Cycling or Running For Belly Fat loss - Which is Better? UPDATED (2024)

FAQs

Which is better to reduce belly fat cycling or running? ›

Calorie burn

In general, running burns more calories than cycling because it uses more muscles. However, cycling is gentler on the body, and you may be able to do it longer or faster than you can run.

Besides being a recreational activity, cycling is an excellent cardio workout that helps one shed weight and lose belly fat.

Be realistic, if you start by being able to ride for 30 minutes, plan to increase rides by about 15 minutes per week for the first couple of weeks. Maintain a consistent frequency building up to 3 - 4 rides per week, including at least 1 long ride.

Another study found that weight-bearing exercises, such as walking and running, were associated with lower levels of a type of fat that accumulates in bone marrow, compared with cycling ( 9 ). Walking burns more fat than cycling. This may be because it's considered a weight-bearing activity, while cycling isn't.

Lowers belly fat and increases good fat: A 30-60 minutes of cycling (which is a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise similar to exercises, such as jogging, hiking, and swimming) and a healthy protein-rich diet is an effective way to lower belly fat and increase good fat (high-density lipoprotein) levels.

How many miles should I bike a day to lose belly fat? You should ride a bike for 20 – 30 miles three times a week to lose belly fat.

When lean cyclists are breathing hard during high-intensity efforts, their abdomens distend a bit. We often refer to it as “belly breathing”. But when there's a lot of belly in the way it's more difficult to make it even bigger as you inhale.

Steady, moderate cycling burns about 300 calories in 60 minutes, but you can burn more than that if you increase the intensity. In fact, according to the Harvard Health Letter, a 155-pound person can burn as many as 298 calories in a 30-minute bike ride, if they pedal at a 12-to-13.9 mile-per-hour pace.

How many days will it take to reduce fat by cycling? ›

It may take some time for you to get into a consistent routine, but once you've hit your stride, you can safely lose one to two pounds per week, Realmulto explained. To lose one pound of fat, you have to eliminate 3,500 calories through a combination of diet and exercise.

Ride at a moderate pace often

If you want to burn fat, you need to ride at a pace that gives you a heart rate of approximately between 68 and 79 per cent of your maximum. This is something you can set up using a heart rate monitor and a bike computer.

Cycling Builds More Muscle

Running may develop muscle tone, but cycling on a bike can help to build muscle mass. That's because muscles grow when they work against resistance. The pedals on a bike act as a resistance, which is why you'll feel a burning sensation in your quads after a tough session on a bike.

Treadmills burn slightly more calories than stationary bikes, though the difference is negligible. For comparison, HIIT training burns far more calories per minute.

Yes – it's possible to complete a variation of crunches while on a bike! Simply pedal while contracting your abs inwards. Do this for one minute or so, then continue with regular pedaling. This is an easy way to tone your core while getting a great cardio workout at the same time.

Make cycling your go-to form of cardio for chasing down visceral fat. A study published in the Journal of Physiology showed that cycling for at least 20 miles a week led to a 7% drop in visceral fat and a 7% overall drop in fat around the waistline after eight months.

As an endurance sport, cycling can be exceptionally good for cardiovascular fitness, as well as toning muscles, improving physique and boosting body image. And it can help to improve the muscle tone of your legs, glutes and core.

The 75-percent rule states that during a given training week, at least 75 percent of your miles (or time) should be at or below 75 percent of your maximum heart rate (MHR).

The general rule of thumb is a 1:3 or 1:2 run to bike ratio in miles. In other words, 1 mile of running at a moderate level is equivalent to biking 2-3 miles at the same effort level.

Recommended Minimum Daily Allowance - 15 km

At a moderate rate of exertion, 30 minutes of cycling at a rate conducive to maintaining health equates to covering about 15 km at an average speed of about 30 km/h. 15 km per day equates to about 100 km per week or about 5500 km a year.

What is the number 1 fat burning exercise? ›

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

HIIT workouts, which involve repeated bouts of very vigorous exercise and recovery periods, are far and away the best way to burn fat. Research indicates that HIIT workouts burn as many calories as a moderate-intensity, steady-state workout in one-third to one-half the time.

Running is the winner for most calories burned per hour. Stationary bicycling, jogging, and swimming are excellent options as well. HIIT exercises are also great for burning calories. After a HIIT workout, your body will continue to burn calories for up to 24 hours.

You've gained muscle.

Your muscles respond to the stress of hard training on the bike and in the gym by getting bigger and stronger. And here's an often overlooked fact: Muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue.

Ideally, racers would plan around their need to defecate, but once in a while, nature calls and all you can do is answer it. In that case, riders need to depend on a friendly spectator with a motor home.

It might not grant eternal youth, but cycling, scientists have found, can slow the aging process and keep your muscles and immune system healthy well into your golden years. Aging, it turns out, can do a number on your muscles. Humans typically lose muscle mass as they get older.

