How to Burn Fat on a Road Bike

There are countless cardiovascular exercises that will help you burn fat, and cycling is one of the most effective of these. According to nutristrategy.com, a 140-pound cyclist making a moderate effort can expect to burn 508 calories per hour. To maximize the fat-burning potential of your workout, ride your road bike within a certain "zone" of intensity. This zone is based upon your maximum heart rate and offers the best fat-burning bang for your buck.

Things You'll Need

  • Heart-rate monitor
  • Calculator
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Instructions

  1. Instructions

    • 1

      Establish your maximum heart rate. One method for achieving this is to use the following formula, originally created by Dr. Dan Heil at the University of Massachusetts: subtract half your age in years from 210; subtract 5% of your body weight from that figure; add the number 4 (for men; women will not add anything further). The resulting number will be close to your maximum heart rate.

    • 2

      Get on your road bike and set your heart-rate monitor to read your heart's beats per minute, or BPM. Warm up properly beforehand, spinning in a light gear for about 20 minutes.

    • 3

      Aim to ride between 50 and 60 percent of your maximum heart rate. Sally Edwards and Sally Reed, in their book, "The Heart Rate Monitor Workbook," label this as the "Healthy Heart" zone. This zone burns more body fat than any other, using only 10 percent of carbohydrates and 5 percent of protein, while using a whopping 85 percent of fat.