Many exercisers discount the recumbent bike as not a hard enough workout. But if you tend to stick to the elliptical or treadmill, a recumbent bike can be a good way to add variety to your workout. A session on a recumbent bike can vary in intensity depending on the style of the workout, pedal speed and resistance.
Steady State Bike Workout
A steady state workout is the most common style of aerobic training. This is a moderate intensity workout and good for beginners. The entire workout lasts 45 minutes. Start with a five-minute warm-up. Pedal lightly to warm up your muscles and joints. Increase the resistance to a comfortable, but still slightly challenging, level. You will stay at this resistance throughout the session, so choose a level you can maintain. Continue for 35 minutes. Finish with a five minute cool-down at the same intensity you performed the warm-up.
Interval Speed Workout
Interval training is a more intense style of cardio. You alternate between highly intense bouts of an activity and less intense bouts. A study done in Quebec found that participants burned nine times more body fat doing interval training than in steady state training. Due to the high intensity of the workout, the session is shorter. For this workout you use speed as the intensity variable. After a five-minute warm-up, increase the resistance to a medium setting. Experiment to see what settings work best for you. The resistance will not change throughout the workout. Pedal as quickly as you can for 30 seconds. If you are not tired at the end of the interval, the resistance is too low or you aren't pedaling as hard as you can. Pedal at an easy pace for 60 seconds. Continue alternating for 20 minutes. Finish with a five-minute cool-down.
Interval Resistance Workout
This workout is similar to the above interval workout, but resistance is the changing variable. Maintain a constant pedal speed throughout the workout. Start with a five-minute warm-up on the lowest speed and resistance settings. Increase the resistance. Again, you need to do this workout several times before you know exactly where to set the variables for an intense but manageable workout. Maintain a quick, even pedaling pace for 30 seconds. Lower the resistance, but don't lower it all the way to your warm-up setting; set it at least one or two levels above. Continue pedaling at the same pace for 60 seconds. Alternate for 20 minutes, and finish with a five-minute cool-down.
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