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One of the top benefits of exercise bikes is that they are probably the most affordable piece of exercise equipment on the market right now. Starting around $200 and ranging up to $2500, exercise bikes offer a huge variety of models for every price range and every exercise level.
It is however advisable to keep in mind that you will get what you pay for with an exercise bike. Don't expect a $200 exercise bike to come with all of the bells and whistles and last you over 3 years. However if you are on a budget, an exercise bike is a great way to get in shape for less.
Another great benefit of exercise bikes is that they provide a much lower impact on your joints and ligaments than other piece of exercise equipment like a treadmill or stair climber. This can result in less chance of sustained injury over time and can also be great for people with joint problems, arthritis, etc.
Another recent factor that has made the exercise bikes much more comfortable to use is the introduction of the recumbent exercise bike - where you sit in a semi-reclined bucket seat with your legs angled out in front of you instead of hanging down.
Until the recumbent bike came along, many people just weren't comfortable on the standard upright bike seat. The recumbent exercise bike allows people to get a much more comfortable workout - which means that they can exercise for longer periods of time.
Exercise bikes can also be much safer than other forms of exercise equipment. You can slip and fall on a treadmill. You can lose your balance on an elliptical trainer. It's much more difficult to fall off or injury yourself on an exercise bike. This makes the exercise bike a great alternative for the elderly exerciser or someone who is new to exercise equipment in general.
Another factor that makes the exercise bike so popular in home gyms is the fact that (with a recumbent bike) you can read while you're exercising. Boredom is one of the main reasons people don't exercise. So instead of forcing yourself to trudge through your workout, why not choose a piece of exercise equipment that's going to allow you to multitask and do what you want while working out?
Read your favorite magazine or the latest murder mystery novel. Set the exercise bike up in front of the television and watch your favorite show while pedalling. Time will fly by and you won't even know you've been blasting those calories!
This leads into what is perhaps the best benefit of an exercise bike. Because exercise bikes are so affordable, comfortable, low impact and safe - and because they allow you to fight boredom while exercising - the chances that you'll use it are extremely high.
No one wants to spend a lot of hard earned cash a piece of fancy exercise equipment and then use it for a clothes rack. You want to be able to stay fit, burn calories and keep healthy by working out. But if you buy a machine that you never use, all of your best intentions have gone to waste.
Because of the great benefits of exercise bikes, many people find that they not only use them for years to come but they also end up exercising much more than they thought they would.
Charles O'Neill is a certified personal trainer and contributing writer .
A recipe for fitness success
Do not make the mistake of spending lots of money getting a membership at your local gym, when you know deep inside that it never will be practically possible to get there on a regular basis. Be realistic!
Are you looking for a complete workout without spending too much time outside your home? A complete home gym would be a great solution if you can afford it, but a used exercise bike and a set of dumbbells is everything you need to get a complete workout inside your own home. It should be possible to get everything for about $100 if you look around a bit.
The start
So how do you start? If you are a complete newbie and are not accustomed to how you should build habits you should actually start with something that is not sports oriented and build a habit around it. If I should pick for you I would start by trying to make the habit of eating an apple extra a day. This would benefit you by increasing the number of meals you eat a day, which is good.
Habit building
To make a habit you take a blank piece of paper, write down the days of the week on the top and the task "Ate my afternoon apple" on the left side and check box beside it underneath each day. To make it a strong habit you should make it a ritual by grouping it with something you do daily at that time. Lets say you have an afternoon coffee. You group the apple with the afternoon coffee and you suddenly have made a habit out of it. After eating your apple you credit yourself by ticking the check box. You have now made your first habit. Congratulations!
Goal setting
After seeing that you are able to make habits you should set a realistic goal and make a plan for what you want to achieve. With an exercise bike you should be able to shed some fat off your waist, so setting a goal of loosing an inch off your waist in one month would be a very specific and realistic goal.
Planning
So how do you want to achieve it (the plan)? For a beginner I would suggest putting the exercise bike in front of the television and making exercise habits that are connected to your favorite shows. When the show is on, you are on the bike. You are not allowed to watch the show unless you are on the bike! So you set a plan for two bouts a week, which is a good start.
