How Many Calories Does Mountain Biking Burn?

Mountain biking is a great way to relax and enjoy the outdoors while also exercising and working up a sweat. But how can you use mountain biking to hit your weight loss goal? Or perhaps you just want to know how much ice cream you can eat after your latest ride. Either way, you might be wondering just how many calories mountain hiking burns.

The number of calories burned while mountain biking differs greatly depending on various factors, such as body weight and the trail. However, mountain biking can burn anywhere between 400 and 1200 calories per hour. So rest assured, mountain biking is a great way to burn a good deal of calories.

Many factors influence the number of calories burned, including your body weight and the bike's weight, the trail you are riding, and the effort you are putting in while riding. You can also do certain things to increase the number of calories you burn while mountain biking. Furthermore, there are a significant number of advantages to mountain biking.

What Determines How Many Calories You Will Burn?

How can you optimize how many calories you burn while mountain biking? Well there are a few factors which contribute to how many calories you burn:

• Body Weight. This affects the calories you burn in all exercise you do! - including while mountain biking. The higher your body weight, the more energy your body needs to exert when it is moving. Therefore, the more energy you exert, the more calories you will burn.
• Weight of the Bike. Similar to body weight, the bike’s weight is essentially more weight you need to move around. You will work harder with heavier bikes.
• The Trail You Ride. If you are riding on a smooth flat road the bike will do what it is supposed to do and roll. You won't have to put in a ton of extra effort. However, suppose you are riding on a terrain with many hills and technical sections. In that case, you will need to use much more power to push through the uphills, resulting in more burnt calories.
• Your Own Effort. The effort you put in while riding changes the number of calories you burn while mountain biking. If you are not pedaling while going downhill or around turns, you will burn fewer calories than when you are constantly working and putting in the effort.
• Bike Tires. In addition, having bigger grippy tires on your bike will increase the resistance against which you are moving (termed rolling resistance), further increasing your exertion and calories burnt (but at the same time giving you nice control).

_{Grippy tires (but with increased resistance); Image courtesy of Amazon.com note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases}

How To Increase The Calories You Burn While Mountain Biking

So you want to maximize your workout? There are several ways to increase the number of calories you burn while mountain biking.

• Pack on the pounds! You can add some weight by wearing a backpack with some heavy items; throw in some extra water bottles! Or you can use a heavier bike. Doing so will help you exert more energy and burn more calories in the same amount of time.
• Limit your rest periods. You can increase the work you do while going mountain biking by working in the "off time." For example, people usually don't pedal while riding downhill or going around a turn. However, if you pedal during this time, you will be putting in more work and burning more calories in the same timeframe.
• Another great tip to burn more calories while mountain biking is to listen to music while going for a ride. Studies show that if you are listening to music when you train, it helps you stay more focused and enables you to train for longer.

These are just a few possible tips to help you burn more calories while mountain biking. Of course, there are a lot of benefits to doing regular exercise, and exercise like mountain biking has some additional ones.

What Are The Benefits Of Mountain Biking?

Training is known to have many benefits, from improving your health to lowering your stress levels. Mountain biking is no exception, and there are several health benefits connected to mountain biking (in addition to all the calories you burn while mountain biking)

• Mountain biking helps to train your whole body. While you might think that it only targets your legs and glutes, core stabilization and arm strength also come into play when mountain biking. Working on your core will ultimately improve your posture, and you are less likely to have back problems when you are older.
• Mountain biking is also great for joint health. While mountain biking, you are using your joints and muscles. By using them more frequently, they will remain healthier for longer. Your joints will be less likely to get damaged but will be able to heal much quicker if they do get hurt.
• Mountain biking is great for your health and can help prevent life-threatening illnesses, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, strokes, and cancer by up to 50%.
• Exercise such as mountain biking can improve not only your physical health but your mental wellbeing too. For example, it can enhance your self-esteem. Mountain biking also releases endorphins, or happy hormones, which can help to improve your mood and lower your stress levels. Furthermore, you will be spending time away from technology. Spending too much time in front of the TV, tablet, or cellphone can overstimulate and stress your brain.
• When mountain biking, you must navigate on rough terrain. This navigation will help improve your coordination and concentration because you need to remain focused to stay safe.
• Mountain biking can also help you sleep better because your body uses so much energy while mountain biking. It needs sleep to recover and repair itself. Therefore, your chances of having sleepless nights are reduced when you go mountain biking.
• Lastly, mountain biking can also help to improve your appetite. You are burning a lot of energy while mountain biking, which needs to be replaced. As a result, you will have an increased appetite and automatically reach for healthier food that nourishes your body.

Summary

Mountain Biking is clearly a great activity to pursue. Mountain biking helps you burn a lot of calories while spending time outside. There are also many health benefits and other advantages connected to mountain biking.

The best part is that you spend time outside and enjoy nature at its best. This is something we all lack in our daily lives and can certainly benefit from.