Bike Riding, Walking or Jogging:

Which is better for fat loss? Does it make a difference which one you do? No. The one that you prefer is the best one. Or you can use all of them on different days.

Recently, I purchased a new bike for the first time in 15 years. I haven't done much bike riding in the last 20 years, but the last bike I bought wasn't big enough for my large frame and I had to work too hard to overcome this inefficiency.

While living in Atlanta, I loved to hike in the hills and mountains that are within a short drive from there. You could find trails everywhere with plenty of hills to walk. I would often go out on the weekends and hike five or six miles, burning a lot of calories carrying my 240 pounds up and down hill.

A few years later and I am back in the Midwest. Now my outdoor experiences involve walking along the Mississippi river, which has a much flatter terrain. For some variety and to cover more ground, I bought a bike and have done some riding here the last few weeks. Of course, I went out too far my first time and really gave my legs a good workout.

Which leads to our original question - which is better for fat loss? Whether you ride a bike, jog or walk isn't the issue. For most of us it is the intensity, how much effort we are putting in. Specifically, the percentage of our maximum heart rate. For example, if I walk for forty minutes at 60% of my max heart rate versus forty minutes at 80% of my max heart rate, I burn less calories.

I know, you have been told that you need to do continuous exercise at 60-75% intensity to burn more fat. Unfortunately, this is a misinterpretation of the research. You may burn a higher percentage of calories from your fat stores, but your overall calorie burn is lower. For fat loss you are interested in two things - the amount of calories burned while exercising and the amount of calories burned after exercise. This is known as EPOC - excess post exercise oxygen consumption.

When you exercise at an higher intensity, whether doing strength training or cardiovascular exercise, your metabolism stays elevated for a greater period of time, burning more calories! A great way to achieve this is through interval training. When strength training, you would go back and forth between different exercises with little rest in between. Interval training for your cardio would involve doing periods of higher intensity work combined with periods of lower intensity.

If on your bike, you could pedal intensely and then go back to pedaling at a slower rate, and then alternate these intense and lighter sessions. This is a great way to increase your metabolism, turning up your fat burning furnace! This is what I have been doing and then getting off the bike for two or three minutes to enjoy the Sun shining across the river and the diverse wildlife, giving my legs a break.

Then I get back on the bike and ride a little bit more. This also gives me a break from the bike seat. The modified mountain bike I have is called a "comfort" bike, but still requires time to get used to the seat. Between the size of the bike and my own size, I am getting a pretty good workout, while trying to minimize saddle soreness. I may have to get a pair of padded bike shorts.

Be sure to come back tomorrow for part II of this article.