Planning a Stationary Bike Exercise Program for Fitness and Fun
How to Plan a Stationary Bike Exercise Program
Using a stationary bike is one of the most cost effective and fun ways to build up your endurance and strength. If you are a beginner and not yet sure about starting a stationary bike exercise program, even setting up the bike to ride on while you watch your favorite tv show will help melt those extra pounds in time.
If you have not yet purchased a stationary bike, there are a few things you may want to consider. While it could be a little more expensive, buying one of the newest models that are designed to help you stay on track and come with a control console has proven to be better for progress in the long run. You can find stationary bikes that will show readouts of the distance you have traveled along with your speed and duration of time to complete. You can also find bikes that will show you how many calories you have burned off and monitor your heart rate. The most expensive types of bikes even have programs where you can set up races with computer competitors and see if you can beat them.
Aerobic Exercise Program
One of the reasons people choose exercise bike workouts is for the health benefits. These types of routines allow you to have a high intensity cardio workout all with low impact on your joints. 20 minute workouts do the best for your body, although you can do several of these sessions in one day if you desire.
You should always remember to start each session with a warm up of three to five minutes to allow the muscles to heat up and be protected from any stretching or tearing that could occur. Then you can work on increasing your speed. Next, you should try varying your resistance mode and then finally have a cool down time of a few minutes to avoid cramping of the muscles that have just been used.
One of the good things about the aerobic stationary bike exercise program is that it is meant to be low resistance. Because you will just be working hard for 10-15 minutes at a time, you will be more inclined to keep doing this routine every day. If you start to feel any type of pain, you should stop immediately, get off the bike and walk it off. Then avoid getting back on the bike for a day or two. This type of program is meant to work without such an intense strain.
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Interval Training on the Bike
This is more of an intense workout for those who are ready to burn fat faster and want to increase their workout production. The idea is to pedal hard and fast for 8 seconds and then recover for 12 seconds. You continue in this pattern for a 20 minute workout. You will not do this routine every day as it can end up being exhausting. Try to aim for every other day or every third day.
Once your boday is comfortable with the basic interval workout, you can extend the time of rapid riding from 8 seconds to 10 seconds the second time, and then 15 seconds the third round, and 20 seconds the final round. Then go back to 8 seconds again. You will also need to increase your recovery time to 45 seconds between intervals. Be sure to rest for a few minutes after before getting up and doing anything else as your legs may be shaky and your heart will need to slow down.
Keep Hydrated
Always remember to keep a bottle of water nearby when you are exercising. Your body needs to remain hydrated. For optimal performance and weight loss, incorporating a healthy diet into your lifestyle will help reap the best benefits and provide you with the energy you need to keep up with your stationary bike exercise program on a daily basis.
It is best to talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program so that you will know what a healthy target rate is for your heart. Depending on your size and the amount of weight you may need to lose, the optimal heart rate may vary.
Resources
https://www.weightlossexerciseprograms.com/exercise-bike-workout-routines.html