Recumbent Vs. Upright Exercise

Your body position during exercise affects the muscles used, as well as the intensity of a workout. This is immediately apparent when comparing upright and recumbent bicycles, seated and supine bench presses and standing and prone hamstring curls. Alternating between upright and recumbent positions adds variety to an exercise program, while preventing boredom and burnout. Consult your doctor before beginning any new exercise regimen.

Upright and Recumbent Defined

The word recumbent is derived from the Latin roots "re," meaning to lie back, and "cubere," meaning to lie down, according to the Integrated Publishing website. When used in reference to exercise equipment, recumbent may either imply a reclined position, as seen on a recumbent bike, or supine position, such as a supine bench press. The term upright exercise either refers to sitting upright, such as an upright bicycle, or exercises performed while standing upright, such as the upright row.

Weight-Bearing Benefits

Exercises performed while standing in an upright position are weight-bearing, and may prevent the loss of bone density, the National Osteoporosis Foundation reports. Some exercises, such as the squat, keep your foot in a fixed position, making it a closed-chain exercise, the American Fitness Professionals and Associates website explains, because the end of a chain of muscles --- in this case, the foot --- stays in one place. These exercises compress and stabilize your joints, and usually work more than one muscle group. Some recumbent exercises, such as the leg press, are closed-chain, because your foot stays in contact with the foot plate. The leg extension, when performed in an upright seated position, is considered an open-chain exercise, because the foot does not stay in a fixed position. Open-chain exercises isolate muscle groups and create shearing forces on the knees, which may make you susceptible to injury.

Abdominal Training

Most abdominal exercises are performed in the supine, or semi-recumbent, position, but some trainers teach a form of standing abdominal work. Standing abdominal exercise is a form of functional training, designed to improve posture and teach core muscle activation during everyday tasks, University of New Mexico exercise physiologist Len Kravitz explains. While such exercise is beneficial, the weight of your upper torso and the forces of gravity making standing abdominal work less challenging and less effective than supine or semi-recumbent abdominal exercise. However, in a study of abdominal exercises sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, the captain's chair, performed in the upright standing position, topped the list of most effective exercises for the oblique muscles, and was second in its impact on the rectus abdominis. The bicycle maneuver, performed supine while rotating your torso toward your bent knee, was first on that latter list and second on the former; the stability ball crunch, performed in a semi-recumbent position, also scored highly.

Aerobic Exercise

Your local fitness center probably has recumbent and upright bicycles. Recumbent bicycles may be safer for your muscles and joints, because an angled cushion supports your lower and upper back. While the upright bicycle puts the majority of the work in the quadriceps, the recumbent bike distributes the force between the quadriceps and hamstrings, writes Wayne Westcott, an exercise science professor at Massachusetts' Quincy College. Westcott and his team also compared the cardiovascular response to upright and recumbent bikes. The two groups of subjects worked at the same level, but the recumbent bike group had lower exercise heart rates and lower levels of perceived exertion. Westcott speculates that the recumbent leg position facilitates faster blood return to the heart, which in turn enhances cardiovascular efficiency.