Bike Riding and Walking for Fat Loss:

Yesterday I talked about riding my bike along the Mississippi River and enjoying the diversity of wildlife (birds, mostly) and people. You can find walkers, joggers, cyclists and rollerbladers of all ages and sizes.

Until recently, you could find an older gentleman down on the bike path, on a pretty regular basis. He spent much of his day riding on the path and picking up aluminum cans. You could spot him there if the weather was above 40 degrees, wearing his trademark overalls.

He passed away not too long ago and his obituary was in the local paper, referring to him as the "Can Man", for his habit of collecting cans from the trash. Turns out he was 90 years old and died after a brief illness. His widow said that he feared spending his last years in a nursing home, and so he spent so much time staying active.

Well, he succeeded and lived a long life, in the process.

So what does this have to do with fat loss? OK, just painting a picture for you to see. Many of those I see exercising on this local path are not exercising very intensely, and not burning a ton of calories, but they are still getting health benefits from this "activity."

You see, there is a difference between exercise to lose fat and exercise/activity to stay as healthy as possible. The majority of those I see exercising on this path that are lean, are working fairly intensely, while those that have a few extra pounds usually walk or ride their bikes at a pretty casual rate.

This activity is still healthy for them and can help them stay mobile as they age, but if fat loss is the primary goal, more intense exercise is required.......

unless.....

you are like the "Can Man" and are active for several hours throughout your day. If you can't exercise at a higher intensity because of health reasons or are just starting an exercise program after being sedentary for a while, than you need more overall activity spread throughout your day.

So don't worry too much about which activity burns more calories, instead gradually build up to doing more intense exercise, assuming you are healthy enough to do so. You can always rotate between walking, jogging, and cycling, for some variety and to minimize the potential of overuse injuries.

And you still should be doing some upper body resistance training, to maintain joint strength and function as you age. Lean muscle tissue is vital to keeping your metabolism elevated.

Enjoy spending some time outdoors and get some exercise in the process!