Cycling is an enjoyable way to get and keep you active, whilst getting some quality outdoor time. If you’re a heavier person though, you may feel that your ability to cycle is limited. Luckily, electric bikes are a great option to make cycling more accessible for you, if you’re a heavier person.

Cycling may be too much effort for you if you’re carrying a lot of weight, especially if you’re riding up hills. If you’re overweight, then you may feel you haven’t got enough fitness for cycling. Electric bikes help break down these barriers though, due to the extra help they give you. Therefore, electric bikes can get you cycling more and further, or even at all, if you’re a heavier person. 

Here in this article, I will talk further about how electric bikes can help you if you’re a heavier person.

Electric Bikes Give Pedal Assist

Before going any further, it’s worth clarifying that electric bikes have pedal assist. This is often referred to as PAS as an abbreviation, by the way. Pedal assist is where an electric motor is powering the electric bike to move forward. However, this is only when you’re pedaling as well. So here, the electric motor only engages when you start pedaling. This means that when you’re using pedal assist, the electric motor is sharing the effort needed to move your bike forward with your pedaling. This reduces the amount of effort needed on your part, whilst you’re still at least using some effort. 

Just to clarify though, some electric bikes do also have a throttle as well. With these electric bikes, you can twist the throttle and go, without any pedal effort needed. As you may gather, you’re not keeping active and getting fitter, whilst using a throttle.

Electric Bikes Help Heavier People To Start Cycling 

As mentioned above, you may be put off cycling, or even exercise in general, if you’re a heavier person. So riding an electric bike is a great way to start you cycling and therefore exercising. By the way, you may be a heavier person due to a high muscle mass. Even so, an electric bike can still be a great way to get you doing cardio exercise, if you’re not already doing so. Weight due to muscle mass can still make it tricky for you to do cardio exercise. This is due to that increased muscle mass, can make running stressful for your joints, or cycling up hills on a regular bike difficult. 

As mentioned above, pedal assist can reduce the amount of effort needed on your part, whilst you’re still at least using some effort. This is why electric bikes are so great for getting you to start exercising, if you’re struggling to do so, due to if you’re a heavier person. After all, any exercise is better than no exercise. All the time you’re using pedal assist on an electric bike, you’re still doing more than if you’re sitting on the sofa.

Ultimately, electric bikes can be the difference between cycling and not cycling at all if you’re a heavier person. You can even adjust the level of pedal assist as well. You can have the pedal assist set to either one of the higher or lower levels, depending on your needs. As you hopefully get fitter, you may be able to lower the level of pedal assist as you go. Electric bikes really do allow you to get fit at your own pace.  

Electric Bikes Get Heavier People Cycling Further

You may be cycling already, but you may be a heavier rider, who’s limited to how far you can cycle, due to your weight. As mentioned before, electric bikes will break down this barrier. The reason for this is that they can allow you to cycle further distances, for the same effort as cycling shorter distances on a regular bike. Again, this is due to the pedal assist.

This ties in with electric bikes, getting you to start cycling in the first place, as talked about above. For example, if you’re overweight, you may see cycling to work as an opportunity to fit some exercise in. However, your workplace may be too far for you to cycle to on a regular bike, due to your level of fitness. An electric bike though, could make this distance doable for you. Again, this is an example of how an electric bike can be the difference between cycling and not cycling at all, if you’re a heavier person.  

Aside from commuting, electric bikes allowing you to cycle further can cause you to cycle more in general. This is because being able to cycle further allows you to go on rides you may not normally go on. For example, you may decide to go on long rides in the country, where you may have only cycled locally before. Remember cycling further, which leads to cycling more, leads to increased health benefits. Also, cycling further means more exploring and therefore more fun. 

Electric Bikes Get Heavier People Cycling More 

This follows on from above. If you’re able to cycle further, then you’re more likely to cycle more often. Generally, you’re more likely to cycle more often, if an electric bike makes cycling easier for you. Below, I talk further about different ways of how electric bikes can get you cycling more often, if you’re a heavier rider. Remember cycling more gives you more health benefits.

