This week we would like to present you with some of the main exercise bike benefits. So sit back, and put your feet in your pedals. It’s time to take a look at what benefits a bike can add to your fitness.
Although the most common way to ride a bike is outside of your house on a dirt road or on a paved path, having a stationary bike at home can be a big advantage.
EXERCISE BIKE BENEFIT #1: LOW IMPACT
One of the greatest exercise bike benefits is the joint-saving nature of the movement that cycling provides.
When people want to lose weight, and improve their health, they begin making changes to their nutrition and exercise. Learning about the many different modalities of exercise can be daunting, so getting out of the house and running is the easy choice. Although getting outside for a run can be the easy choice, it may not be the best. Believe it or not, jogging and running requires very specific technique in order to keep the joints safe from the impact.
Unlike running, cycling provides a very low-impact form of exercise. Your legs move in a circular motion and don’t make impactful contact with any surfaces. Your quads will get a great workout as you keep your joints safe.
EXERCISE BIKE BENEFIT #2: CARDIOVASCULAR BENEFIT
One misconception about cycling is that it is a very effective form of exercise to build leg strength. This is a myth. It will certainly bring a little strength to those who don’t exercise much at all, but it is nothing compared to the strength and muscle-building benefits that a home gym can bring. Stay tuned to this series for more on that.
Although maximal strength improvements won’t be seen through exercise bike benefits, unbelievable cardiovascular improvements can be achieved. Improving your cardiovascular health can greatly improve your longevity, endurance, and overall fitness. In fact, your cardiovascular health can help you see even more benefit from the home gym you get down the road.
When you perform HIIT, you are spiking your heart rate, taking it back down, and repeating. The intervals can increase calories burned during exercise and can even create an environment where additional calories are burned for a bit after the workout. If fat-loss is your goal, doing a couple of HIIT workouts per week on your bike may be your cup of tea.There are a couple of different cardio structured workouts you can do on an exercise bike. LISS stands for Low-Intensity Steady State cardio. An example of this would be riding your bike at a moderate pace for an hour. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT has been shown to have many benefits such as improved recovery. HIIT has also been shown to be an effective form of cardio for fat loss.
Here is an example of a HIIT workout for you and your bike.
- 15 minutes total
- 30 seconds as hard as you can go
- 1 minute at a moderate pace to recover
- Repeat until 15 minutes has been reached
Clearly there are many exercise bike benefits, primarily its low-impact nature and incredible cardiovascular benefits. If these are the two areas you are looking for with equipment use, an exercise bike might be the best option for you. If you have any questions about these exercise bike benefits or want to learn more about our selection, reach out to your local Push Pedal Pull to speak with an exercise equipment expert!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life.