Benefits of Exercise Bike

The benefits of a stationary exercise bike far outweigh the amount of money you pay to acquire it.

A good bicycle can help you burn calories, reduce body fat, strengthen your heart, muscles, and lungs. It is better than other cardio equipment by putting less or no strain on your joints while delivering a blistering aerobic workout.

A study by Harvard University established that a 155-pound person could burn 298 calories when riding a stationary bike between 12 to 13.9 mph for 30 minutes.

At a slightly higher rate of 14 to 15.9 mph, the person burns 372 calories. In this article, we delve into the benefits of exercise bikes in greater detail. Read on.

1. Improving Cardio Fitness

Cycling of any kind provides the best possible cardio exercises anywhere. Stationary exercise bikes are even better because of the convenience of working out right from your home.

You can get into an intense spin session to get your heart working and do interval training in a controlled environment.

Without leaving the house, you can keep alternating high-intensity, high-speed pedaling and recovery, benefiting from high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Besides, you can easily adjust and control the effort and intervals as you work out.

Apart from HIIT, a stationary bike enables you to do ‘steady state’ cardio without getting bored. You could be watching TV, reading a novel, playing video games, taking a zoom call, or taking a call while cycling a stationary exercise bike.

With time, you will strengthen your heart, muscles, and lungs. You will also experience an improved flow of blood and oxygen throughout the body, leading to benefits such as:

  • lower blood pressure
  • improved memory
  • improved brain function
  • better mood
  • better sleep
  • improved blood sugar levels
  • lower stress levels
  • a strong immune system
  • more energy

2. Building Strength

Riding an exercise bike can help strengthen leg and lower body muscles. It works the same way as riding a bike up hills and rugged terrains.

As you surmount the uphill challenge, your muscles get toned up even more. Exercise bikes provide various forms of resistance control, simulating the effort exerted when sprinting or climbing hills.

Unlike road cycling, which has unpredictable hill gradients, you can customize hill climbs by determining how steep they should be. You can also choose how long you wish to experience the hill climb, helping you intensify your workouts.

It is also possible to combine sprinting with resistance to push your body to work hard to maintain a given RPM. That’s one of the easiest ways to build strength in your leg and thigh muscles.

As you pedal at high speed, you exercise your calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings, making them stronger than before.

Simultaneously, the workout effects spread to the glutes, back, and core, making you stronger across the body. If your bike has handles, each workout ropes in the shoulders, triceps, biceps, and other upper body muscles.

3. Aiding Weight Loss

A pair of female feet standing on a bathroom scale

Riding a stationary exercise bike makes it possible for you to combine less intense cardio with strength training. It is, therefore, one of the best ways to burn calories.

That’s because you get to burn calories during the cardio workouts and throughout the day via strengthened muscles.

For example, riding a stationary exercise bike for one hour can help you burn up to 600 calories, making indoor cycling a great option for weight loss exercises.

It is much better than walking, which can burn only 200 calories. As you intensify the workouts through increased speed and resistance, the number of calories rises to as high as 750.

Remember, you do not have to leave your home or pay gym fees to work out.

Besides, exercise bikes help you build muscle strength in the legs, hips, back, core, and upper arms. Now, toned muscles are as important in aiding weight loss as is the actual workout.

With bulging muscles, your body can burn calories even when you are resting. Muscles consume more energy, reducing the calories that would typically go into building fat deposits around your body.

4. Providing Low-Impact Workout

Riding an exercise bike reduces the pressure you would typically have on your bones and joints. It employs smooth movements that, compared to weight lifting, resulting in a low-impact workout.

If you have joint injuries or issues, this is the best option for you. Besides, you can adjust the exercise bike to a tension level that works for your knees.

It is not like jogging, running, jumping, or other aerobic exercises that pile pressure onto the ankles, knees, and hip joints. Your feet hardly lift off the pedals, helping you avoid overstraining your joints.

But the assumption is that you are seated on the saddle throughout the workout. In truth, some people may want to intensify their activities by standing up from the saddle.

That makes your body weight an integral part of the workout, putting pressure on your joints.

However, that shouldn’t be a big issue for individuals with healthy knees who want to increase the impact of the workout.

You can also build stability and strength in the neck, shoulders, and lower back while avoiding the heavy influence of running.

5. Improving Joint Mobility

Do you have a joint injury or related issues? Spinning an exercise bike helps in maintaining your ankle, knee, and hip joint mobility. You don’t have to go for the high-intense exercises.

Instead, all you need is low intensity, easy spinning for sustained joint mobility and reduced inflammation. That not only improves joint movement but also reduces inflammation, eliminating joint pain.

But that isn’t the only way riding a stationary exercise bike works. It also improves muscle strength around your joints when done at the right resistance level.

Consequently, you will have improved joint mobility and avoid knee injuries in the future. Luckily, there are several medical-grade stationary exercise bikes that doctors recommend for people with knee issues.

