Calories Burned Per Hour by Cycling

Leisure Cycling

Typical leisurely cycling where you stay at ten miles an hour or below will have you burning around 230 calories if you weigh around 130 pounds and up to 370 calories for those over 200 pounds. Cycling at a faster speed over 13 miles per hour can have you burning almost twice as many calories or more.

Mountain Bike Cycling

The off-road trails and various hills make mountain biking more strenuous than any other type of cycling, so you will burn more calories. If you weigh around 130 pounds, you can expect to burn close to 500 calories, those who weigh over 200 pounds can burn closer to 800 calories in an hour.

Stationary Bike Cycling

You can adjust the settings of a stationary bike which can help you burn more calories in one hour. The more vigorously you cycle on a stationary bike and the more resistance you add, the more calories you will burn. Starting out very light and weighing around 130 pounds, you can burn around 175 calories; if you cycle at a vigorous pace, you can burn over 730 calories. The calories per hour cycling you can burn weighing around 205 pounds at a very light speed can be almost 280 calories. Increasing the intensity can have you burning well over 1100 calories.

You can use this online cycling calories burned calculator to get specific result of your condition. 

Always pedal

Instead of just cruising along while on your bike, keep your pedals going. Keeping the pedals stationary won't help you burn calories but keeping the pedal in motion could help you burn up to 25% more calories an hour.

Take the unbeaten path

Cycling on gravel, trails or unpaved ground will burn more calories because it takes more energy to pedal through it. The resistance you have to pedal against not only helps burn more calories but can also help tone and build muscles as well.

Listen to music

Music has a profound effect on your mood and can help boost your cycling confidence. Certain upbeat sounds will actually have you unconsciously pedaling faster and harder which in turn helps you burn more calories. The best thing about listening to music while you cycle is you don't feel like you are exerting more energy because you are simply keeping up with the rhythm of the music.

Bike more hills

You may be trying to avoid cycling up any inclines but you will burn plenty more calories taking the hills over sticking to the flat roads. To burn even more calories per hour cycling up hills, alternate between sitting and standing as you pedal. In this way, it will help raise your heart rate while also strengthening and building your core and upper body muscles.

Ride first thing in the morning

If you can squeeze in your bike ride before breakfast as the first thing in the morning, you can burn more fat. To help make the ride easier, drink a cup or two of green or black tea. The tea will help boost your energy, making it easier for you to burn calories. Once your bike ride is over, make sure you eat a healthy balanced breakfast.

Skip the energy bars

When riding for an hour on your bike, you might be tempting to bring along an energy bar to ensure you will make it the full way back. These bars, however, tend to contain a significant amount of calories which make them counterproductive when you are trying to burn more calories. Instead, choose a banana and other fruits to take along with.

Consistency is key

Biking once a week isn't going to get you the results you want from cycling routine. You'll want to bike four or five days a week if you want to burn more calories per hour cycling over time. Make it a habit and be stick with that.

Bike with a group of people

Finding the motivation on your own to bike four or five days a week can be a challenge. Joining a cycling group or just having a group of friends go with you on a bike ride will help you stay motivated. Not only will this motivation help you burn more calories by getting you out the door, but keeping pace with them will help you push yourself to go faster than you might have on your own.