Helps With Riding Up Hills 

If you’re a heavier rider, you may struggle to cycle up hills. This may therefore put you off cycling on hilly routes altogether. You may even get off your bike and walk it up hills, whenever you come by them. Electric bikes help break down this barrier as well. The pedal assist makes riding up hills much easier. This means that electric bikes can prompt you to cycle hilly routes if you were avoiding them before. Also, riding an electric bike can allow you to remain on your bike up hills, rather than getting off and walking. 

Going Cycling With Friends 

You may be put off cycling with your friends, if you find it hard to keep up with them, due to your weight. An electric bike can give you the boost to keep up with them though. So having an electric bike can allow you to not miss out here.

Cycling for Transportation

Electric bikes can prompt you to cycle certain types of journeys you wouldn’t normally cycle for. Again, due to the pedal assist. This can allow you to fit cycling more regularly into your daily life. For example, you may use an electric bike for shopping trips, visiting friends, or any general errands. You may even find that an electric bike could replace your car for certain journeys. If you’re overweight, you may not have the fitness to often cycle these trips on a regular bike. Remember though, regular cycling on an electric bike will increase your fitness.

Commuting   

I’ve already mentioned commuting before in this article, with regard to electric bikes helping with the distance. However, possibly arriving at work in a sweat may also put you off cycling to work. This is more likely if you’re overweight. Electric bikes though, allow you to cycle at a reduced pedal effort, so that you don’t arrive at work in a sweat. This can be the prompt you need to get you cycling to work. Remember, cycling to work at a reduced effort will still keep you more active compared to driving, or getting a train or bus to work. 

Less Likely to be Put Off Cycling in General

Electric bikes, reducing the pedal effort needed, can make cycling more enjoyable for you. For example, if you’re a heavier rider, you may be really blowing a gasket riding up hills, or against the wind. So if an electric bike is allowing you to easily cycle up a hill, then this can be a much more pleasurable experience for you. You’ll still be keeping active, but you won’t be feeling as much discomfort from overexertion. At the end of the day, the more enjoyable you find cycling, the more often you’re likely to do it. 

Having an electric bike can give you the peace of mind of knowing that the pedal assist can help get you home, if you become tired during a ride. If you’re very tired, you can change the pedal assist to the maximum setting for the rest of the ride. Knowing this can give you the confidence to go cycling in the first place if you’re a heavier rider. If you have an electric bike with a throttle, you can also use this to get you home if you’re tired. 

Makes Cycling More Fun   

This follows on from my point above, where I said you’re more likely to cycle often, the more you enjoy it. Electric bikes make cycling more fun for many people, simply because they help you to cycle faster. You may really enjoy speed, but if you’re a heavier rider, you may find it too much effort to cycle fast on a regular bike. At the very least, it may be difficult for you to cycle fast for long periods. This is another barrier that an electric bike can break. Having an electric bike can allow you to cycle fast, whilst you’re pedaling at an effort you can cope with. Therefore, if you’re a heavier rider, you can still have the thrill of cycling at speed for long distances without overexerting yourself.  

Electric bikes will also help you cycle up hills quicker, which you may find more fun. Cycling 2mph up a hill on a regular bike is likely to be frustrating for you. If an electric bike allows you to cycle 9mph up a hill instead though, then this can be much more motivating. This is aside from the fact that hills will be less of a struggle on an electric bike. 

Can Open Up New Cycling Routes

If you’re a heavier person, having an electric bike can allow you to cycle, where you wouldn’t normally. For example, you may find cycling on rugged off-road trails challenging on a regular bike. Having an electric bike can make riding on these trails doable for you, though. This is another example of how electric bikes break down barriers and makes cycling more accessible.  

