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Home arrow Fitness arrow Cycling arrow Biking 10 Miles a Day: Is It Enough for Weight Loss?

Biking 10 Miles a Day: Is It Enough for Weight Loss?

Isabel-Mayfield-health-reporter
Written by Isabel Mayfield
HR_author_photo_Rosmy
Fact checked by Rosmy Barrios, MD
Last update: November 22, 2022
9 min read 1365 Views 0 Comments
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Doing the ten-mile bike ride every day is extremely beneficial, as it’s a sure way to boost your cardiovascular health. Read on to find out how many calories you are likely to burn on your cycling trip.

biking 10 miles a day

Biking is a fun activity, and if you have an inactive lifestyle, it’s worth considering. Aside from being a good and healthy way to burn calories, biking can even help improve your mental health.

Think about it for a second; when cycling for a certain distance, you are giving your mind the luxury to wonder and think about a lot of things. In the course of this, you’ll be surprised at how clearer your thoughts are, and that’s because you are focused.

Yes, biking can be categorized as a full-body workout because it helps burn calories, but it’s definitely a low-impact one.

For a beginner cyclist, biking 10 miles a day is a start to having a healthy lifestyle; keep reading to find out more.

How Many Calories Does a Ten Mile Bike Ride Burn?

There’s no definite answer to the calories burned when you do a 10-mile bike ride, and that’s because everyone’s body weight is different. Plus, you might be able to burn fat faster than other people.

Another factor that accounts for calorie burn is the intensity of your cycling. You don’t expect yourself to burn the same amount of fat as someone who is cycling at a faster speed than you are.

Your body weight doesn’t just decide how many calories you burn; your resting metabolism, age, and sex affect how fast you lose weight.

Typically, a person who weighs 140 pounds will burn 420 calories on a 10-mile bike ride, and a person who weighs 180 pounds will burn 540 calories on a 10-mile bike ride, as long as they both use the same speed.

If both individuals who weigh 120 pounds and 180 pounds alter their cycling speed, the number of calories burned will be different.

Using an average speed of 15mph, the amount of calories burned in a 10 miles ride is 500–600 calories. When you are consistent with your cycling workout, burning fat becomes easier, and you’ll have a smooth ride in your weight loss journey.

So, make use of a lower gear and burn those stubborn calories.

How Long Does It Take to Bike 10 Miles?

Biking 10 miles a day should take you a good average of 45 mins to 1 hour. However, for a brand new rider who isn’t used to daily cycling, it might probably take an hour and a few minutes, and that’s because possibly a few stops might have been taken.

But removing that from the equation, new riders are likely to complete 10 miles cycling closer to the one-hour mark.

However, with constant practice, they’ll improve considerably, and lesser minutes will be spent on a 10 miles bike ride. Yes, not everyone will love to ride for an hour every day because your leg muscles will most likely “cry for help,” but with the health benefits of cycling, it’s worth it.

Other important factors affect how long you’ll complete a 10 miles bike ride; for instance, the type of bike you ride affects your speed; hence the time you’ll spend cycling.

In case you didn’t know, there are different types of bikes, such as; mountain bikes, road bikes, hybrid bikes, and so on. Some of these bikes are best suited for longer rides, so depending on the terrain, your bike type will influence the minutes you spend doing a 10 miles ride.

What Should I Eat Before Going on a 10-Mile Ride?

Naturally, there’s an almost infinite amount of fat in the human body. However, your body starts to get low on sugar when you engage in intense or prolonged physical activity.

The sugar in your bloodstream can last for three minutes at rest, and for your blood sugar level to be balanced, your liver has to continuously release sugar back into your body.

So, when there’s a drop in your blood sugar level, your brain begins to function poorly, and this can cause you to feel extremely weak, and in some cases, you might even faint. This is wrong and should never happen, and the only way to avoid this much energy expenditure is to fuel your body properly.

That brings us to the question of what to eat before going on a ride. Before figuring out what to eat, you need to understand your nutrition plan is only effective when you are completely hydrated; if not, you’ll still end up being weak.

Most times, people wonder why they feel tired even after consuming a healthy portion of food before cycling, and that’s because they aren’t hydrated. No matter how much you eat, without being hydrated, the food will work its way very slowly to your muscles, making you feel exhausted.

Let’s go over what you can eat before your ride for maximum efficiency. The following foods are rich in carbohydrates and protein; pasta, granola, bagel, bananas, chia seeds, quinoa, and bread.

Generally, we advise that you steer clear of foods with high sugar because they’ll ultimately make you feel tired.

5 Benefits of Biking 10 Miles Every Day

The chances of an active person developing heart disease are slim due to their lifestyle; you’d be surprised at how having an active exercise workout plan can affect your health. Cycling makes you fit, and it’s important for strength training.

However, aside from having a positive impact on your heart health, cycling helps with your sleep quality and even reduces high cholesterol levels.

Other health benefits of biking 10 miles a day include;

#1 Helps in weight loss

Do you know you burn more calories when you start biking? So, if you are on a fitness journey and you want a weight loss plan with lower risk, then it’s best to consider cycling.

When you start cycling for 10 miles a day, you get to increase your body’s metabolism, and this will help you burn fat faster. This is especially helpful to those who are interested in building muscles.

