You might not have the wind blowing through your hair, but there are major health benefits that come with stationary biking. Of course, nothing beats the scenery Mother Nature gives us as we take our bike out for a ride, but there are times we have to get our biking in on the inside. Stationary bikes used to be one of those things found in people's basements and garages, but these days their popularity has hit the mainstream.
Now we've got indoor spinning classes that will give mountain bike racers a run for their money. And most gyms have a dedicated area for these heart-pumping, interval-focused workouts that come complete with pounding music. You can burn hundreds of calories in a highly-charged environment indoors.
Riding a bike that is stationery is a great way to lose weight and strengthen your lungs, heart, and muscles. When you compare stationary bikes to other cardio equipment, the bike is less stressful to your joints and also provides a fantastic aerobic workout. So if you want to get the lowdown on what the health benefits of stationary biking are, then we've got some answers for you next.
Health Benefits Of Stationary Bike Workouts
You Get An Intense Cardio Workout
Cycling is perfect for getting your heart pumping. Aerobic workouts strengthen your heart, muscles, and lungs. They also help to improve the flow of oxygen and blood throughout your body. This is beneficial to your health in many ways such as; improving your brain function and memory, better sleep, lowers your blood pressure, builds strong immunity, increases your energy levels and lowers stress levels.
It Can Help With Your Weight Loss Goals
If you want to lose weight, one of the essentials is exercise, and although exercise alone doesn’t do the trick, stationary bikes come highly recommended. When used in intense mode, they can work out your whole body and help you burn some fat. It also helps in making indoor cycling a great option for burning calories quickly. To lose weight, however, you must ensure that you burn more calories than you consume per day.
According to a study done in 2010 by NCBI, it was found that when you combine a low-calorie diet with indoor cycling, you are likely to reduce your body fat and weight. This was also effective in lowering triglyceride levels and cholesterol. The participants of the study cycled for 45 minutes three times each week and consumed only 1,200 calories per day. In the end, they reduced their weight considerably after 12 weeks.
Stationary Bikes Provide A Low-Impact Workout Routine
A stationary bike offers a low-impact workout that makes use of smooth movements that can strengthen joints and bones without necessarily putting too much pressure on your body. This is, therefore, a great workout for people who suffer from joint and body injuries. During workouts such as jumping, jogging and running, your knees, ankles, joints, and hips are usually put under too much pressure and this can cause you to suffer an injury.
Biking In Stationary Strengthens Your Lower Body And Legs
Riding a bike helps to build strength in your legs especially if you use the high resistance workout. The pedaling section helps you gain muscles in your calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings. Also, you can work on your core muscles, glutes and back. Using a bike with handles can work on your upper body including triceps, biceps, and shoulders.
Image Source: Wikipedia.org
Stationary Biking Workout Plans For Different Levels
Beginners
If you are a beginner and want to get fit, you should start slow and work gradually towards a more intense and time-consuming workout. The best option would be to do a 25-35 minute exercise and then progress from there. Keep adding in one-minute increments as a buildup.
For Weight Loss
For weight loss, you are looking to burn fat and calories. Stationary bike exercises are good for this. They also help you to switch up your resistance levels very fast. When you are working out to lose weight, start pedaling at low intensity of 5-10 minutes each, then switch to medium intensity for around 3-5 minutes, and then keep alternating between high and low intensities.
Interval Training
After creating your fitness plan, you can boost your strength and stamina with interval training. You can start with low intensity for 10 minutes, then switch to medium for 10 more minutes and high intensity for 2 minutes.
Then go back to low intensity for another two minutes, medium intensity 2 minutes, then finish off with high intensity for a final two minutes. After this set, you will need to cool down with a low 5-10 minutes of low-intensity workout. With time, you can increase the intervals with one or two minutes each.
Health Benefits Of Stationary Biking Conclusion
Maybe you live in a cold-weather place, or perhaps in a busy downtown, and that means having to run indoors. Besides the fresh air and sunshine, you're getting a whole lot of health benefits with stationary biking.
If you are new to fitness, however, just consult your doctor before you do anything to strenuous. Slow and easy wins the race as they say, but if you've already raced several times, then go as hard as you want. Happy Biking!
