If you’re looking for weight loss then the Eat Less Move More program should work out fine.

Bicycling is an excellent way to drop weight and build up endurance. Biking will give you an aerobic and anaerobic workout depending on the type of roads you ride. Aerobic is when you keep you heart rate below 75% of maximum. To determine MHR use the following formulas:

Male
Non-athletic 220 – age = MHR
Fit 205 – (age/2) = MHR

Female
Non-athletic 226 – age = MHR
Fit 211 – (age/2) = MHR

Riding below 75% MHR will burn fat. If you stay below 75% then you probably won’t need any carbs to avoid bonking. You will need to keep hydrating and replacing electrolytes and sodium. If you sweat a lot then sodium intake is a MUST! DO NOT take in a huge amount of water all at once. It will dilute the sodium in your system and can result in death. The easiest way to keep hydrated and the electrolytes and sodium at good levels is drink a low sugar sports drink. If you stay on the flats then you’ll probably find it hard to exceed 75% unless you do occasional sprints.

Anaerobic riding gets the old heart pumping, which stresses and improves the cardiovascular system. The best way to see if you’re improving is to check your resting heart rate first thing in the morning. Non-athletic types probably see a number above 70. If you keep up a consistent program, you should drop into the 50’s quite easily. Medical types may freak out if they see anything below 60. Tell them you’re a biker/runner/etc. and they’ll quiet down.

I ride about 800 miles a month. My resting heart rate is 44. Lance Armstrong is in the low 30’s. Miguel Indurain, the previous five-time winner of the TdF, had a resting heart rate of 26. Talk about a huge pump!

You can go anaerobic by sprinting or climbing. Sprinting will improve cardiovascular conditioning and build up fast twitch muscles.

The downside of going anaerobic is you will switch from fat burning to using glucose stores. There is not much on the shelf so to keep from bonking, you’ll need to keep hydrated, replenish electrolytes and sodium and consume carbs. The easiest way is to use a full strength sports drink. Gatorade is good. I prefer Cytomax. Power Bars and Gels are also good. They’re easy to digest and loaded with carbs, electrolytes and sodium.

The best ride is one that mixes aerobic flats with anaerobic climbs and an occasional sprint. You need to ride for at least one hour to get the full effects of biking.