Is An Exercise Bike Really Good For Weight Loss?

 

Is An Exercise Bike Really Good For Weight Loss?

If you are a beginner and wanted to understand more about this statement, read further to find out.

Yes, there are literally so many types of cardio exercises you can consider for weight loss.

One of them is an exercise bike which is also an efficient way for a fitter and healthier lifestyle.

Is an exercise bike really good for weight loss?

Let’s get into it.

How Can An Exercise Bike Benefit Our Health?

Sure it does a lot of positive health effects on your body in long term.

These are:

1. Cardio – This is vital for normalizing the blood pressure, supporting a healthy heart, and regulating normal blood sugar.

Good cardio is beneficial for the heart in pumping blood more efficiently to increase good cholesterol in the body.

2. Good boost of energy – A study has shown that bike riding can boost your energy by about 20% while reducing fatigue too. This is because exercise bikes will trigger and release hormone energy in the brain called Neurotransmitter Dopamine.

3. Knees or Joints pain reduced –  Another study had found exercise bike helps to reduce the excess stress on the knees(1), by performing a proper seat position on the bike, for example, your knees should be just slightly bent (not too straight or too bent).

Since you are riding on even terrain, the knees will have a lesser stress impact. It is a low-impact exercise compared to running or walking on a treadmill.

4. Legs toning – When pedaling on an exercise bike, the lower body is working hard towards the glutes, quads, and calves. Don’t you even notice on the TV, how the cyclists are having those amazing physique legs?

5. Strengthen the muscles – It works very well on major muscle groups that support the leg, thigh, hamstring, and back. Pushing down the pedals will strengthen the quads and pulling up will strengthen the hamstrings.

6. Lose weight – This is no doubt one of the best cardio equipment exercises for weight loss.

A study has shown that consistent exercising on a bike may enhance a healthy weight and shed off belly fat. You can be burning a lot of calories per session.

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Can You Lose Weight And Belly Fat With An Exercise Bike?

YES, you certainly can lose weight through calories burned.

So, how fast can you lose weight with an exercise bike?

There is no specific answer as to how fast you can lose weight. You are in your control as to how to maximize your desired result.

If you wish to lose weight using an exercise bike, there are several factors to determine such as body weight, intensity, frequency, and duration of your exercise. 

Simply ask yourself these questions:

Intensity? How far or hard do you wish to pedal? Logically, the harder you pedal, the more calories will be burned.

According to Harvard Health, at moderate intensity, a person weighing 155 pounds can burn between 260 – 390 calories for 30 minutes of peddling the bike.

With the same amount of time and intensity, an individual weighing 125 pounds could burn roughly 210 calories.

Strength training? Weight training combined with riding exercise will speed up the weight loss journey.

Adding a couple of exercises such as pushups, squatting, or lunges together that focus on major muscle groups will (#Ad)enhance the metabolism to burn more fat.

People with lean body mass tend to have a higher metabolism rate than those with more fat in their bodies.

Interval training? According to the American Council on Exercise, a steady or moderate-intensity exercise tends to burn calories much slower compared to intense or vigorous exercise (provided that there is a period of recovery or rest).

Does your diet matter? A good combination of a balanced healthy diet consisting of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats is crucial for maximum weight loss results.

Although you are peddling every day (good, of course!) but if you are having the wrong diet, it doesn’t, help much to achieve a positive result. Also, avoid having too much-processed food, or food high in sugar or fat.

Is 30-minute a day on an exercise bike enough to burn calories?

A 30-minute ride is good to start plus a combined diet consisting of calories of more than 1,100 per day, or as recommended by your healthcare experts or dietician.

To lose weight, you need to shed off more calories than you consume per day. Simply put, a pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. So, just to lose a pound in 7 days, you need to burn 500 calories a day!

As mentioned, how many calories to burn depends on the training intensity, your weight, age, and your fitness strength.

Also, a combination of proper diet and exercise (in this case, exercise bike) is an effective way to burn calories. In terms of smart choices of food, males, suggested aiming for 1,500 to 1,800 calories per day, while females are 1,200 to 1,500 calories intakes.

The conclusion, in your 30 minutes of pedaling, if you burn more calories than you can take in from your diet, you will lose weight.

 

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 How To Optimize Exercise Bikes For Weight Loss?

Here are FOUR great ways to optimize your pedaling experience more effectively at home.

1. LISS (Low-intensity steady-state)

If you are aiming for a slower but longer duration of riding, this one is for you. You can stand and pedal, and still give you a steady cardio state. Or sit and pedal while watching your favorite TV movie.

2. HIIT (High-intensity interval training)

This circuit is easy by adjusting your intensity level based on your speed and resistance. You can do the sprint for 30 seconds on, then off for 30 seconds. It is fast and effective for burning calories.

3. Resistant 

Most exercise bikes come with a level of resistance from 1 to 10 and challenge your ability to level up. However, if you are a newbie, without using the resistance level to start is recommended.

4. Consistency

Nothing works best without proper consistency. Try to learn more about what works best to achieve your fitness goals.

How many times per week do you need to workout, three or four times or more?

Maintain a good exercise consistency that best fits into your lifestyle. Try and stick to it without fail to ensure that you will achieve your goal in no time.

How To Choose A Good Exercise Bike?

Before deciding to choose which one best suits you, knowing what types of exercise bike will guide you better.

