Cycling is a fun and effective way to stay fit and healthy. It is a low-impact exercise that can help you burn calories and lose weight. However, many people wonder if cycling can specifically target fat on the thighs.
Cycling burns fat on the thighs, and even helps strengthen and develop the leg joints and muscles. Fitness enthusiasts must, however, engage in other exercises that will help them achieve their objective.
Cycling is a convenient way of losing fat but the exercise does not only target the fat on your thighs rather you will lose fat all over your body.
It is because when cycling other parts of your body are also put to the task apart from the thighs. Recently, exercises have been developed that target the fat on the thighs such as the lunges, inner or outer thigh lifts, wall sits, and step-ups.
Table of Contents
Other Ways of Burning Fat on Thighs
Other methods of losing thigh fat is by eating healthy and by performing sumo and goblet squats. Besides, some types of cardio exercises focus on the thighs such as running.
Thigh Fat Burning Exercises
Hit the stairs
Stairs tend to be intense for the leg muscles. Climbing up and down the stairs is a pure fat-burning exercise. It strengthens the lower body tones the calves, butt, and thighs.
Climbing the stairs will also help get rid of the love handles and belly while building abs. In essence is that fitness enthusiasts will be able to not only strengthen but also shape the problem areas such as the buttocks, tummy, thighs, and calves.
Resistance training
If you are looking to strengthen your legs without necessarily bulking up, you will have to keep your reps high, by performing three rounds of each exercise and then enjoying very little rest between each move.
Fitness enthusiasts can also integrate the upper body movements to their lower body exercises, and perform two in one move for enhanced overall fitness.
Work your inner thighs
Getting rid of belly fat is difficult and so is getting rid of the fat in your inner thighs. So, to help with this situation fitness enthusiasts are encouraged to do the platypus walk, this exercise works both the inner and outer thighs including the glutes consequently offering a toned look.
Engage the bodyweight squats
Using your body weight as resistance helps in the strengthening of the leg muscles and toning of thighs. This exercise does not need a specific routine to work but can be done anywhere and at any time.
Ideally, it is recommended that individuals perform at least 25 bodyweight squats two times per day.
Nutrition That Helps In Burning Thigh Fat
Reduce Salt Intake
Too much salt in your body makes your body to retain excess water and which leads to bloating and which will affect your hips and thighs including your body.
When you intake a lot of salt, a lot of water is stored instead of being filtered out by the kidneys. Which means that the more salt you intake, the more water is stored. But when you reduce salt intake, you will feel lighter and your clothes will even fit better.
One of the most ideal methods of cutting on salt is by avoiding processed foods, and which includes soups, canned vegetables, and sauces.
Cut Down on Carbs
When carbs are transformed into glycogen they are stored with water in the liver and muscle. So the more carbs that you eat, the more water that is stored in your body.
The recommended amount of carbs in a day is 75 to 100 grams but depending on your weight, height, and activity level, you might need more.
It is not advisable to skip the whole grains, as they help fill out stomachs. A low-carb diet will enable you to lose a few pounds and this includes the areas around the thighs.
Drink Water
Did you know that your body holds to the little water that you drink, and that is why you are advised to drink plenty of water as it will help flush out excess salt and the fluids that your body does not need, consequently reducing bloating.
Also by drinking a lot of water, you will effectively curb your appetite, because dehydration has been observed to mimic hunger.
Eat More Fiber and Protein
Most of your meals should be packed with fiber and proteins to help enhance weight loss, given that the macronutrients will ensure that you stay fuller but on fewer calories.
While fiber and proteins are great additions to your diet, proteins are the best because they help build lean muscle and which will enhance the outlook of the leg muscle. The proteins in this case should be derived from fresh foods, the likes of lean meat, whole grains, and vegetables.
Ensure to Relax and Recover
When you are stressed, your body produces the hormone cortisol and which when released in the body encourages the storage of fat.
While getting completely rid of stress in the current times is next to impossible, you are advised to find ways of minimizing it. For example, you could take some time away from your phone and work, you could also read, go for a massage or meditate.
Sleep
Lack of sleep makes individuals to make poor food choices, remember that lack of sleep increases your appetite, and you will even get cravings for carbohydrates and fats.
So what normally happens is that when you become tired, your body will want to stay awake and the only way to achieve this is by eating carbohydrates and sugar.
If you can, therefore, engage a full sleep cycle every night when you lie down to sleep, you inadvertently burn a lot of calories. But when you get a few hours of sleep you end up storing more energy as fat and which leads you to become more insulin resistant while the higher levels of insulin encourage fat storage.
Cut on the Alcohol
We are all aware of the number of calories that can be derived from the daily intake of sugary and alcoholic drinks.
Anytime that you are eating food under the influence, you are likely to order salty foods, the likes of fries, and in large quantities. Now, this has a way of affecting your overall intake as you will end up consuming more food, more so if you did not eat good food before taking the alcoholic beverages.
Track Your Meals
Many a time’s life gets on the way and we are unable to keep tabs on the foods that we eat.
So any foods that we eat as we try to shed fat will either keep you on track or out of track. The best way to get around this problem is by using a fitness application that has food estimates.
Alternatively, you could just get your pen and paper and plan your meals ahead of time, so that when you become too busy, you are still able to stay on track.
Conclusion
When it comes to burning fat on the thighs, cycling alone won’t cut it. Thigh fat especially the one on the inner thighs is not easy to burn thus you will need a combination of exercises and a good diet. The methods proposed above are all intended to help you burn fat, and while some of them are intentional and will target the fat on the inner thighs. Most of them help burn fat overall including.
FAQs
How long should I cycle to lose thigh fat?
For you to lose a considerable amount of thigh fat, you will have to cycle at a moderate but intense level for up to 30 minutes at a time.
Does cycling alone get rid of fat on the thighs?
No, cycling alone cannot get rid of fat in your thighs, you will also have to keep track of the foods that you eat, and do other exercises such as cardio and HIIT.