Doing
Start with riding the bike for at least 20 minutes and aim for one hour. Work out at a pace that you can manage while still being able to talk to others. If you want to be more specific you could measure your heart rate and adjust the resistance/speed accordingly.
Adding tasks
You can now start with adding additional nutritional and exercise habits to your paper and tick them off when done. On top of my list for additions would be a full body dumbbell program two days a week, a total of 6-8 smaller meals a day (all containing protein) and a post workout protein+carbohydrate shake after each workout.
If you start today and follow my recipe, there is no doubt in my mind that you will succeed on reaching your fitness goals. Good luck!
If you're thinking of buying an exercise bike, here are a few things to look out for to ensure you get a machine best suited to your needs and budget.
You can spend anything from £75 right up to £6,000 when buying a bike so you can imagine there's quite a difference in specification and features. But even if spending under £100 it's still a waste if you buy the wrong machine. If you're not comfortable with it, if it fails to excite, or you get bored on a basic bike, you're not going to use it! Your bike then becomes a bulky clothes hanger gathering dust in the corner.
And if you want to sell it on eBay don't be surprised if you get only a fraction of what you paid for it because you'll be up against many others who bought the wrong bike and never used it.
You then need to decide your main objective for buying a bike and consider whether it's the right machine for the current shape you're in.
Types of Exercise Bike
You have a choice between three types of bike:-
1. Upright bike - standard bike with conventional cycling position, takes up little space and delivers a good cardiovascular workout
2. Recumbent bike- sit in a horizontal position, more comfortable, better than upright for unfit, overweight or those recovering from illness or injury. Takes up more room than upright.
3. Spinning bike - for faster fat-burning, higher intensity workouts and interval training, also used by outdoor cyclists for out of season training.
The upright bike takes up the least amount of room and is generally less expensive as there's less complex machinery involved. Many consider the recumbent bike to be more comfortable as you can lean back in the seat and the horizontal position may be suitable for those recovering from injury or are over-weight. A recumbent bike is quite a easy way to do some light exercise at lower levels of resistance, it's also easy on your back.
The more recent spinning bikes (or racers) are designed for high intensity work-outs and tend to cost more, although there are now more affordable spinners coming onto the market. These machines can be great for increasing fitness whilst burning fat.
Types of Resistance (braking systems)
To provide a varied and challenging workout, a bike needs to have the ability to change the resistance on the pedals. This can simulate going up hills or coasting along in 5th gear. There are three main ways to do this.
1. Air - a fan builds up a flow of air and as you pedal faster it increases the resistance. The one disadvantage of this system is that you can only alter it by changing speed and therefore if you slow down so does the level of resistance.
2. Mechanical - friction is increased usually with a band around the flywheel which can offer high resistance and a tough workout. However, this needs to be altered by manually turning a dial and the system can suffer from wear and tear with regular use.
3. Magnetic - the most versatile braking system operated by pressing a button that alters the position of magnets to increase resistance. The main advantages are ease of use plus pre-set programmes can control the level and be used by heart rate control programmes to keep you in the fat-burning zone.
Pre-set Programmes
Most exercise bikes now come with pre-set programmes. These can take you through different types of sessions and will vary the resistance for set intervals to simulate hill climbing and interval training. More recently heart rate controlled programmes have become popular as they're an effective way to increase fitness and 'burn fat'. They work by varying the resistance level according to your heart rate (measured by polar chip or hand grips). If your rate drops below a certain level (based upon your age, weight and sex) the resistance increases, if it gets too high it lowers it.
Motivation is key to your success and the inclusion of a good selection of pre-sets on a bike help to vary your workouts and keep you coming back. So as a general rule the more programmes the better. Don't forget to check the bike's dimensions to see if it will fit through your doors and in the space you have set aside for it.
Conclusion:
If you do a bit of research and have a clear objective for using an exercise bike then you'll get the most suitable machine to achieve your goals.
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