Shop E Store Cycling and running aerobic exercise that will help you lose weight. But is there a winner between cycling and running due to the loss of belly fat?
The fat stored around the stomach is not just about its physical appearance. It can have a negative impact on your health, so you need to get rid of it. It can increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes. When the stomach continues to grow, it probably means that you need to change your lifestyle. Apart from changing your diet, try to engage in physical activity. Aerobic exercises like cycling and running can help remove belly fat. Both can burn calories and improve heart health. But between cycling and running, is there a winner?
What are the benefits of cycling?
Some of the benefits of cycling include:
- Good for the heart: Cycling will increase your heart rate. “This improves heart health by increasing blood circulation and oxygen flow,” says fitness expert Abui Singh Thakur. It can also have a positive effect on total cholesterol, a risk factor for heart disease. A review published in Medina showed that cycling could increase high-density lipoprotein (good) cholesterol levels while lowering low-density lipoprotein (bad) cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
- Helps you lose weight: “Cycling can burn at least 300 calories per hour,” experts say. This, when combined with a good diet, helps in reducing overall fat, including belly fat.
- Give your strong feet: It mainly targets your thighs, glut, hamstrings and calves. Increased climbing and resistance will make your leg muscles work even more intense and stronger.
- Easy with joints: Cycling doesn’t have a major impact on the knees and ankles, making it a great option for people who are overweight or have joint pain. A study published in Sports and Exercise Medicine and Science showed that cycling participants had a lower prevalence of frequent knee pain.
What are the health benefits of running?
Before moving on to cycling vs running debate, check out the benefits of running.
- Suitable for weight loss: “Running is a high-impact aerobic exercise that can burn around 400 calories,” says Thakur. During a study published in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, we found that novice runners saw a loss of fat mass when they ran for more than 5km a year. They combined running with targeted dietary changes.
- It strengthens your mind: Running will quickly boost your heart rate. “This will strengthen the heart and improve blood pressure, blood flow and lung function,” experts say. Running regularly will quickly improve your overall heart health.
- Improve bone strength: The bones become more dense over time, especially in the legs and hips, as your body hits the ground while you run. This will help you stay strong and reduce the risk of bone problems later in life.
- Tone Muscle: It will tone your muscles, especially your legs and core. Your quads, hamstrings, calves and abs are all involved while you run.
Cycling vs. Running: Which is the best way to reduce belly fat?
Are you confused between running cycling and running due to belly fat loss? Both are found to be effective. During a study published in the Medicine and Science of Sports and Exercise, researchers found that both cycling and running help reduce body fat, including abdominal fat, in overweight or obese participants.
Here’s a comparison of cycling and running:
running:
- Burn more calories.
- Build stronger aerobic exercise faster.
- It moves the whole body, but puts more stress on the knees and ankles.
cycling:
- Joints are safer for beginners and people with extra weight.
- It has a slightly lower calorie count, but can last longer.
- Build strong legs and glute with less risk of injury.
“If you’re overweight, have knee pain, or haven’t been going well for a long time, cycling is a safer choice to start your fat loss journey,” says Thakur. If you are already active and need faster fat loss, better heart endurance, and more intense workouts, running will give you faster results. Instead of choosing between cycling and running, you can mix both. You can cycle three days a week and run for two days. This makes your workout fun, target different muscles and prevents burnout while you sweat.
Cycling vs Running: How to perform these exercises to reduce belly fat?
How to ride a bike:
- Use one of your feet to push the path forward.
- Start pedaling at a moderate pace for 30-60 minutes.
- Mix slow and fast cycling (interval) to burn more fat.
- Do it 4-5 times a week.
How to do it:
- Warm up with light walks and joint mobility.
- Increase speed and run at a steady pace of 20-40 minutes.
- Mix jogging once or twice a week.
- Doing it 3-5 times a week is enough for weight loss and other health benefits.
To reduce belly fat, you need to burn more calories than you eat. While aerobic exercises like cycling and running can help with this, you also need to modify your diet, sleep and activity levels. Remember, no one can target belly fat alone while choosing to cycling and running. You lose fat from the whole body and abdominal fat decreases as part of that process.
Related FAQs
How many calories did you burn while cycling or running?
It depends on your weight, speed and time. For people aged 70-75 kg, running at a medium pace can help burn 600-800 calories per hour. Cycling at a medium pace can burn around 300-600 calories per hour.
How many hours of cycling is equivalent to running?
Running burns more calories than cycling at the same time. Therefore, an hour of running is equivalent to 1.5 hours of cycling (approximately). However, it depends on factors such as speed and terrain.
Do you run more than cycling for your heart?
Both are great for heart health. However, if you compare the two, running will speed up your heart rate and increase your heart strength. Joints are easy to cycling, making them suitable for long sessions with low risk.
Is it better to run than cycling for muscle growth?
Running mainly builds more lean muscles in your calves, hamstrings and cores. Cycling builds stronger and larger legs (quadriceps and glute) for resistance from the pedal.
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