Typically there are plenty out there to choose from but these are the common ones,

1. Upright bike – This one resembles the most that you see on the road, with a smaller seat, and the pedal is located below the body. You can use this bike for standing or sitting positions when pedaling. Works well with both the core and the legs.

Take note that due to its smaller seat, it can be a little uncomfortable for longer exercises and, give more pressure on the hands and wrists.

These are the recommended trusted brands: SCHWINN Fitness IC3 Bike; Sole SB900; NordicTrack Commercial Studio Cycle.

2. Recumbent bike – Ideal for beginners who are aiming for low-impact exercise. You do not need to hold onto the handles as there are bars below on one each side of the seat.

It has a larger seat and a backrest with the pedals in front of you. This bike uses less pressure on the wrists and the upper body.

These are the recommended trusted brands: SCHWINN Fitness 270; NAUTILUS R616; Sole Fitness LCR.

MARY ME-709 is good if you have a tight budget but wish to accomplish your fitness goals at the same time.

3. Dual action bike – Suitable for advancing level as this bike works more on the upper body, using the long handlebars that move back and forth as you are pedaling.

This is the recommended trusted brand: SCHWINN AD7 AirDyne Fan Bike.

 

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How To Use An Exercise Bike Safely And Correctly?

It is important to know how to use these guys correctly not only to avoid possible injury but also for the sake of comfort.

For safety reasons,

1. Adjust the correct seat height position.

A seat height that is too low will give more stress on your knees, while if too high may result in possible sprain injury to ankles, hips, and feet. You want to sit and ride comfortably.

Tips: The best way is to stand next to the bike and make sure the seat is the same height as your hip. Give it a try first to see if there is only a slight bend on your knees when you are pedaling.

2. Adjust the correct seat position. 

Next, you need to find out how backward or forward the seat will be. Your knee should be slightly over your front foot.

Tips: If the knee is passed over the shoelaces of your shoes, adjust the seat to the correct position. A seat that is too far back on the other hand may cause lower back or knee pain.

3. Adjust the correct pedal position.

A comfortable pedal position will maintain a proper foot position. When placing your front foot on the pedal, your toes should not be hanging over the front of the pedal.

4. Adjust the correct handlebars.

This should be positioned in a way that gives less pressure on your weight hands with the elbows slightly bent.

5. The body position. 

An upright posture is always the safest way when doing an exercise bike. Never rounding the back as this may cause poor posture or possibly develop back pain.

Keep the chest up and shoulders in a relaxed position (shoulder in line with your ears if looking from a side profile view).

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Exercise Bikes?

The non-health-related benefit of an exercise bike is convenience.

You don’t need a big space to fit one into your home. It can be in your living room, bedroom, or an extra room (if you have one). Besides, this exercise can be done at any time you want.

An exercise bike is a low-impact form of workout. It is not hard on your joints or ligaments, especially the knees.

What could be the safest way to exercise other than inside your home? No need to worry about cycling outside the busy roads, hot or cold weather, slippery and muddy roads, or other unnecessary obstacles that may happen.

How about the cons?

An exercise bike is mostly good for working on the lower body, especially the legs. Most likely you are abandoning your upper body and core needed also for flexibility, strength, and endurance.

Burn lesser calories. Yes, an exercise bike will burn calories but not as much compared to other forms of exercise equipment such as the treadmill.

Getting bored easily could be another reason. You can be tempted to cut short your bike exercise by easily manipulating the machine such as the resistance level. This could affect your realistic fitness goals.

Not suitable for an outdoor biker. Imagine if you use an indoor biker and train for outdoor events, you may not be able to manage the terrain (trails and uneven roads) and weather (cold, hot, snowy, windy) well. However, this may be temporary due to weather concerns or injuries that are forcing you to go indoors.


My Overall Thoughts: Is An Exercise Bike Really Good For Weight Loss?

The fact that exercise bike has become so popular now due to their easy-to-use features, some can even be folded and just move under your bed.

You can be burning your calories anytime from the comfort of your home. Forget about getting stuck in long traffic, rainy, snowy, or super hot weather outside there.

My advice is if you are new to cycling and your cardiovascular is still low, just start with a low-intensity exercise, and slowly work your way up.

Once you are getting comfortable and have more endurance, you can leverage to more intense exercise bike like body and grip position, sprints, or hill climbs.

Just remember, regardless of what type of home exercise using equipment, having a healthy and balanced diet at the same time will ensure a maximum gain in reaching your ultimate fitness goal – losing weight!

Leave me a comment if you have and I will interact back within 24 hours.

To your awesome exercise at home.

 

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2 thoughts on “Is An Exercise Bike Really Good For Weight Loss?”

  1. I usually don’t do bike exercise at home because don’t have one 😉 But I agree in term of weight loss if you keep doing frequency and adaptive for more intensity. I used to join biking class with Absolute cycle in Bangkok. I got so much fun with good instructor driving people to pad the paddle with good music like you are in the club, did not feel like doing exercise but feel good and so much burn calories.

    Reply
    • Yes, you are right, Kimmie.
      Looks like you are an experienced trainer here 🙂

      Biking is actually a low-impact workout targeting more on the lower body such as the hamstrings, glutes, lower back and core. It is not hard on your knee joints. The disadvantage is that your upper body is not receiving that workout completely.

      Thanks,
      Joe

      Reply

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