Exercise Bike Workout

An exercise bike workout can be more that just hopping on a bike and pedaling away. Now that isn't all bad. Any time you spend on your bike is of some benefit. But you can do a quick routine that will benefit you as much or more than pedaling at a slow pace for hours.

Don't underestimate the value of an exercise bike. You can use all kinds of exercise machines, many with electronics and gadgets. It's hard to beat a good exercise bike for a solid workout machine. If you want to burn fat and do a cardiovascular workout the exercise bike is a great tool.
A big plus of an exercise bike workout is that it not only works your heart and lungs but also your muscles. Working the major muscles of the legs is a great way to increase strength and boost your metabolism . Boosting your metabolism is the real key to long-term fat loss.

OK, for an aerobic workout shoot to increase your heart rate to about 70 percent of your maximum if you're more experienced. You may need to work up to that level. Then maintain that level of activity for at least 15 minutes. You can calculate your maximum heart rate. It's about 220 minus your age.

You can alter the resistance of your bike to target just the level you need to stay right in your training zone. And even if your exercise bike is a major part of your exercise program, you can blend in all other forms of exercise. Speed walk, jog, hike, row...any aerobic exercise that works for you is the thing to do. And by all means mix it up. Do all kinds of different exercises and you're less likely to get bored. Boredom is a killer of exercise programs. Get bored and you likely will quit. Quit exercise and you can make no progress.

Put some variety into your exercise bike workout. What about mixing in some dumbbell moves. Maybe you can't do this at a gym, you'll lose your machine, but you can at home. Ride a while then do some lifts, then back to the bike. The time you spend lifting, your heart rate will still be elevated and it will be almost as if you didn't stop. Your aerobic workout will be improved and your weight training workout will be too.

Also you can mix up the exercise bike ride by varying the pace or load. If your bike has programmable load variations, use those features. Throw in a simulated hill every few minutes. If you don't have programmable load variation, vary the pace of pedaling. Ride fast for a few minutes, then slow, then medium. Write down the exercise routine you will do. How many minutes slow warm-up then how many medium effort, how many fast and so on. Gradually build the pace up then back down, then up and back down. Make it challenging but stay within the heart rate range you choose. By varying the pace of your pedaling, you can get a great workout in only about 20 minutes.

A twenty minute workout is about the minimum time to get into the fat burning mode. With twenty minutes you can warm up for about 4 minutes, then go hard for twelve minutes and ease back on the pace for four minutes.

An exercise bike workout can improve your fitness, help you lose fat and just generally make you feel better.


By Al Bullington

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