AMERinMTL

ONe of the reasons i got back into BMXing from mountain biking is I remember how much better shape i seemed to be in riding around a freestyle rather than sitting on a mountain bike switching gears like it's going out of style. What I am curious of is if anyone has an idea of how many calories are burned during about an hour of what i would consider vigerous (spellling??) street riding. I live in Montreal and if you don't know the city it's pretty hilly, i ride daily for about 3 hours from one end of the island to the other, well, one end of downtown to the other and everywhere else, pedaling till i literally am so tired i just jump off my bike and want to die.

I know i must be burning a ton of calories, i like to eat healthy and stay healthy, but lately sense adding so much extra time on my bike i'm losing weight quickly, quicker than healthy and i dont' really feel i need to lose any!

I've upped my calorie intake signifigantly from around 2500 a day to about 3500 a day, all healthy foods like whole grains, fruits, vegitables, chicken and other lean meats. I try to get about a gram of protein for each pound i weigh, atleast.

So basically i'm trying to get an idea of how many excess calories are being burned in my body at this point doing 3 hours of hard hard riding daily in a very hilly environment.

Also, any tips for those of you who actually watch what you eat? I used to eat crap all day, fast food etc. but sense stopping like a year ago i look better, feel better, swear i think better, talk better, my mood is uplifted, and my riding and overall health have gone up literally probably about 5x.

iweargirlspants

did you google it?

AMERinMTL

All day long, I found plenty of results for normal mountain biking and road biking, but i feel that being on a bmx I burn more calories than i ever do on either a road or mountain bike.

Brian

As long as your heart rate is at about 80% of it's max, you'll be burning the same calories on whichever bike you ride. I'm going to put you on the spot and ask why you think it would be more on a BMX. Also, I think your protein intake may be a bit too high, but I could be wrong. If you don't have answers to all your questions by the time I log back on this evening, I'll see what info I can find for you. It's not a weird question, it's a good question.

mude

probably thinks its different cuz its a single speed rather than a moutain bike with mulitple gears.....i would agree with him

AMERinMTL

Yeah, it just feels like my mountain biking is more of a sustained lower resistance pedaling as when I am on a bmx I am constantly pedaling at different speeds, sprinting over things, working to get up hills. It's a constant stop go in the city with short bursts of intense pedaling you know as apposed to on a mountain bike i feel like i am just pedaling at a consitant pace.

Brian

Can you get hold of a heart rate monitor? You can get one cheap on ebay. If you're serious about fitness, they're an excellent tool.

AMERinMTL

I actually had one, it fell to it's doom off my arm when i was riding about a week ago, i gotta get another. . . Is there a way to tell how many calories you are burning by heart rate??? It makes sense that there would be.

I was out on a mountain bike for a good 4 hours today and sure enough, i didn't feel ANYWHERE NEAR as exhausted as i do when i'm done bmxing. What I've noticed is while bmxing hard for a good 4 hours as apposed to mountain biking for the same time is that when i get off a mountain bike just my legs are tired maybe my lower back a little, thats about it. When I get off my BMX on the other hand my upper back, shoulders, arms, forearms, legs and even abs all ache much much more. I think it's a combination of the lack of gears and the constant "sprinting" using your arms to pull the handle bars etc. just my thoughts. Feels more like when i used to ride my old fixed gear before it got robbed RIP

AMERinMTL

And so far as being serious about fitness, i would say i'm not overall, rather i've got one body, one life and i don't want to be some fat bastard sitting on a couch with food stains on my clothes, or be 40 years old with heart problems or something. Also we have a history of heart disease in my family, it's killed every man accept my dad before 50, my dad has been an avid bike sense he was in his early 20's, he's 55 now and unstopable, hopefully i will as well

hypersnazz

Total speculation, but I'm guessing you feel more worn out from BMXing because BMX involves many short bursts of high activity vs. long, sustained periods of moderate activity on road or MTB. 2 different kinds of workout involving different types of muscle (fast vs. slow-twitch or something).

Someone correct me if I'm way off base, I'd kinda like to know the answer myself. =)

Brian

I think it's more of the random switching between aerobic and anaerobic. When you're on a bike with gears, you're using your lungs and hopefully spinning at a constant cadence. For fat burning, you'd want to be at 80% Max HR. I'm guessing that depending in the type of BMX riding he's doing, he's exceeding that 80%, and building fitness (increasing anaerobic threshold) rather than just burning fat.

As far as actual calories burned, there's probably a calculator online somewhere. A good HRM will figure it, but I don't know how accurately. I think you need weight, age, body fat %, and heart rate to figure it with any accuracy.

But if you're eating right, you shouldn't have to worry about it. Just benchmark your heart rate by riding a set course, and recording your average (if you can) rate. If you do 2 laps around a park or high school track, and it takes you a set amount of time at a certain heart rate, you can work from there. As fitness improves, both the time and HR will drop. It's easier to get a faster time, but the lower HR will take a much longer time to develop. Also, if you don't stay hydrated, it's all for nought. Your body can't function properly without water.

AMERinMTL

well i think i figured out something, i found a calculator in one of my books that tell s how to calculate calories based on heart rate, now i just need my monitor. i think you have it right on as far as instead of the consitance pedaling keeping my heart rate up 80% i'm doing that type of work, keeping my HR up i would guess atleast 70-80 percent and then when you are sprinting up and down and around everywhere thats what raises it tremendously. Well, hopefully i'll have some results in a week or two to chare, and hopefully maybe someone can still help me with some more useful info thanks again.

Brian

I'll hook you up with some useful links later. I'm afraid I've forgotten more than most people will ever learn.

AMERinMTL

Awsome thanks so much!

AMERinMTL

UPDATE if anyone is interested. . ...

Using a formula i found in a book i've found this and it appears to be about right. . .

Riding a road bike sitting the majority of the time pedaling at a fairly consistant cadence myself, 21 y/o 170lbs burns roughly 650 calories. I used a formula which uses distence traveled, caliber of work out (intensity) speed, weight, and heart rate.

I did the same adjusting things to my bmx such as my heart rate which i got today etc. and found, hold your breath. . ..

I burn about 800, thats right, 800 hundred calories an hour bmxing. Now i BMX about 4 hours EVERY day so thats 3200 calories a day i'm burning JUST RIDING. And thats a fairly conservative figure as the use of upper body muscles and the calories they burn where not factored in.

No wonder i'm losing weight, i take in about 2500 calories daily. Not to mention my other daily activities burn atleast an additional 2000, that makes for 5200 calories daily, in other words a DEFICIT in my diet of 2700 calories. For those of you who don't know a pound of fat has 3500 calories in it.


Does this sound correct to everyone, i was helped by a very attractive exercise science student at McGill University. Wouldn't mind finding a reason to go back to her haha.

Brian

Post her photo and I'll decide if her math is correct.