Cycling is a fantastic activity that can help you stay healthy and lose weight. But how long should you ride your bike each day?

Cycling three to four times a week, for 30 minutes each time, can help you speed up weight loss and significantly improve your fitness levels. Four weekly sessions of moderate intensity cycling for 30 minutes can burn around 1.3KG of fat per month.

Generally, a person will consume approximately 400 to 700 calories during a half hour of average cycling conditions. To lose 1kg of fat, you need to burn 3600 calories, equivalent to 5 to 7 hours of moderate cycling.
Cycling more than 3 or 4 times a week can be challenging for beginners. It's best to start with less and gradually increase the intensity as your knees and joints adapt.

include:

• Your fitness level

• Terrain

• Head or crosswind

• Type of bicycle

• Tyre width and pressure

Less fit individuals might need to take a break after 10-15 minutes of cycling. If you fall into this category, there's nothing shameful, no need to panic or quit prematurely.

If you can only ride for 10-15 minutes without stopping initially and you cycle 2-3 times a week, you will be able to ride for 30 minutes within three weeks without any problems. Your fitness level will improve exponentially at the start.

A month into regular cycling, you will feel energised, and even if you're going uphill, you will be healthy enough to handle it. Furthermore, you'll notice significant improvements in other areas of your health as well (for instance, you won’t get out of breath climbing stairs).

When you first start, you should cycle 2-4 times a week, depending on your current level of health. Less than twice a week will not give your muscles enough exercise, whereas more than 4 times a week can initially be too hard on your body.

Remember, new riders' muscles and joints need time to get used to cycling, they need time to recover.

Experts suggest at least five 30-minute sessions of cardiovascular exercise per week to maintain a healthy lifestyle. So cycling 5 times a week, or a combination of cycling, running, and walking would suffice.

The most important thing is to find what you love doing while keeping fit, and cycling is undoubtedly a great choice.