Bike Riding for Weight Loss

Tim Schmidt By Tim Schmidt0 Comments3 min read717 views

If you are struggling to lose weight, it could be that you aren’t into your workout routine.  I found this long ago, when I started packing on pounds after retiring from soccer after the collegiate level.  Soccer, to me, was how I stayed in shape.  I played almost daily, and at very high levels.  I could even do this and drink as much beer as I wanted, eat how I wanted, and not gain a single pound.  However, when I stopped chasing that black and white ball around the field, it all caught up to me.

For several years I simply carried weight with me that I never had.  I resorted to the fact that I was a workaholic and making money and that there was no time for the gym.  The gym was an afterthought, and all thought of being as competitive as I used to be went out the window.  For me, just making money was enough to be happy.  Well, that and my weekends on South Beach, once I moved to Florida.

Years later, I realized that health is wealth.  Sure, you can have all the money in the world and live a great life, but it’s all for naught if you aren’t in shape and functioning at a high level with all of your organs working in harmony.  I had to make some changes, and find stuff I actually enjoyed doing.

How I Finally Found Fun Fitness

A new relationship helped me find workouts I actually liked doing.  Stuff that got me excited was stuff that I simply wrote off as “for women” in the past.  Gone were the days of saying “yoga is stupid, and for Moms.”  Yoga, in fact, works.  Not to mention, it’s very challenging, so any men out there who doubt that, take a class.  It’ll open your eyes up to how different workouts go.

Next, I did Orange Theory fitness.  I love this workout because I lift, I do cardio, and although I hate it, I row.  And I row, and I row.  The pounds fall off, and I see the benefits very rapidly.

However, nothing got me hooked on watching my body change like spinning.  I did a spin class as a freebie one day in Davie, Florida, and it really got me into biking.  I now am a proud member of not one, but two cycle gyms, have a great road bike that I bought for adventure rides around South Florida, much thanks to Dave’s Cheap Bicycles, a blog I ran into while doing homework on the subject, and I also am a proud owner and user of the Peloton stationary spin bike.  For me, this one is the best.  I ride on my own time, either on recorded or live rides, and have a panel that keeps all my stats in one place.  It’s the best thing that’s every happened to me, really, because I do like working out on my own time, when I can, and when I want.

Riding a bike, in whatever fashion I’ve done it in, has helped me not only lose weight, but keep it off.  As a personal tip, I like to choose rides that incorporate interval training, which most people call “HIIT” – standing for high intensity interval training.

If you are serious about losing weight, find something that you like to do.  For me, it was playing soccer, until the bicycle took over!

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