The movement, resistance and increased heart rate you experience using stationary bicycles in workout routines enhance both weight loss and muscle tone. Stationary bikes target certain portions of your body, meaning other types of exercise may be needed for full-body workouts. Close attention to nutrition also helps you achieve fitness goals.
Types
Two types of stationary exercise bicycles --- and several adapters for converting outdoor road bicycles into stationary bikes --- exist for your home and health club use, and all three options burn fat and tone muscles. Traditional upright exercise bikes require a posture with your back leaning slightly forward and handlebars in the forward position. These simulate the actual riding posture of most road bikes.
Recumbent exercise bikes sit lower to the floor than upright exercise bikes and require a slightly reclined riding posture, with your legs positioned in front of the body rather than below it. These also possess wider seats that offer more comfort, spreading the weight you bear across your entire backside rather than in the crotch area.
A third option for indoor stationary biking are bicycle trainers --- a frame that raises the rear of your outdoor road bike off of the ground, thus converting it into a stationary bike. These are good options if you prefer the feel and gear-changing ability of a real road bike during off-season workouts.
Function of Calorie Burning
Exercise bikes help you lose weight through increased heart rate and cardiovascular activity, according to fitness website Weight Loss Exercise Programs. This type of exercise burns calories, over time contributing to your weight loss goals. The fitness site recommends that you use exercise bikes for 20 to 30 minutes each workout at about 65 percent of your maximum heart rate (see resources for calculating this) for optimum fat burning.
Effects on Muscle Tone
In addition to being a great cardiovascular workout, exercise bikes provide muscle toning, particularly to the thighs and calves, according to Weight Loss Exercise Programs. Your triceps and lower back also get special attention from these devices, but fitness website Weight Loss For All notes that exercise bikes are not the best overall fitness devices as they concentrate more on leg muscle toning and less on upper body muscles.
Benefits of Electronic Components
Most exercise bikes possess electronic LED monitors that track and display certain fitness benchmarks and results, such as your heart rate, calories burned during a workout and distance traveled. These electronic readouts help show your real fitness progress. And knowing your heart rate helps ensure you're keeping it at 65 percent of your maximum rate, at which optimum fat burning occurs, according to Weight Loss Exercise Programs.
Dietary Considerations
As important as cardiovascular exercise is to weight loss and muscle tone, use of an exercise bike can't achieve these goals alone, Weight Loss For All notes. Your food intake --- both quantity of food and the types of food you eat --- also play a major role in fitness. Eating a balanced diet of grilled or baked proteins, healthy carbs, fruits and vegetables rather than high-fat, high-calorie and fried foods enhances the fitness routines of exercise bikes.
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