Whether you want to slim down for bathing suit season, a special event, or the holidays, exercise needs to be part of the weight-loss equation. The reason: It will help you preserve muscle mass, which is healthier for your body and better for your appearance; plus, maintaining muscle will make your weight-loss easier to sustain for the long haul. While a leisurely bike ride outside isn′t likely to help you shave off pounds, indoor cycling can: Besides torching 400 to 600 calories in a 45-minute class, indoor cycling also helps rev up your metabolism (your body′s calorie-burning engine) and offers the opportunity to tone and strengthen all of the muscles in your legs, glutes, and core—without bulking up your thighs.
Holding on Too Tight
While it sometimes might feel like it, we swear the bike isn′t going to derail and shoot across the room. So try not to cling to the handlebars with the grip of a champion rock climber. "No white knuckles!" says Jessica Bashelor, owner of The Handle Bar indoor cycling studios in Boston, MA. "It′s waste of energy as well as the beginning of a greater problem—supporting body weight on your hands and wrists." If yours are sore after a ride, that′s a sure sign. Next time, direct that energy toward tightening your core and balancing your weight over your midsection, glutes, and quads.
Whether your goal with indoor cycling is to slim down and lose weight, get stronger, train for an event or sweat out your stress, you can gain one extra bonus without any additional effort: an improvement in your body image.
Simply put, your body image is the mental representation you have of your body; it reflects the attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions you have about your body and its shape and size. It also reflects how comfortable you feel in it. It′s normal to like certain parts of yourself and not others. But having a generally poor body image can have strong ripple effects on your overall well-being, your state of mind and your behavior. It can be a good idea to take steps to improve your body image, whenever possible.
