How does cycling help with Weight Loss?

Have you ever wondered about the fitness quality of cyclists that you see in the street passing by? I have truly never been a good rider until I reached the age of 29, I could never understood why they were fit, but now as I learned a lot about endocrinology I can explain some of process involved in weight management.

But let me tell you something funny, that I couldn’t maintain balance when I was young, like whenever I had put my feet on the pedal I found myself losing control and sometimes I fall down the floor when I try to put both feet on the pedal, it was not until the last summer that I learned how to balance myself and maintain it while sprinting on roads.

It’s crazy how the brain goes when you want to achieve something, you make success, the brain will crave more success which equal more power therefore more dopamine and more testosterone.

So let me repeat the formula again, that stays in your memory whenever you try to achieve any success, even if it’s small:

Success = More power = more dopamine => more testosterone. In repeated cycles.

I have been crazy about formulas as I try to define every very important life changes on it, it makes the meaning of article better, and also make the viewer realize better how formulas work.

So now coming back to the original topic, I’m visualizing myself riding, and trying all my best to answer your questions, so let’s start defining the reasons of why cyclists are fit.

1. Cyclists travel long distances

Yes, cyclists usually travel for long distance, either for fun or to get what they need, the speed generated during pedalling and the period of traveling have a direct impact in their general health, physical activity in any kind increases metabolic rate, thus burning more calories (7ot study lehna)

2. Cyclists practise their activity in nature and not in an isolated environment

Yes, you heard that right, it’s very different for the brain to interpret an isolated environment where you are operating a machine versus an open environment where it’s engaging, seeing objects, people, and breathing fresh air. When you are cycling in an isolated space you are easily bored, get exposed to testosterone lowering chemicals they spray in the gym, and the brain doesn’t have to be stimulated by external stimulus so it stays dormant. But when you do the opposite, when you cycle in fresh air your body is releasing chemicals to make you alert and focus more on enjoying and surviving hard moments, so your adrenaline will automatically be higher and so is dopamine, people with higher dopamine have more passion for life, drive and ambition, dopamine is the hormone of happiness, joy, risk taking and thrilling, people with high dopamine usually are fit, the only explanation here is it’s because it improves our mood, and our mood is imported for the digestion, and remember good digestion = good health and fit body.

3. Cyclists do HIIT Cardio

I have mentioned it before and I want to say it again that High intensity interval training (HIIT) is much better than doing endurance activity, endurance activity especially if it’s not done for fun like a football match with your friends where you are engaging and competing then it can backfire and you will end up with elevated cortisol, cortisol directly opposes testosterone and that’s why you see many marathon runners or people who do a lot of endurance activity have belly fat, it’s because low testosterone and high cortisol cause this, so avoid it at all costs, for me I do walking and sprinting is my favourite type of HIIT, when I’m cycling in the street I usually do that without needing to count the reps, it’s simple and easy, you use all your power to pedal and when you start to feel tired to reduce your speed, then you repeat, cyclists do the same thing, and what is better for the body than doing it in an open fresh air? You got the answer.

4. Cyclists use a lot of leg muscles

While strong back and shoulders muscles act as stabilizers for your balance on the bike, the main muscles worked are the legs: hamstrings, quadriceps and calves, the good thing is leg muscles are big and the best exercises to increase the muscle mass in that area are compound heavy exercise, if you can’t afford going to the gym then hill climbing is very good, cycling on flat ground is very good using HIIT and of course cycling uphill if you can do it, all of that are concentric exercises that will stimulate the grow of your muscles, remember that cycling stimulate all group areas in short period of time without the stress threshold that will make lactic acid burden the muscle, stimulating as much muscles with resistance in short period of time is the best way to stimulate testosterone production, try it and see.

5. Cyclists challenge themselves in the road

Cyclists are usually trying to challenge themselves in the road, they have to adapt to the road’s danger and stay alerted all the time, they have to pass difficulties in every road situation they face, and as I said in ‘2)’ dopamine is triggered by risk taking and dopamine increases testosterone, they also compete with each other’s and race together, so they have to go with maximal efforts to win, competition is one of the best ways to increase testosterone and so fat burning, so whether you cycle or you do any activity, if you do it with another person then you are guaranteed to compete and feel better about yourself, I know that when you use your physical body to attain other goals then you become more confident and your spirituality improves, cyclists are adapted to compete so their testosterone is usually high and that’s why they maintain their weight for a long time, also when testosterone is high, cortisol drops down so that makes a sense, cortisol stimulates fat synthesis especially around abdominal area.

The formula is this one:

Competition = > more dopamine /more testosterone => less cortisol => less body fat

Pour Conclure

With the above all being said, I must say that even learning cycling in my late 20’s made me feel very good about myself, remember than anything new stimulate dopamine and generate more neurons in your brain that make you feel younger, I have been sprinting for years and doing HIIT but personally I think cycling is the best cardio exercise I have ever done, you can do HIIT with cycling and it’s fantastic, just don’t do it right after leg day or you will get muscle cramps, cycling has many benefits and I encourage everyone to learn it, look at some youtube videos and start learning, then tell me how was your experience.

Aymen is the founder of Fat Loss Master, this blog is created to help anyone to achieve his fitness results faster and more efficiently, by providing my experience throughout the years and giving the best opinions to facilitate the route of getting the desired fitness results and maintain them for a lifetime, Fat Loss Master is the tribe of all students who learn from my experiences, get motivated by my stories and teaching them the mindset they need to achieve their fitness goals.