I'm going to start doing three x11 mile rides per week (next week) and maybe two x2 milers just to keep me ticking over inbetween. Now i KNOW that fat loss is 90% food, but a clean diet and this kind of routine should see the fat melt off, right?
It's just as effective as any other cardio for fat loss. Mix it up, running, sprints, cycling, rowing, swimming, crossfit, martial arts training, whatever, it all burns calories. Like you said, diet is key. If you get that sorted you'd probably lose fat without doing any cardio. Do whatever you enjoy and will stick to.
10 km and you're ****ed? What were you doing? interval sprints at max effort? 10 km is diddly-squat on a bike if you're just steady pace cardioing. I used to do 35 km twice a day on a bike at an average of 38-43 km an hour when i needed to lose weight quickly about 15 yrs back. And that's wasn't even a proper speed bike, just a dutch style city bike with 6 gears. Must say i lost weight rapidly, not dieting too, just eating healthy. Needed a lot of sleep then too to recover. Lost about 12 kg first month 8 in the second and 6 in the third and i was good to go Dieting isn't the key. Diet is. Eat sensibly, fruits veggies good fats and make sure you eat enough protein or you'll be burning muscle too. Any form of cardio is good. But the form of cardio you really like is best. Me i love biking and swimming. Running is ok but i only do speed work, afraid to damage my joints.
The 11 mile ride that i did was my first time on a bike in nearly two years, and my first 11 miler in three years. Managed to do about 20 miles in 3 days last week, so i'm hoping to do 35-50 between mon-fri (this week coming). Burning muscle isn't a problem for me, as i feel like i've gained a bit too much bulk anyway. Much prefer it to running as i just can't get a good distance 'in' with running, but with riding a bike i can get a good amount of miles in at any one time.
