A stationary exercise bike gives you an adequate indoor workout without ever causing you to worry about weather conditions. You also benefit from a generous caloric expenditure and improved lung and heart health with little impact on your joints. During the motion involved with riding a bike, you activate numerous joints. This, in turn, causes you to work multiple muscles as well.
Hip Flexors
Hip flexion is a motion that occurs when you move your thigh toward your stomach. The hip flexor muscles get worked during this movement pattern while riding. The iliacus and psoas major make up the hip flexors. In anatomical terminology, this muscle group is often referred to as the iliopsoas.
Quadriceps
The quads run down the front of the thighs from the hips to the knees. This muscle group contains four parts -- the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and rectus femoris. You activate your quads during hip flexion and knee extension. Knee extension takes place when you bend your knee and straighten your leg. You do this numerous times while pushing the crank away from your body.
Hamstrings
The hamstrings reside on the back of the thighs; they consist of the biceps femoris, semimembranosus and semitendinosus. You activate these muscles during riding when you perform hip extension and knee flexion. Hip extension occurs when you move your thigh backward. Knee flexion takes place when you bend your knee and move your heel toward your buttocks.
Glutes
The gluteus maximus, medius and minimus make up the glute muscles on the backside of the body. You work these muscles during hip extension in similar fashion to the hamstrings. If you were to increase the resistance and stand while pedaling, you would work these muscles more intensely.
Calves
The gastrocnemius and soleus make up the calf muscles. The lateral and medial head of the gastroc reside right below the knee on the back part of the leg. The soleus sits in front of the gastroc, and it is thinner. You activate both of these muscles during plantar flexion. This occurs when you bend your ankle and point your foot down during pedaling.
Anterior Tibialis
The anterior tibialis runs down the front of the shin. The word "anterior" actually means front. You activate this muscle when you perform dorsiflexion. This motion takes place when you point your toes back toward your shin right before pushing the crank down.
Abs
The rectus abdominis, transverse abdominis and obliques all make up the abdominal region. These muscles contract together to produce force while pedaling and to keep the spine stable. The rectus abdominis is the large muscle in the center of the stomach. The obliques run diagonally along the sides of the stomach. The transverse abdominis is deep inside the abdomen.
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