How Cycling Helps You if You’re Heavy

Being overweight can lead to negative health implications. These can include heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and high blood pressure. So if you’re overweight, exercise can help you to get to a healthy weight, to reduce the risk of these ailments. Cycling is an excellent form of exercise to help with weight loss. So again, electric bikes can get you cycling, if your weight makes it difficult for you to start cycling on a regular bike. As mentioned earlier though, being a heavier rider doesn’t always mean you’re overweight. Even so, if you’re not overweight, cycling is still a great way to keep yourself active, to help keep you healthy. 

By the way though, as well as exercise, eating sensibly is also important for weight loss. In fact, weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. So exercise alone may not always lose you much weight. However, it will certainly help as part of an overall weight loss plan, that includes a healthy diet. You may only be a little overweight and already eat healthily though. In which case, regular cycling may be the extra nudge to get you to a healthy weight.  

Electric Bikes are Effective for Weight Loss

Riding electric bikes with the pedal assist can be very effective for weight loss. Studies have shown the below amount of calories burned per hour comparisons.

The above shows that even though you can expect to be burning fewer calories on an electric bike compared to a regular bike, you can still burn a lot. 500 calories per hour is certainly a lot better than nothing. 

The above statistics also show that you’re not always burning that much fewer calories on an electric bike, compared to a regular bike. This does depend on your pedal effort and the level of pedal assist setting you’re using though.

The reason why you’re not always burning that much fewer calories on an electric bike compared to a regular bike is because you’re still using effort. You can even ride an electric bike using the same pedal effort as when you’re riding a regular bike. This more applies to if you’re riding on flat ground though. It’s just that you’ll be going faster on an electric bike, for the same amount of pedal effort as a regular bike. So an electric bike does not necessarily always mean you’re working less. This can mean you may be riding an electric bike with the same pedal effort you would be riding at anyway on a regular bike, but going faster for it. 

You’ll likely be riding an electric bike at a reduced (more manageable) effort, compared to a regular bike up hills though. This can also be at other tricky moments, like when you’re cycling against the wind. The key point here though is that you’re still cycling at all, as opposed to giving up. So all in all, you’re still getting a solid cardio workout on electric bikes, to help with weight loss. 

Using Electric Bikes for Specific Fat Burning Cycling

Electric bikes can in fact be more effective for weight loss than regular bikes, if used the right way. This is all down to that electric bikes can help keep you in the fat burning zone, better than regular bikes. The fat burning zone is when you’re exercising at an intensity, where your heart rate is at 60% to 65% of its maximum.

Exercising in this zone is not a high level of intensity. In fact, you should be able to hold a conversation, whilst exercising within this fat burning zone. The reason why electric bikes help keep you in this zone is because they allow the incline and terrain to not dictate your effort. So if you’re cycling in this fat burning zone on flat ground and then you come by a hill, you can then increase the level of pedal assist. This will help you to maintain the same amount of effort that keeps you in the fat burning zone, whilst cycling up the hill. 

Conversely, you may be riding a regular bike in the fat burning zone on flat ground and then you may have to increase your effort up a hill. This could then take you out of the fat burning zone. You’ll still be exercising whilst cycling up the hill, but likely not at the most effective intensity for fat burning. So electric bikes are a great tool to help you maintain steady efforts, that are ideal for fat burning.

You can check if your heart rate is within the fat burning zone, by using a heart rate monitor. Below shows how to calculate what your own heart rate should be, to be within the fat burning zone. By the way, the fat burning zone is also known as the aerobic zone.

Safety 

Electric bikes help you to be safer if you’re a heavier rider. The electric boost gives extra acceleration that can get you out of dangerous situations. For example, they can allow you to get out of harm’s way quicker at junctions and roundabouts, compared to regular bikes. If you’re a heavier rider on a regular bike, you may struggle to pick up speed quick enough to get out of danger’s way.

Conclusion 

Many people perceive that electric bikes are for lazy people. This is far from the truth though. They are an excellent tool to make cycling accessible, for people who would otherwise find cycling difficult. This is part of the reason why studies have shown that electric bikes can get you fitter than regular bikes. So if you’re a heavier person who finds exercise and cycling difficult, then an electric bike can change your life. This has been the case for many heavier riders.  