Some mini exercise bikes even help during physiotherapy sessions in hospitals. If you have joint pain and other issues, don’t hesitate to accept your doctor’s opinion and recommendation.

6. Safe Workouts

Compared to outdoor cycling, you have to contend with abrupt changes in terrain; exercise bikes are pretty predictable. Therefore, they provide loads of benefits without the attendant risks of outdoor cycling.

First off, you don’t have to worry about traffic, accidental falls, or crashes. Thus, you can avoid busy roads by acquiring a stationary exercise bike for workouts in the safety of your home.

Some competitive cyclists have even resorted to doing most of their off-season workouts using stationary exercise bikes.

That’s because they understand the risks of riding a bike in the rain, dark, or snow. So why should you risk your life with outdoor riding?

Besides, riding an exercise bike at home or in the gym is safe and secure. You get to avoid dangerous roads where you could potentially get involved in a fatal accident.

Exercise bikes offer a less intense yet highly beneficial workout option for beginners and experienced individuals alike.

Beginners can use expert-guided videos with most exercise bikes to know what to do during the workouts. Some exercise manufacturers even have apps downloadable on mobile phones or tablets to help you work out safely.

7. Using an Exercise Bike Is Simple

Training with an exercise bike is simpler than riding an actual bike. You don’t have to learn how to avoid falls by staying balanced since the machine already sits on a solid base.

Of course, you have to master the technique of spinning a stationary bike, but that isn’t hard.

Even when you start feeling tired and can’t maintain your technique, you won’t get hurt like weightlifting or running. If anything, you don’t need to be an experienced athlete or have specific coordination skills to ride a stationary bike.

Don’t be mistaken! Having never ridden a bike before doesn’t mean you can’t learn the spinning technique. If you had ridden a bike before and never enjoyed it, well, this is a different ballgame.

Apart from being extremely stable, stationary bikes are easy to ride and secure. The only challenge you might experience is difficulty getting on and off.

However, the stability of the bike prevents it from falling over as you get on or off. Therefore, riding an exercise is excellent for everyone who has no trouble spinning.

8. Infusing Variety into Your Workouts

People who mainly work out indoors quickly get bored with their activities. With an exercise bike, you get options for adding variety to your workout sessions, whether at home or in the gym.

After buying an exercise bike, users get enrolled in classes where they learn various activities.

Examples of such activities include strength workouts, steady-state, HIIT, single-leg cycling, and upper bodyweight training.

Many of these come in the form of video lessons accessible via mobile phones, tablets, or computers. Online programs simulating races with friends can also help one remove boredom from their workouts.

You can also join virtual spin classes via apps and participate from your living room.
Furthermore, an exercise bike can help you monitor vital metrics like distance, speed, time, and burned calories.

You can also monitor your heart rate to know if you are making any progress in your workouts. Exercise bikes that have a mobile phone app provide a more convenient way of monitoring your progress.

Besides, they capture data from all your activities, helping you know whether you are making any progress.

9. Comfortable and Convenient

Are you looking for a comfortable way to work out? If yes, then you should buy an exercise bike. Here, the word “comfortable” doesn’t mean you can avoid getting hot and sweaty. Instead, it means:

  • avoiding harsh weather conditions that come with outdoor workouts
  • convenient workouts any time during the day or at night in the comfort of your home
  • riding while watching TV, having quality time with family, or reading a book
  • working out in your regular clothes, especially when doing short spins

It helps if you have an exercise bike at home. One of the benefits you will enjoy is the ability to jump onto the bike anytime and start riding.

You don’t have to wait for gym opening hours or until you renew your subscription. Besides, there’s no need for you to pack towels, water bottles, and other accessories needed at the gym.

10. Riding an Exercise Bikes Is Affordable

A stationary bike doesn’t have to be expensive, especially with the many affordable options on the market. With slightly more than $100, you can get an exercise bike with lots of fun and convenient features.

These equipment are so affordable that you cannot compare them to the price of treadmills and weight training equipment.

Besides, you don’t require specialized gear to ride a stationary bike. When doing short spins, your usual clothes should do the trick. If you intend to do more intense exercises, wearing cycle gloves and shorts would do the trick.

When it comes to footwear, your regular gym shoes are adequate. You may only need specialized cycle shoes when doing single-leg workouts. Even so, the boots don’t need to cost you lots of money to be effective.

Wrapping It Up

The benefits of an exercise bike are many for both beginners and experienced riders. It helps improve cardio fitness and the flow of blood, lowering blood pressure, improving memory and brain function.

Furthermore, an exercise bike can help you build strength and lose weight faster. When you have toned muscles, the body tends to burn calories even when you are resting.

As we have seen, spinning an exercise bike is low-impact training, which means you can avoid injuring your joints while making them more flexible.

Riding an exercise workout is simple and safe by all standards. Apart from the need for specialized training, it helps you avoid rain, snow, and darkness.

It also gives you variety, is comfortable and convenient, and is affordable. Why would you want to work out in any other way? Buy a stationary exercise bike today!

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