Stop seeing cycling as a weight-loss tool

I keep seeing coaches say that long steady Zone 2 rides burn body fat and are great for fat loss. While this may sound compelling it's misleading and it's THE wrong message to be sending out to cyclists.

I love that riding the bike makes us feel more powerful, have the fitness to climb hills fast, sprint into signposts with the club bunch, ride 100 miles at strong average speeds and finish endurance events feeling good. I love that strength training makes cyclists feel and look stronger, leaner and more toned in their ride kit. I love that cycling makes us feel more grounded, empties our heads of clutter and that a solo ride can be like a therapy session for the body and soul. All this is the benefit of training and riding a bike.

I dont love that coaches talk about it as a fat loss tool.

Let's clear things up. Zone 2 training increases fat oxidation (The utilisation of fatty acid molecules by the mitochondria to recycle as ATP). Fat loss is the term used for decreased fat mass by the whole body from a calorie deficit over time.

It's important to understand that there is very little difference between high intensity vs slow steady training to drive greater energy expenditure/fat loss. Not that fat loss and training should be your goal.

We all know that fat loss and weight loss come from how much you eat. yes, training can increase energy expenditure but it also increases hunger and energy intake so it's not 100% reliable or effective as some studies have shown for fat loss alone. (Links below)

Please can we all move on from this 80's rhetoric of exercise is for fat loss and change it to exercise is for health, making us feel stronger, more powerful, feeling healthy inside and out.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4603544/

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31172175/

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0174-y

Thanks for reading, Simon
2 X Winner of Gym Based PT, and founder of VPCC