The rest of the reason why studies have shown that electric bikes can get you fitter than regular bikes is because they can get people who already cycle to cycle more. This is due to the fact that they can make cycling easier and more fun. This can especially be the case if you’re a heavier rider. Ultimately, electric bikes break down barriers. They mean that if you’re a heavier person, then you have the opportunity to cycle no less than anyone else.

The post Why Electric Bikes are Ideal for Heavier Riders appeared first on Electric Bike Planet.

It’s a common perception that you aren’t able to get fit on electric bikes. This is due to the motorized assistance they give you whilst cycling. But this is a misconception I will prove in this article. I will therefore convince you that you can, in fact, get fit on electric bikes.

Electric bikes are an effective tool for keeping fit. They make cycling accessible, for many people who would otherwise not cycle at all. Electric bikes can even help improve fitness, better than regular bikes. This is when they’re used effectively, as part of certain fitness regimes.

Here in this article, I will talk about the types of people that can benefit from electric bikes, in terms of getting fit. These types of people could possibly include yourself. I will also advise of the scenarios where electric bikes are especially helpful when used for fitness. These scenarios include certain fitness regimes I mentioned above. Ultimately, I will advise you how electric bikes can get you fit.

Pedaling Effort on Electric Bikes

Electric bikes have pedal assistance, which is exactly that, assistance. This does not replace the need for pedaling altogether. So you will still need to put in effort yourself. This pedal assistance complements your own pedaling, to provide an extra boost. It is available for use for the below scenarios.

• As and when required. For example, when you’re riding up a steep hill, or if you’re fatigued during a long ride.
• Throughout the whole ride, if cycling is difficult for you. This can be if you’re currently of a low fitness, or recovering from injury.
• To get to a destination quickly and without a sweat.
• For fun. Many people simply find cycling with the motorized boost enjoyable. 

This pedal assistance, allowing for an extra boost when needed, is beneficial for cyclists of all levels. For example, you may decide not to use the pedal assist most of the time. This can be whether you’re a fit cyclist, or not. However, it can be reassuring to know it’s there. This can be just in case you were to come by a steep hill, for example, which you may struggle with on a regular bike. This is why electric bikes can be the difference between cycling, or not cycling at all, for many people. After all, exercise with some assistance is better than no exercise at all.

To emphasize that you still have to put in effort when using electric bikes, at least not when using a throttle. Some electric bike motors have torque sensors that engage the motor when you’re pedaling. Here, the level of electric assistance is relative to the amount of pedaling you’re doing. So you will already need to be pedaling hard in the first place, to maximize the electric assistance.

By the way, the other type of sensor you’ll have on electric bike motors is a cadence one. For motors with these sensors, you need to adjust the electric bike settings, for the motorized assistance to match your pedaling.  

Electric Bikes with Throttles

Before continuing any further, it’s worth clarifying the following.

Some electric bikes do have a throttle, by the way (depending on if local laws allow). This engages the motor without any pedaling effort. Throttles on electric bikes can be instead of, or as well as, pedal assist.

As you may gather, using throttles on electric bikes will not help you keep fit. However, referring back to where I mentioned that having an electric bike can be the difference between cycling and not cycling at all. Which can be the case for many people. Having a throttle, can give you the confidence to go out cycling if you’re not at full fitness. This is due to that you know the throttle is available to get you home, if you become tired. Again, it is still true that you have to put in effort yourself, when using the motorized pedal assistance. 

Electric Bikes Help People of Advancing Years, or with Ailments, or Injuries to Keep Fit

Regular exercise is important to stay healthy. However, you may be restricted to the amount of exercise you can do. This can be for various reasons. These can include if you’re overweight, advancing in years, rehabilitating after/whilst carrying an injury, or if you have a health issue like arthritis. These factors can make exercise more difficult for you to undertake.                                        

This is where electric bikes come into their own. They can get you on a bike and exercising, where other forms of exercise, like running, may be too demanding. This can even include if you would find riding on a regular bike too taxing.  