You can always start at a slow, casual pace and progress to a longer distance when you have built your strength. Eventually, you’ll be surprised at the calories burned from just riding a road bike. Plus, your body will burn calories even while you’re asleep.

To lose more weight while cycling, make sure you eat meals that’ll cause a calorie deficit, as this will propel fat loss faster, but be careful not to overdo it, so you don’t put your body at risk of health complications like cancer and heart diseases.

#2 Biking reduces your risk of heart disease

When you exercise frequently, your body pumps blood more frequently, drastically reducing your chances of being overweight.

It improves your heart health substantially by increasing your heart rate and improving the function of your cardiovascular system. For those who have started cycling and stick to it, their skeletal muscles become more insulin sensitive, making it easier to control their blood sugar level.

Research has proven that people who engage in biking as a form of exercise have a lower risk of developing heart diseases.

#3 Riding promotes better sleep

The importance of sleep cannot be overemphasized, and having a restful night’s rest helps boost your productivity during the day. When you ride 10 miles a day, you process your stressors better. Biking will most likely leave you exhausted, and what happens when you are tired? You rest!

It’s as simple as that. You can take a longer route on your next riding trip, as this will facilitate the release of more endorphins that’ll help your body feel relaxed.

#4 Improves your navigation skills

Not everyone is good with directions. Truth be told, it can sometimes be overwhelming having to keep track of every turn and bend. However, when you incorporate biking into your lifestyle regime, you’ll have an easier time memorizing trails and routes, and eventually, you won’t need Google Maps anymore.

For instance, biking 10 miles a day in a new city will make you familiar with all the famous restaurants.

#5 Biking helps you develop better balance

Riding a bike is not as easy as you may think because it can be quite tricky having to balance your weight on just two wheels.

Cycling with a road bike for longer distances will help improve your spatial awareness and body balance. When you are constantly riding, you’ll get used to navigating different terrains no matter the environment you find yourself in. Spatial awareness involves understanding how to turn corners effortlessly, and you cannot achieve this without constant practice.

If you know you intend on biking for 10 miles regularly, then you need to be concerned about your safety because bike accidents can be fatal sometimes.

As a bonus, you get to build your core strength while making yourself more conscious of your surrounding.

How to Prepare for a 10-Mile Ride

Before starting your 10 miles ride every day, you need to put certain things in place, and we’d go over a few;

#1 Tune your bike

Using an underperforming bike will suck the fun out of your bike rides. You might feel it’s fairly easy to go biking with a malfunctioning bike, probably because you are a pro, But, in reality, you are just setting yourself up for physical harm.

Important precautions you need to take include making sure all bolts are tightly screwed, fixing all worn-out pedals, and ensuring the tire pressure is set correctly.

#2 Pack your repair kit

Unfortunately, you cannot predict everything, and what will go wrong will go wrong. However, you can try your best by being prepared for anything; after all, a 10-mile ride can take an hour, and you might likely experience one or two unforeseen events.

Also, it’ll help if you can equip yourself with basic repair skills like how to change a flat tire or how to fix a loose screw. Some of the basic repair kits you’ll need to include; tire levers, chain breaker, two tubes, duct tapes, zip ties, and a pump.

#3 Don’t forget your food

As a rule of thumb, you need to keep your energy at a maximum so you don’t burn out. Like we said earlier, being hydrated is the most important thing when riding a bike.

Riding for 10 miles is no joke, and when you have exhausted all your bodily fluid, it becomes impossible to continue.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an average 20-mile cycling time?

Everyone’s speed differs, and there’s a noticeable difference between a professional and a beginner cyclist. However, on average, you should spend 1 hour and 40 minutes to finish a 20-mile ride.

Are 10 miles on a stationary bike good?

Regardless of where you do your biking exercise, whether on a stationary or road bike, the effort is still the same. If you intend to improve your mental health or lose weight by cycling, you can expect to get visible results.

What can substitute 10-mile cycling?

For those who don’t like the idea of cycling for 10 miles and still want to lose weight, there are other forms of exercise to consider. Walking is a great substitute to help burn calories.

A Word From Coach

Cycling is a fun way to lose weight, but there’s no need to over-push yourself to burn calories. To make the most out of it, you need to couple it with a healthy diet, so you can have a chiseled body in no time.

Remember that the calories burned for each individual will differ, and to burn more calories, you might need to hit the gym. The goal to achieve anything is consistency, so keep at it until you start seeing visible changes.

Lastly, always stay hydrated because 10 miles is quite a distance, and you wouldn’t want to get dehydrated while on a bike ride. 

Conclusion

Calories burned are dependent on your intensity and speed. There are lots of benefits that come from riding a bike. Plus, it’s also a rejuvenating activity.

Whether you plan on taking your kids for 10 miles riding or you just want a fun trip with your friends, keep in mind that it’s an individual experience, and the calorie burn is dependent on you.

Written by Isabel Mayfield
Isabel Mayfield is a certified yoga instructor with over 10 years of experience in the fitness industry. She is passionate about self-improvement and loves to help people improve their sense of self-worth through education and support in meeting their fitness goals.
The article was fact checked by Rosmy Barrios, MD
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Isabel-Mayfield-health-reporter
Written by Isabel Mayfield
HR_author_photo_Rosmy
Fact checked by Rosmy Barrios, MD
Last update: November 22, 2022
9 min read 1365 Views 0 Comments
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