Does cycling lose its effectiveness as a calorie burner ?

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I've read in a couple of places that as the body gets used to the specific aerobic movements of cycling, its effectiveness as a calorie burner is reduced.

Does anyone know if this is true ? Does the fact that most of the effort used in cycling is made by the legs mean that we burn less than we would by, say, running ? I'm sceptical because my heart still goes ten to the dozen after a 10 mile blast thru Central London in the rush hour but I just wondered if anyone has any objective evidence.

Thanks

this can only be confirmed by reading a scientific paper. however, answering you question the body reduces the metabolism when you try you "burn" it through hardcore exercise like biking. therefore the fat burning effectivness is reduced. and pushing yourself even harder can create the danger for yo-yo effect.
body gets used to the specific aerobic movements of cycling, its effectiveness as a calorie burner is reduced. i doubt this can be logical since the body would need to become more efficient when doing the same thing. and i dont know how that can be substancially big to cause drastic difference.

Cycling, in fact all aerobic sports get MORE effective at burning calories the more you do them, provided you get fitter, which is the main point anyway.

Your efficiency may go up, as in you use less calories to perform a given amount of work, but as you get fitter and can ride harder and longer you end using much much more energy even given possible increases in efficiency.

Build a bigger engine, chew through more gas!!

This argument is usually used by Gym's to get you to "cross train" or in other words do stuff you need to pay them for, it sounds sophisticated and has some truth but the advice is counterproductive.

However, what may be effective in fat loss is resistance training, which can increase your muscle mass making you burn more energy at rest. It wont help you burn more when exercising though, as the limiting factor in energy utilisation is cardiovascular fitness.






I've read in a couple of places that as the body gets used to the specific aerobic movements of cycling, its effectiveness as a calorie burner is reduced.

Does anyone know if this is true ? Does the fact that most of the effort used in cycling is made by the legs mean that we burn less than we would by, say, running ? I'm sceptical because my heart still goes ten to the dozen after a 10 mile blast thru Central London in the rush hour but I just wondered if anyone has any objective evidence.

Thanks