An electric bike can allow you to still keep active, whilst using a level of assistance that is suitable for you. This can prevent overexertion. Overexertion risks causing you more harm than good, like possibly causing an injury. Again, remember that any exercise is better than no exercise.   

Additionally, you can steadily reduce the level of assistance, the fitter you get over time. This can also be for the more you recover from an injury or health issue.  Again, if you have health issues or limited fitness, the comfort of having an electric motor may give you the confidence to go cycling at all. You may be concerned that you could start experiencing difficulties whilst cycling. If this occurs, you can use the electric assistance to get you home easier and quicker.   

You may want high intensity exercise, but you may have a limited ability to perform this. If this is the case for you, then an electric bike can offer an achievable solution. Electric bikes allow for increased intensity compared with walking. Increased intensity also allows for increased fat burning capacity.

Below shows the rates at which you can burn calories, either by walking or using an electric bike. This is depending on various factors, like weight and incline.

Walking – between 200 and 350 calories per hour,

Riding an electric bike – between 390 and 500 calories per hour.

Electric Bikes Get You Cycling More

Electric bikes can get all sorts of different people cycling more. Not just people restricted to the amount of exercise they can do.

From chatting on electric bike forums, I have spoken to many regular and able cyclists. Many who have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from riding electric bikes. Riding electric bikes has prompted these people to cycle more, compared to when they cycled on normal bikes. This has therefore increased their fitness.

Electric bikes make steep hill climbs less challenging. As a result, I have spoken to cyclists who have used their electric bike on cycling holidays, in mountainous and picturesque locations. This is to such places like Morocco and Slovenia, which they have thoroughly enjoyed. This is something they would not have ever dreamt of doing, on a regular bike.   

You don’t necessarily need an electric bike, to only ride in these sorts of places, though. Many electric bike users will tell you, they make the difficult parts of cycling (like riding on tricky surfaces) more pleasurable. Or at least less of a burden. This makes the overall cycling experience more fun, which can motivate you to get out on your bike more.       

Remember, you don’t need to use the pedal assist all the time, just as and when you require. 

Using Electric Bikes for Commuting

Many people are turning to electric bikes for their commute to work. Electric bikes are particularly beneficial here. This is due to the fact that they can allow you to get to work quicker than a normal bike, without arriving in a sweat. Turning up to work with a sweat is a common reason why people avoid cycling to work. So this is another example of how electric bikes can get people cycling, where they otherwise wouldn’t have. Remember, any exercise is better than no exercise.

Riding an electric bike to work in the mornings uses less effort compared to riding a normal bike. However, if you’re doing this every day, the benefits will mount up. You can even cycle back home from work without using the pedal assist. This will give you a more intense workout. It will also not matter as much that you’ll develop a sweat, since you can shower when you arrive home.

Electric bikes can give you the time to cycle to work in the mornings, if riding a regular bike will take too long. This is due to the fact that electric bikes allow you to cycle faster than regular bikes.

Using Electric Bikes for Various Journeys (That Increases Fitness) 

Other than the daily commute, electric bikes may encourage you to embark on all sorts of other journeys, which you may not normally cycle for. This creates even further opportunity for exercise. Below are examples of these other types of journeys.

The electric power can definitely make it easier to carry shopping, or children. You can even add a trailer, or buy a cargo electric bike, especially for these purposes. Additionally, electric bikes can prompt you to cycle to make deliveries. This can be instead of using a van or car.  

Riding an electric bike for journeys you make anyway, is an excellent way to fit exercise into your everyday life. Especially where you may not otherwise have time. After all, lack of time is the number 1 reason people give, as to why they avoid exercise.  

You never know, an electric bike could allow you to replace the car all together, for shorter trips. 

