If you indulged a little too much over the festive period and then you haven’t hit the ground running in the new year as you had planned, then it is time to put those frustrations to bed. The issue which most of us have when we are overweight is that we struggle to even get started with exercise, and that can lead to us putting more weight on, which of course we all try to avoid. From experience however, I have found that cycling is the best exercise if you are overweight, and the perfect way for you to get your cardio in.
It was my friend Javier Burillo who first invited me out on a ride, something which I really wasn’t up for. Despite not wanting to go, I took his advice and went for a short ride with him, and since then we go out about 3 times each and every week. This is why anyone out there who is overweight should look to jump on the bike and ride.
Low Impact
One of the biggest risks for anyone who is overweight is that they end up injuring themselves, especially when doing cardio. If we think about running, be it on a treadmill or on the street, then there is a lot of hard impacts on the legs as the weight bears down on them. Because of the fact that cycling is a much more fluid motion this greatly reduces the risk of injury and it is a far more comfortable activity. The day after a long ride your body won’t hurt nearly as much as it would if you had been running.
Chance For a Break
What I love particularly about cycling is that you can have a quick break to get your breath and still keep on moving. Those downhill moments are worth working hard for and I find that if there is a section which is downhill and I can take a breather, that I am much more inspired to keep going and get through the harder parts.
Serious Calories
Between running and cycling I really believe that you feel every single one of those calories which you burn from running, whereas cycling I don’t feel the same. Make no mistake that when you have been out on the bike for a while you will be surprised at the volume of calories which you were able to burn. If we are talking weight loss then only two things need to be present, an elevated heart rate and burning calories. This is exactly what you can expect when you head out on the bike and the fact that you don’t feel all of that pain which goes into burning the calories is one of the best parts about riding.
If you are looking to firm up or trim down, then cycling is certainly going to be your best bet, and the safest one for you too.