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What type of bike ride is best?
Cycling is infinitely variable, although it can be loosely divided into low-, medium- and high-intensity rides. But here is the key message: all bike rides burn fat and strengthen the heart and lungs, just in different ways. “Although there are subtle differences in the specific benefits, in practical terms there’s not much to distinguish between these formats,” explains cycling coach Dr Emma Wilkins of High North Performance, an expert in sports nutrition, physiology and population health. “Just choose the formats that you find enjoyable, as this will foster better consistency, which is by far the biggest factor that determines whether exercise improves fitness and health.”
Whether you prefer long, slow weekend spins, high-intensity after-work blasts, or the steady routine of bike commuting, Chris Jones says there are no rules to follow. “I never bothered about how far or fast I went,” he says. “I might go to Morecambe Promenade for an hour or do a longer hilly ride on the moors. It depends how I feel.”
Why do low-intensity cycling?
A low-intensity ride simply means a steady pace you can sustain for two hours or more, so you keep good momentum but can talk freely, like on a weekend ride with friends. According to Dr Wilkins, this is a “great all-round exercise” for aerobic fitness, but especially for burning fat. “Firstly, at this lower intensity your body preferentially burns fats rather than carbohydrates, which are the preferred fuel at higher intensities,” she explains. “Secondly, it’s an intensity that’s sustainable for a long time, meaning you can ride for longer and burn more calories.” In fact, on a multi-hour ride cyclists can torch over 1,000 calories.
Dr Hayden Allen, a cycle coach at Loughborough University, recommends playing “the patience game” with lots of “nice and steady” rides. As well as burning fat, the rides will boost the volume and efficiency of your mitochondria – the ‘power plants’ inside your cells that convert nutrients into energy. “By having more mitochondria in the muscle, you are able to aerobically burn more fat and carbohydrates,” he says. This will enhance your fitness, stamina, metabolism and energy levels.
Why do medium-intensity cycling?
Medium-intensity rides involve a “firm pace” you can hold for 45-60 minutes, says Dr Allen, “but not tending towards exhaustion,” so you can still say short sentences. These boost aerobic fitness, train your muscles to fight fatigue and torch carbs. “You’re burning more carbohydrates in that middle zone (rather than fats like in the lower zone),” he says. These rides get you fit “quite quickly,” but do them “sparingly”- perhaps once a week - as the carb demands make them more fatiguing.
Dr Wilkins says medium-intensity rides are great for building leg strength and stamina. “It’s because these types of rides require your legs to produce relatively high force again and again for an extended time. If you’re short on time, it can also be good for burning calories, as it will typically allow you to burn calories at a higher average rate than at other intensities.” So if you have only an hour free, this is a smart way to ride.
Why do high-intensity cycling?
These short 20-30 minute rides are peppered with hard intervals that leave you short of breath - offering another time-efficient way to get fit. Dr Wilkins says the benefits range from improved heart health, aerobic capacity and metabolic performance to reduced body fat and “can be realised with as little as 10 minutes of training time”. One study in the International Journal of Obesity found that women who did three 20-minute high-intensity interval sessions per week, for 15 weeks, cut their fat mass by 14.7 per cent. That’s because high-intensity workouts zap lots of calories but also raise your fat-torching metabolism for 14 hours post-ride.