Using Electric Bikes for Fat Burning 

Electric bikes can absolutely be used for fat burning. In fact, electric bikes are particularly useful for this. This is due to the fact that they are a fantastic tool for aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise is described as below.

Aerobic exercise – Lower intensity exercise, where you are in the fat burning zone.

Riding an electric bike effectively is a great way of keeping you within this fat burning zone. This is no matter the terrain or incline you’re riding on. 

When performing aerobic exercise, the level of intensity should be low enough for you to still hold a conversation. You can work out approximately what your own heart rate should be, to be within the aerobic/fat burning zone. The below calculation will allow you to do this.  

As a general rule, this calculation may not give an entirely 100% accurate result. It’s more to give you a rough guide. If you’re using a heart rate monitor though, you can fine tune this. You can observe your heart rate with a heart rate monitor, after riding flat out at your maximum intensity. When you’re at maximum intensity, you can’t maintain this for more than around 15 seconds. 

Electric bikes have an advantage over regular bikes when it comes to performing aerobic exercise. This is due to the fact that electric bikes allow you to maintain your aerobic heart rate throughout a bike ride. This is no matter how much the incline or terrain is changing. Using your electric bike effectively, allows for the incline and terrain, to not dictate your effort and heart rate.

For example, when you hit a hill, you can increase the level of pedal assist, or even start using pedal assist if not already. This can allow you to maintain the same heart rate you had while riding on the flat.

Using a heart rate monitor, whilst cycling, will make this easier. This will allow you to keep an eye on your heart rate, to help you make sure you’re always in the fat burning zone. Heart rate monitors are affordable, costing upwards of around £20. The amount you spend on one, depends on how sophisticated you want it to be. 

There are various benefits of aerobic exercise, as shown below.

Electric bikes particularly allow for a consistent aerobic workout, when mountain biking. Again, when compared to regular bikes. You can ride on all sorts of trails, with varying terrain throughout, whilst using the various pedal assist settings. This helps prevent your heart rate from fluctuating too much. As the incline and difficulty of the terrain changes, you can adjust the level of pedal assist accordingly. Again, not allowing the terrain and incline to dictate your heart rate. This will help you to keep your heart rate within this fat burning zone.

You still get to have great fun out riding on those trails, without compromising on speed.

Aerobic exercise, being ideal for fat burning, is excellent news for anyone limited to the amount of high intensity exercise they can do. You can even incorporate aerobic exercise into a fitness regime, that includes other forms of exercise. This “YouTube clip”, talks more in depth about aerobic exercise.

Electric Bikes Assist with Various Types of Exercise

In addition to aerobic exercise, electric bikes can be effectively used to assist with other types of exercise. This can be to achieve various fitness goals.   

Cycling will get you fitter in general. However, clever use of the varying levels of pedal assist on an electric bike can help you achieve these specific fitness goals. You can adjust the level of pedal assist, to allow you to cycle at a required level of intensity. Cycling, at a required intensity level, will in turn, determine your heart rate. Adjusting the pedal assist, to determine your cycling intensity and heart rate, is where electric bikes allow you to achieve certain fitness goals.

There are various fitness zones, which give you different benefits. These fitness zones each have a different level of intensity. Effective use of an electric bike can help you to stay within an intended fitness zone.

I have already talked about the aerobic/fat burning zone above. So I will now talk about how electric bikes can help you achieve these other fitness zones.

You can use the previously mentioned calculation to establish your maximum heart rate. This is to then allow you to determine your required heart rate, for each of these other zones. A reminder of this calculation is below. Remember though, this calculation is to give you an approximate idea, as a guide. 

220 minus your age = your maximum heart rate 

I will now proceed with talking about these fitness zones. 

Recovery Zone

(up to 60% of your maximum heart rate) 

Obtained with the following calculation – maximum heart beats per minute x 0.6 

This is cycling at a very low and achievable intensity, at a nice and easy pace. This is at a lower intensity than the previously talked about fat burning zone.

