Calories and Weight Loss
I have always told weight loss clients that are going for big weight loss (50 pounds or more) to not waste their time on a spin bike. I know, big statement, hear me out. Spinning doesn’t burn enough calories, it’s just not enough bang for your buck. Now if that’s all you can manage then that’s a different thing and we can strategies around that fact.
There are many forms of cardio that burn a lot more that I hate less than spinning.
My reason isn’t just because I personally hate it, but for how freaking hard it is. I can’t get over how few calories it burns. I feel like I should have burned 1000 calories after any ride so maybe I’m jaded. I have run marathons, birthed children, played three sports in college, walked 300 miles on the Camino de Santiago with a big ass backpack, and I think spinning is harder than any of those.
I completed the ride of my life on a random morning, and rated it a 10/10 in difficulty. The ride was a 30 min ride. I was dead after, and what really solidified my death was I only burned 179 calories. Sorry what? Excuse me? What in the actual F word? I felt duped. I know there is a large margin of error on calories burned with exercise, but I have measured my calorie burn several times while spinning and indeed it really doesn’t burn enough for how much it sucks.
If I need a major calorie burn I will not be spinning. Spinning has many benefits and is amazing for your health. This isn’t meant to deter anyone from spinning, I do a tabata ride at least once a week for my lungs. It isn't going to burn a lot of calories.
Let’s start by how many calories are in a pound, which is 3,500. If I was going to try to ride my way to burn some calories that would be impossible. So what burns the most calories? Obviously circuit training but we are talking specifically cardio because people fail to believe lifting weight burns calories so I’m speaking to the cardio masses. Jumping rope and running come in at the highest. What’s difficult is that not many people can run, not many people can run very fast. Jumping rope for an hour can burn around 600 calories. Obviously you have to be very fit to be able to jump rope for that long. Swimming can burn some calories, that’s another thing I hate doing. I hate feeling out of breath and physically very tired while in water. I also hate sweating in water. I don’t have time or access to swim. If you do, swimming can burn a lot of calories in an hour. My favorite is the elliptical. You can burn a lot of calories on an elliptical if you have enough intensity. It’s definitely worth your time. I think this one is my favorite because you can watch a show or read something while you use it.
The point is all cardio is not created equal in terms of burning calories. If you love spinning then you should spin to your heart’s content. If you are hoping to burn a lot of calories, spinning ain’t it.