What Drink Burns Fat Overnight? Drinking turmeric milk, chamomile tea, cinnamon tea, green tea, protein shake, green veg smoothies, and fiber-rich juice helps you burn significant fat overnight.

Too many starchy carbohydrates and bad fats are a recipe for that midsection to expand. Instead, get plenty of veggies, choose lean proteins, and stay away from fats from red meats. Choose healthier fats in things like fish, nuts, and avocados. Even a moderate cutback on carbs (grains, pasta, sugars) can help, too.

If you cycled for 1 hour per day at a moderate intensity, you'd burn 3,192 calories per week. At that rate, it would take you about 22 weeks to lose 20 pounds.

How long does it take to see results from cycling? ›

After one month of regular cycling

After a couple of weeks, your strength and fitness will start to significantly improve. Now you can cycle in higher intensity and without any greater sore.

Complex carbohydrates: sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown or white rice. The post race/ride burrito! (with rice, veggies and a good source of protein) Fruit like apples, oranges, mangoes, bananas (bananas can replace energy bars)

uses muscles like your glutes, abs, and even your biceps and triceps. A 20-minute bike workout can engage much of your body, which can lead to better muscle tone after a month of consistent riding. Despite the fact that cycling engages so many muscle groups, it is a less “stressful” or low-impact form of exercise.

An hour of cycling could see you burn up to 500 calories, so if you don't change your eating habits and cycle for an hour a day, you could burn up to 1lb per week.

Losing weight as a goal

If you want to lose weight by Indoor Cycling, we recommend doing a workout on your Indoor Cycling bike three times a week. Start slowly, build up your fitness, and don't overdo it, then it will remain fun. It is also important that you eat healthy. That means varied; limit your sugars and fats.

It takes approximately 45 minutes of moderately intense cycling for most adults to reach their calorie expenditure needs through cycling. Do this five times a week, and you'll burn 2,500 calories! Cycling can be an affordable and efficient way to get in some exercise and lose weight.

Exercise burns glucose, stored in the muscles and stored as glycogen in the liver. I used to figure calorie burn while riding to be about 40 cal/mile at 20 mph when riding solo. That would take about 90 miles to burn the 3,600 calories in a pound of fat.

Running burns slightly more calories per hour than biking, so it may help you lose weight faster. Generally, running burns 566 to 839 calories an hour, while cycling at a vigorous pace burns 498 to 738 calories an hour, according to the estimates by the American College of Sports Medicine.

Besides being a recreational activity, cycling is an excellent cardio workout that helps one shed weight and lose belly fat.

Yes. Although your stomach muscles aren't working as hard as your quads or glutes when you're riding, but cycling's aerobic nature means you are burning fat.

What cardio burns belly fat the fastest? ›

Ellipticals and exercise bikes can both be used to reduce body fat and lose weight. The more calories you burn, the greater the caloric deficit you'll generate, which then translates to weight loss, so burning calories on either piece of fitness equipment can get you closer to your body composition goals.

Walking briskly or running at an incline burns more calories because your body has to work harder. It also activates more muscles, which contributes to building more lean muscle mass. This helps you lose weight, since muscle burns more calories than fat.

The most effective exercise to burn stomach fat is crunches. Crunches rank top when we talk of fat-burning exercises. You can start by lying down flat with your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Lift your hands and then place them behind the head.

Runners use more slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are used for endurance exercise–ideal for long-distance training. This results in runners having smaller legs, at least compared to cyclists and bodybuilders.

Both are aerobic activities that have equal cardiovascular benefits. Asking which burns more calories can be difficult because your speed and level of resistance play an influential role. The general rule of thumb is a 1:3 or 1:2 run to bike ratio in miles.

Cycling Builds More Muscle

Running may develop muscle tone, but cycling on a bike can help to build muscle mass. That's because muscles grow when they work against resistance. The pedals on a bike act as a resistance, which is why you'll feel a burning sensation in your quads after a tough session on a bike.

The short answer for whether or not cycling is going to make your legs huge is – no. Of course, cycling improves your leg muscles, but as an aerobic exercise, it works your endurance muscle fibers, making them more resistant to fatigue while training, but not causing them to bulk up.

Is cycling or running better for toning legs? ›

The action of pushing the pedals while cycling in resistance training will achieve stronger and more toned leg muscles much quicker than running.

In order to lose weight, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) says you'll need to cycle at a moderately intense level for at least 30 minutes at a time. To burn even more calories, you'll want to cycle for longer. ACE also suggests incorporating two activities into one cross-training session to boost weight loss.

Average Speed Over a Mile For Different Bike Types

The average speed for a road bike on roads with a flat elevation profile is 16 mph (25.7 km/h). This means, on average, it will take 3 minutes and 45 seconds for a cyclist to ride a mile on a road bike.