This zone promotes muscle regeneration and improved recovery. So this zone is ideal to ride in, if you’ve recently been riding intensively for a few weeks, but you want to give your body a rest whilst still being active.

Even if you’re riding on flat ground, you can use the pedal assist of an electric bike to keep you within this zone. Whenever the incline you’re riding on increases, you can increase the level of pedal assist as appropriate. This allows you to maintain the required level of intensity, to remain in this zone.

You can even ride in recovery mode at the start of a cycle to warm up. This could be for 5 to 10 minutes. Also, you can even finish your cycle in recovery mode to warm down. This will help clear any lactate that may be in your muscles and blood.

Ultimately, adjusting the level of pedal assist as required helps you remain in recovery mode through varying terrain and inclines. 

Endurance Zone (Fat Burning)

(60% to 65% of your maximum heart rate) 

Obtained with the following calculation – maximum heart beats per minute x 0.6 or 0.65

This is also the fat burning zone I spoke about before. However, it is usually referred to as the endurance zone. Also, I have further points to discuss, with regard to this zone. 

As you may have guessed, riding in this zone increases your endurance capabilities. This is in addition to the previously mentioned fat burning qualities, it provides.

Cycling within this zone builds a solid base fitness. This makes this zone ideal for training for specific events. 

You want to build a base fitness level for 120% to 150%, of the amount of time it will take you to complete the event. An example could be that you’re taking part in a charity bike ride, which you expect would take 2 hours to complete. Here, you would want a base fitness level for 2.4 to 3 hours of cycling. Therefore, as training for this event, you can go on cycles for these periods of time in the endurance zone. 

Riding an electric bike can help you to keep your heart rate within this zone. This is due to that you can alternate between the various pedal assist levels. Therefore, you can accommodate for the variations in the incline and terrain. So any increase in incline doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in heart rate. This will help keep your heart rate at the required percentage for this zone.

As a reminder, riding within this zone will be at a comfortable, low intensity pace. You’ll be able to keep within this zone for long rides.    

Tempo Zone 

(65% to 82% of your maximum heart rate) 

Obtained with the following calculation – maximum heart beats per minute x 0.65 or 0.82 

This is where you start to use efforts, where you’re going to feel it. However, you’re still not at a level of intensity where it’s difficult to maintain. 

Cycling in this zone will get you sweating. Also, your legs are going to start burning. It’s a suitable zone, to start getting yourself used to harder efforts, before moving up into the more intense zones. You can even cycle in this zone, before eventually going onto interval training. I talk about interval training later in this article. 

This zone is suitable if you’re steadily building up the amount of effort you can handle cycling. This can be if you’re recovering from injury, or if you’re currently not fit enough for intense effort. 

Also, this zone increases your fitness and endurance further, after building a solid base fitness, in the endurance zone.   

You may be riding in this zone with an electric bike, on a flat surface. In which case you may have the pedal assist off, or at least on a low setting. You could then use the pedal assist, to allow you to stay in this zone whilst cycling up hills. The required level of power to get up the hill could take you out of this zone, without the use of pedal assist.

This is also a suitable zone to increase your fitness, if you’re using an electric bike to commute home from work. You may have already used the pedal assist to allow for a lower intensity ride on the way into work. This is to avoid arriving at the office in a sweat. So you can increase your fitness by riding with a higher intensity on the way home.  

Lactate Threshold Zone

(82% – 89% of maximum heart rate) 

Obtained with the following calculation – maximum heart beats per minute x 0.82 or 0.89 

This is where it’s starting to hurt now and you’re going to start to fatigue here. You may find it challenging to sustain this level for long, unless you’re particularly fit. 

This zone is for improving high speed endurance and performance. It also helps towards interval training performance. In fact, this zone is excellent for increasing all round fitness and muscular endurance.

