Does an exercise bike help you lose weight?
It is widespread to use a stationary bike or an exercise bike in weight loss. You can have a perfect workout with your exercise bike. Yes! you surely can lose weight with your exercise bike.
You can burn 600 or even more calories with just one hour of exercise with your bike. This is just an average amount. The amount of calories you can burn totally depends on how much effort you put in it and the intensity level.
Working out on an exercise bike burns calories. If the intensity of the training is higher then the fat burn will also be higher. But it is impossible to exercise for a long time intensively.
So you should find a balance between workout and the time. Moderate intensity workout for one hour burns up to 413 kcal per hour where high intensive workout burns 620 kcal. Some research shows that 1 hour of exercise on stationary bike three times a week can lose up to 1 kg of body weight.
With the regular fun exercises with your exercise bike, you can burn your belly fat as well as any other body fat. So, hopefully, you got the answer to your question” does an exercise bike help you lose weight?”
Not just weight losing or burning your body fat, there are lots of fantastic health benefits of this low impact exercise like:
- strength
- reduces type-2 diabetes risk
- boosts cardio fitness
- burns body fat
- gains muscle
- Boost physical activity and immune system
- Reduce stress levels
- pump up your mental helath
The best part of an exercise bike is, you can talk to other people, gossiping with your family members, watching TV while exercising.
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Other health benefits
As we mentioned earlier, besides weight loss there are also many health benefits. Here are some top health benefits of exercising on a stationary bike.
Legs and lower body toning: Exercising on a stationary bike makes a perfect tone to our lower body parts (the glutes, the hamstrings, the quadriceps, and the calves).So if you want a perfect lower body shape, the exercise bike is appropriate for you. Our abdominal and back muscles are also affected but this affects moderately.
It improves the heart’s health: Actually, the heart is a type of muscle and all muscles need exercise to be functional and healthy. Stationary biking is a cardio exercise, that increases your heart rate and improves the functionality of the heart.
Reduces the risk of diabetes: Diabetes has a clear connection with obesity. Fat people always are prone to diabetes. Many scientific studies have shown that any type of physical activity reduces the level of glucose. Regular working out on a stationary bike considerably reduces the chance of diabetes and obesity. It mainly works on type-2 diabetes.
Increases Happiness: Working out on a stationary bike secrets endorphins and serotonin which are called “Happy Hormone” as they raise happiness. These hormones reduce stress and anxiety. This type of exercise also improves our cognitive functions. So we can work more efficiently and confidently.
Good exercise for joints: There are running, jogging, and some other exercises that are hard on our joints. But stationary biking is a smooth and soft exercise for our joints knee, ankle and other body parts. This type of exercise is often called “low impact exercise” which is recommended for rehabilitation.
How long should I bike for a good workout?
Actually, there is no ideal length and ideal intensity for the stationary bike. This varies from man to man.
Health is also another factor. It means how much your body can bear the load, what about its capability and conditions.
The purpose of the exercise is also to be considered. But in accordance with the Physical Activity Guidelines for America, our weekly goal should be 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise.
They also suggest 15-30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. But again time is dependent on your body weight, the purpose of the exercise, and the intensity of your exercise.
Stationary bike workout plan:
To get benefits from any kind of workout we should have a proper workout plan. But how should our workout plan be? Definitely, it varies from person to person because we all don’t have the same weight and the same intentions or purposes.
If you are a beginner you can start your workout plan as follows:
You can take 25-35 minutes of exercise in different steps.
- At first, take 5-10 minutes low-intensity workout
- Then do medium intensity workout for 5 minutes followed by 1-2 minutes high-intensity workout
- Follow step 2 again
- Then do 5 minutes medium intensity workout
- Finish the exercise with 10 minutes low-intensity workout
But if your purpose is to lose weight then you can follow the plan below:
- Start with 5-10 minutes low-intensity biking
- Then do medium intensive workout for 3-5 minutes
- Now do 1-3 minute high-intensity workout followed by 3-5 minutes low-intensity workout. Continue this cycle for 20-30 minutes.
- Finish this exercise 5-10 minute low-intensity workout.
Health benefits of cycling 15 minutes a day
We all are busy nowadays. So, we are incapable of doing a 30 or 60 minutes workout every day. But do you know just 15 minutes of exercise can be very beneficial to your physical and mental health? Some researchers from Taiwan said that regular 15 minutes of exercise can cut 14% death risk. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a popular and scientifically proven method to lose weight in the present time. It can burn calories, gain muscle, and improve oxygen consumption incredibly compared to the traditional workout plan. You can follow the HIIT workout plan below:
- Do 2 minutes of low-intensity biking as a warm-up.
- Then sprint for 20 seconds (this should be high intensive)
- Now do a 2 minutes medium intensity workout.
- Follow the above steps three times.
What is the good speed of a stationary bike?
The good speed of the stationary bike depends on the rider and his purposes. Considering all the factors 50-110 revolutions per minute (rpm) can be ideal. But if you are a newbie or an occasional rider then 50-60 rpm is a good speed for you. On the other hand, the speed of the advance bikers should be 50-100 rpm with more resistance.
Finally
A stationary bike is a piece of excellent equipment to exercise at home or gym. There are many benefits of a stationary bike for weight loss but this is not the end. In this COVID-19 epidemic period, a stationary bike can be beneficial. So, you will never regret buying a stationary bike. In any situation, this tool helps you a lot, indeed.