How Many Miles on a Bike is a Good Workout?

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Did you know that biking can be an actual workout you do regularly? Not only is it fun leisure activity or a good medium of commute, but it can serve the purpose of offering your body the right amounts of physical exercise it requires.

According to the American Heart Association, the recommended time for moderate exercises for the human body is 30 minutes, at least 5 minutes per day. That being said, a 30-minute session on your bike covering up to 6-7 miles would be the perfect workout regularly.

Riding a bike can cater to several human body requirements, such as losing fat, gaining a fit body with moderate physical exercise, losing weight, etc.

This blog talks about the kind of bikes that may hamper the distance to ride on a bike for a workout and the various factors one should consider.

Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

What Kind of Bike?

According to Harvard Health, stationary bikes can pose as excellent cardio machines like those in the gym. Riding these bikes helps you burn up to 800-900 calories per hour. However, your weight does play an essential role in this category.

Mountain biking and BMX biking are similar at the calorie-burning rate, which is impressive. All you need to do is hop onto that bike and keep moving and moving.

Regardless of the bike you select, it is essential to be critical of the seat. That is because you’d be sitting on it for an extended period. Usually, stationary bikes come with wide and padded seats. The recumbent stationary bikes are relatively more comfortable. Some of them even come with back support.

But you’d be glad to know that you can purchase a padded seat for road bikes. Also, specially padded bike shorts would make a great complement for an upright bike.

Factors to Consider

Although riding your bike does a great workout, you can only achieve that by catering to certain factors. Here are the most crucial ones.

Your Goal

If your goal is moderate fitness, you need not ride your bike for long miles every day. But if you are a cyclist on training for a triathlon, you have to push yourself harder. Furthermore, people looking to lose weight have to ride their bikes for longer distances to burn specific amounts of calories.

The rule of thumb followed by cyclists aiming for fitness is to ride for short distances regularly. As mentioned previously, 30 minutes of bike riding every day is ideal for adults and 60 minutes for children.

Cyclists ride 10-12 miles an hour on average. To start with, you can begin cycling five miles per day if you are not combining your workout with any other exercise.

Experts suggest that combining your cycling workout regime with additional exercises for better results depending on your goal would be great. With practice and consistency in your workout, riding longer distances would become easier to achieve your goal.

Your Health

As you maintain consistency in your workout routine and daily cycling distance, you should be aware of your medical condition and age. For instance, a 25-year-old will easily ride their bike for eight miles than a 70-year-old.

Also, if you have a heart condition, it would be best to consult your doctor before taking up any workout routine. Riding long distances can sometimes be hard on your heart rate, depending on the severity of your medical condition.

How Long Have You Been Riding?

A regular cyclist won’t have any issue clocking 100 miles a day. But if cycling is something you do for leisure and has a goal to achieve, it would be great to go easy on yourself. Start with light rides, probably five-mile rides, and then you can slowly increase the distance depending on your capacity.

If you, however, consider yourself a fit person, you can start riding for 10 miles the first day and increase the distance accordingly.

Where are You Riding?

The location you ride on is crucial to consider when you have a goal to achieve with your bike riding. A 50-mile ride on hilly terrain is certainly not the same as a ride on flat terrains covering the same distance.

While hilly terrains are difficult to rife, flat terrains are much easier. Therefore, starting with flat terrains would be a wise choice if you are a beginner. Also, listen to your body and act accordingly.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a good mile time on a stationary bike?

Typically, stationary bikes can be ridden for about 12 mph if you aim for a moderate-intensity workout. Your goal and current fitness levels would influence the ideal mile time for stationary or other types of bikes. While an athlete can ride 25 mph, a person recovering from injury should probably go for 0.5 mph.

2. How many miles to lose weight?

If your target is losing weight, you should cover five miles on your bike. However, the distance is only the rule of thumb. Your current fitness level is crucial in determining the number of miles you should ride to lose weight.

3. How many miles on a stationary bike equals 10,000 steps?

3.97-4.73 miles on a stationary bike equals 10,000 steps approximately. The logic behind the math is that average people have a stride length of 2.1-2.5 feet. It implies that 10,000 steps would be covered by 21,000-25,000 feet. When you convert these figures into miles, the result is 3.97-4.73 miles.