If you’re building up your fitness, you can steadily build up the amount of time you can spend cycling in this zone. For example, you could start off riding for 10 minutes in this zone, before resting. You could then work up to 20 minute, then 30 minute rides and maybe even up to 1 hour rides, in this zone and so on. The amount of time you spend riding in this zone to start off with depends on your current fitness level.

Whilst training this way, you can take advantage of the pedal assist of an electric bike, to help you. You can do this, by using the pedal assist, to help you to ride in the recovery, or endurance zone, for a rest after cycling as long as you can, in this lactate threshold zone. This can be a very welcome respite, for cycling the rest of the way home.  

V02 Max Zone 

(89% – 94% of maximum heart rate)

Obtained with the following calculation – maximum heart beats per minute x 0.89 or 0.94 

This level is very intense and will have you gasping for breath. Riding in this zone helps build up short term resistance to fatigue. It also makes you a faster racer (particularly with time trialing), if you are a competitive cyclist.  

Riding in this zone is so intense, that generally you’ll only be able to keep up riding at this level, for up to 4 to 8 minutes. Therefore, riding in this zone tends to be as part of interval training. Again, I will discuss that further below. This “YouTube” clip, talks more at length about the benefits of high intensity exercise. 

Anaerobic Capacity Zone

(anything above 94%)

Obtained with the following calculation – maximum heart beats per minute x 0.94          

This zone is riding all out as intense as you can get. You will not be able to maintain this level for more than a few seconds. Cycling in this zone will increase your overall fitness and strength on a bike. It will also leave you highly out of breath. Like the V02 max zone, cycling in this zone also lends itself to interval training.

The pedal assist can provide a much needed respite after a quick sprint in this zone. Also, you can use the pedal assist to help with a warm up, before riding in either this, or the V02 max zone. Again, a respite or warm up can either be in the recovery or endurance zones. 

Interval Training

Interval training is not one of these fitness zones, although it does make use of them. It is a proven way of improving your fitness and overall health. 

The concept is to carry out short, high intensity bursts of exercise at intervals. Far lower intensity periods of exercise are sandwiched between these high intensity periods. These low intensity periods are for recovery. 

The intense bursts can be within the lactate threshold, or V02 max zones. The lower intensity periods can be within the recovery, or the endurance zones, depending on your level of fitness. 

This type of exercise has all sorts of tremendous benefits. This can include increased fat burning, after the exercise session has been completed. This is due to the fact that this type of training increases your metabolism. Here, you may even burn an extra 15% to 20% calories from fat, for the next several hours.

There has been research that shows this type of exercise helps with the below.

• Slowing down the ageing process.
• Lowers risk of chronic disease.
• Helps build muscle. 

Again, electric bikes are an ideal tool to help you get fit with this sort of exercise. Using the various pedal assist settings, allows you to maintain the required level of intensities throughout the exercise session. This is no matter what incline you incur.

The pedal assist can be beneficial for the recovery intervals. This is even whilst riding on a flat surface. Additionally, an electric bike can also help you during the high intensity intervals. This is due to the fact that they can allow you to still cycle up steep hills and on difficult terrain, where you may otherwise have to get off your bike and walk. 

Once you have finished an interval training riding session, the pedal assist can be especially welcome. It allows for a leisurely and relaxing ride back home, as a warm down. If your electric bike has a throttle, then you can use this instead, for a rest on the way home. You would have done all the exercise you need for one day, from the session already. 

The great thing about interval training is that research has shown you can achieve great fitness results within a few weeks. Additionally, each session doesn’t need to take long. So this type of training is easier to fit around a busy schedule. Again, remember that lack of time is the number 1 reason why people avoid exercise.  

Conclusion 

Hopefully, you’ll agree after reading this article that you can certainly get fit and maintain fitness riding electric bikes. Additionally, I hope I have shown you how you can use electric bikes effectively, to help you reach certain fitness goals.

Ultimately, when it comes to keeping fit, electric bikes have their place. 

The post Can You Get Fit on an Electric Bike? appeared first on Electric Bike Planet.