6 simple and effective steps to lose weight with mountain biking

You have overused your table pleasures a little (a lot?). And as soon as the pleasures were forgotten, the scales became terrible and unflappable to remind us of our excesses and their consequences!

Fortunately, there is a solution to find the dream body and the shape of hell: mountain biking (what a surprise! 😉).

Even if today the prospect of moving all those extra pounds seems tedious and unattainable, if you show a little patience and gradually exercise, they will soon remain unpleasant memories.

So how do you do it?

To keep track of your progress, you can arm yourself with a connected scale.

1 step:

Start slowly: Find a frequency and speed that works for you and where you feel comfortable. There is no need to race the Tour de France time trial !!! And not climb to the top of Mont Ventoux!

This could mean pedaling on forest roads or even asphalt first (yes, yes) so the effort doesn't get discouraged or tiring.

Gotta stay long! 100 minutes a week is a good goal.

To help you, you can use GPS or an app on your smartphone that can serve as an onboard computer to record your efforts.

If you are looking for how to hold your smartphone on a hanger, we will talk about it in this article.

2nd step:

Gradually increase the duration of your mountain bike rides. According to scientific research, when the goal is to lose weight, it is more effective to increase the duration of the work, rather than its intensity 🧐.

So set aside about 150 minutes a week, remembering that the more the better!

3 step:

It's time to start increasing the intensity!

Take better routes 🚀: more technical routes, more ascent.

This may slow down your speed, but increase your work intensity! This is when it is difficult, but it is important to allocate enough time for walking. The combined effect of duration and intensity is the best way to burn calories!

4 step:

Monitor your heart by measuring your heart rate: Place your index and middle fingers on the blood vessels of your opposite wrist and count the number of beats you feel in 10 seconds. Then multiply that number by 6 to get the beats per minute. You can also use an electronic device such as a heart rate monitor, or better yet, a watch with GPS and heart rate monitor.

To lose weight, effort should be between 60% and 75% of your maximum heart rate. In addition, the effort cannot last long enough, and below - not intense enough!

Your maximum heart rate is obtained by subtracting your age from 220.

For example, for a 40-year-old man whose maximum frequency is about 180 beats per minute, the optimal force for mountain biking should be between 108 and 135 beats per minute.

Heart rate measurement helps you manage effort based on your goal.

5nd step:

Let's talk about calories now, as that's the ultimate goal! Typically, an 85 kg person burns 650 kcal per 1 hour mountain bike ride, while a 60 kg person burns only 430 kcal.

This is an approximate value, since it really depends on the intensity! Some heart rate monitors calculate your calorie intake based on your weight and heart rate.

6nd step:

Well, unfortunately, in order to lose weight, it's not enough to ride mountain bikes, continuing to fill yourself like 4 under the pretext that sports require energy !!!

A person usually consumes from 2500 to 3500 kcal per day 🔥.

It is also necessary to reduce energy consumption by about 500-1000 kcal!

But mountain biking will help a lot! For example, if you burn 300 calories during your MTB workout, you only need to cut your diet by 200 calories to reach your goal of 500!

Now it's your turn!

Remember that mountain biking not only allows you to lose weight, but also to strengthen your figure in the middle of nature, fun and with pleasure!

If you want to find courses nearby, search the UtagawaVTT course engine!

Photo: Aurelien Vialatt