight lifting capacity.
- You may expect to burn 200-300 calories in one hour of treadmill running. But it is highly unlikely to happen since most people will run 20-30 minutes at best on a treadmill.
Thus, compared to regular workouts in gyms, road biking isn’t lagging. Also, in cycling, your muscles work in a combo to offer effortless cycling. So, it boosts body balance and ensures your every muscle, especially the lower body parts, is engaged closely for an all-around workout session.
Use of muscles in biking:
Road biking is extensively dependent on lower body parts. So, you can expect a fantastic leg workout session with road bikes. It offers you amazing glutes, quads, and hamstrings workouts. And as you push the road bike pedals, it engages your lungs and heart muscles as well.
Finally, continuous pedaling also helps the muscles around your stomach to have a minimum exercise. So, your abdominal parts also develop quite considerably while road biking.
Doesn’t put too much pressure on your body:
Unlike weight lifting or squats, road biking is non-impact. It means road cycling puts the least pressure on your body, especially the joints. Yet, it reduces extra calories as much as possible. This non-aerobic exercise is risk-free and lowers the chances of damaging your muscles. It doesn’t cause any compression around the joints, which is a common case with most exercises.
People who prefer running and jogging are mostly almost 150% more prone to muscle damage than cycling. Hence, cycling is a safer option for a regular workout than running, weight lifting, etc.
Also, you remain in a better physical condition and still shred more calories with a road bike. And that too in without any severe injury.
Lowers the risk of cardiovascular diseases:
According to CDC, around 655,000 people every year die due to different cardiovascular diseases. It’s almost 25% of all deaths in the US. The list includes heart attack, stroke, and high blood pressure. The good thing is cycling significantly lowers the possibility of these diseases.
When you use road bikes for daily commuting and exercise purposes, you get multiple benefits. It includes-
- Regular road biking will burn your fats. So, the amount of fat decreases considerably in your blood. It reduces the risk of heart block.
- Your resting pulse will reduce magically when you ride a road bike daily. So, your heart remains in good condition.
- When you cycle regularly and increase your biking intensity, it works positively for your heart muscles. It strengthens the body parts and heart muscles as well.
- Also, your lungs remain more active for cycling. So, it improves your lung function and helps it to remain in better condition.
Reduces diabetes greatly:
Those who have diabetes may opt for road biking to combat the disease. When you ride cycles regularly, it gives you a chance to reduce weight and burn extra fat and calories. So, your diabetes will remain under control for most of your life.
Also, biking 30 minutes a day improves your lungs and heart. So, you can enjoy a healthier life without much stress.
Final Words
So, is road biking a good workout? Definitely, yes!
Road biking regularly helps you lose weight, reduce fats, and develop muscles safely than you can in a gym. Also, it is a low-impact exercise which means you will be less likely to face any muscle damages. So, for ordinary people, road biking is an excellent workout option. On top of it, it saves your time and money, the impact of which is simply not ignorable.
