Gravel biking is a lot of fun, and there’s nothing like getting out into nature and challenging yourself on epic trails and dusty paths. Gravel biking has many benefits, one of which is the fact it burns a lot of calories while you’re doing it.
Here at Gravel Biking, we get asked many questions by our readers, and one that comes up often is about how good riding gravel is as a workout and to burn those calories. In this article, were going to be telling you everything you need to know by discussing:
Table of contents
Is Gravel Biking a Good Workout?
Cycling, in general, is an excellent way to exercise. It’s a cardiovascular workout that is also great for toning and building muscle. It is amazing because, unlike many other sports, such as running and swimming, it’s easy to adjust your work rate and doesn’t require much recovery. It’s becoming one of the most popular ways to get your fitness fix, and here are the benefits:
Low Impact
Cycling is a great way to exercise without putting too much strain on your body and joints. Even though you are riding a mix of roads that can be bumpy, it’s much less invasive compared to a sport like running.
It Uses A Lot Of Muscles
Cycling uses many more muscles than you might think. Not only does it utilize the large muscles in the legs, but also you get a great workout on the core and the arms, especially when riding off-road or on technical trails.
It Burns Calories
Cycling is an excellent way to get calorie burn, and if you’re working out to lose weight, that’s exactly what you need to be doing. Not only can you burn them at a high rate, but it’s very easy to adjust your work rate to burn fewer cycling calories or even more.
It Improves The Cardiovascular System
Being a cardio exercise, cycling hugely improves your cardiovascular system and trains it to be much more efficient. By doing cycling workouts you can help improve blood flow, reduce the risk of many diseases, and become much fitter.
It’s Great For Mental Health
Not only does cycling greatly improve our physical state, but it also does wonders for our mental state. It releases the endorphins that make you feel happy, and you have a well needed break from life for an hour or two.
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Calories Burned Biking on Gravel
Now we know how good cycling is as a workout. How many calories do you actually burn when you are riding? This can be different for everyone, and many factors change the outcome of the calories you burn. Consider your work rate, height and weight, and even the power you’re producing.
Here’s roughly what you can expect per hour, but it’s important to understand without knowing the person’s personal attributes. It can be very challenging to make a reasonable guess. Here’s where you probably are roughly at.
| Gender | Low Intensity | Medium Intensity | High Intensity |
| Male | 300 Calories | 500 Calories | 750 Calories |
| Female | 250 Calories | 400 Calories | 650 Calories |
How To Estimate Accurate Calories
The best way to understand how many calories is by using a computer. A device such as a Garmin or a fitness watch will be ideal, giving you a good estimation of the calories you are burning.
For accurate calories, you need to give the computer enough data. We recommend starting by entering all your details into the computer, such as height, weight, age, maximum heart rate, and more.
Then it still isn’t going to give you anything accurate. It will greatly differ from one device to another, but we can fix that. The final piece of the puzzle is to use a heart rate monitor and a power meter, if possible. Then you will get a very good estimation of exactly the calories you will be burning.
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Why Do We Count Calories?
There’s no denying that the fundamentals of weight loss come down to calories in and out. If you want to lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit. This means you are eating fewer calories than you are burning, causing your body to take from its fat stores.
It is the opposite if you want to gain weight, and you need to be in a calorie surplus. This means you are consuming more calories than your body is using, and it will convert them into fat and store them.
Although it might seem obsessive when people track everything they eat in applications such as MyFitnessPal, it’s great when you are dieting because you know exactly where you are at and learn about how calorie-dense foods are. There’s no amount of calories burned cycling that can’t be ruined by a bad diet.
Your Gravel Bike Workout Questions
Let’s answer some of your gravel bike workout questions. These are questions we get asked from gravel cyclists all about the workouts themselves.
How many calories do you burn biking hills?
In general, cycling downhill or on flats requires much less effort than cycling up a hill. You generally are giving much more effort on a hill and because of that, burn more calories. A common misconception on hilly rides is that the downhill sections compensate for the extra work. When they don’t, you are working harder.
On hills, you are at a much higher intensity and typically burn extra calories. Going back to our chart above, it could be an extra 250 calories an hour if you are on very hilly terrain and are being constantly challenged.
Although when it comes to riding a bike, you can use the gears to pick and choose how hard you work. So flats, descents, or hills, you are picking the work rate through the gearing. That’s why it’s important to use a computer and heart rate monitor to understand it better.
Does biking burn belly fat?
Cycling burns calories which in turn can burn fat providing you are in a calorie deficit. Unfortunately, you can’t pick where that fat comes off from. The body chooses where it wants to take from, and generally, that’s all over.
When you get to a point where your body fat is quite low, you can do core exercises to bring the muscle out to give you definition, but you can’t choose belly fat alone. Biking does burn belly fat, but in the process of taking away fat all over.
Will I lose weight if I cycle 20km a day?
If you plan to cycle 20km a day, it will definitely help you lose weight as you will be burning the calories to put you into a calorie deficit. 20km on a road bike or stationary bike could be 300 to 500 calories a day that you wouldn’t typically burn if you were sitting watching TV.
You will lose weight quickly by cycling 20km a day, but you must ensure you don’t start eating more to fuel it, and your calories stay in the deficit and do not go into a surplus. You still have to eat fewer calories than you are burning. It’s easy to start eating more when you are training more to compensate for energy expenditure.
What burns more fat? Jogging or cycling?
Jogging and cycling are both excellent cardiovascular exercises that can help you burn calories quickly and help you lose weight, but one is generally not better than the other. Running is better at burning calories in a shorter amount of time, say an hour, but it does have a much heavier impact on the body, and you require more recovery.
Cycling takes a little longer to burn calories, but you can go for much longer as it’s much less fatiguing on the body compared to running. Instead, you are able to go out and work at a lighter intensity for longer, burning more calories. The cycling burn is much less aggressive than the running burn.
How many calories do you burn road biking?
Road cycling is one of the best disciplines for burning calories. Unlike mountain biking, you tend not to stop pedaling for descents, and there’s no technical terrain you need to work around, such as rocks and loose sand. You tend to spend much more time on the gas when road biking, but it’s very similar to gravel biking in effort levels.
What type of cycling burns the most calories?
If you’re looking for the best workouts when it comes to cycling, the best calories you will burn are in the high-intensity disciplines that go for the longest. You will likely find the best calories being burnt road biking or when time trialing. Using a mountain bike still burns a lot of calories but you do stop pedaling on descents more often.
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How long should I bike for a good workout?
This is generally very different from each person to the next. We all like to cycle differently, and our bodies are more efficient at different intensities. Some people don’t have as much time and need to fit more into a workout than others.
In my personal opinion, I have found the best cycling workout to be a low to moderate intensity for 2-3 hours. I say this because it burns a decent amount of calories and doesn’t require a huge amount of recovery afterward.
This means you could run this session multiple times per week and get through a huge amount of calories without ever feeling too challenged by the workout and needing lots of days off to return to the bike without aching.
The Importance Of Nutrition
You always want to appreciate the importance of nutrition while working out. Many cyclists feel if they want to lose weight, they have to do workouts fasted and not consume calories while training. When this is awful advice.
You need to ensure you are taking on enough calories to fuel a workout while not having more than you are burning, causing you to go into a calorie surplus. You also need to ensure you have enough water to stay hydrated and help digest the food you’re taking on properly.
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