TechAwards is a reader-supported website. Purchases made through links may earn a commission.
Riding a bicycle can not only strengthen your lungs and heart but can also improve your body’s ability to use up oxygen.
More importantly, it can help you lose weight! Outdoor cycling is an excellent low-impact workout, but some people are not that comfortable riding a bike.
Furthermore, the weather does not always cooperate.
And this is the primary reason stationary bikes have increased their popularity recently, both at gyms and in people’s households who don’t like going to the gym.
If used correctly, you can have a great exercise. For adults between 18-64 years old, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that you work out five days weekly for at least 30 minutes daily.
In this article, you’ll explore how a stationary bike can be effective, different workout plans for weight loss, etc.
Let’s dive in.
How Much Weight Can You Lose Using A Stationary Bike?
Contents
In general, using a stationary bike for your weight loss journey means you have different options. If you can manage consistent moderate-paced riding, then work slightly harder at some of your weekly pedaling sessions.
And when pedaling your bike, consider increasing the resistance or level you use at two of your exercises. Go for 20-30 minutes at this increased intensity that tends to raise your heart rate to about 75-85% of your maximum.
Although you’ll be left puffing and huffing and accumulate quite a sweat, the effort will be worthwhile.
If you’re looking to shed a pound of body weight, you’ll require to burn around 3,500 calories more than you take in. That means that a 125-pound individual would have to cycle about 5.5-8.5 hours weekly to burn a single pound of fat. And a 185-pound individual would have to cycle 3.5-5.5 hours weekly to lose one pound.
A stationary bike can help you burn anywhere from 40 to 80 calories in only 10 minutes, based on your length of time exercising, heart rate, workout intensity, and body weight.
It is an excellent method of shedding excess fat from your lower body since it activates the calves, glutes, quads, and hamstrings.
What Is the Best Exercise for Weight Loss?
You must find the right bike for you to help you achieve your weight loss goals. For overweight people or beginners, a recumbent stationary bike would be the ideal choice.
That’s because it exerts less stress on your muscles and joints. At the start, you aren’t putting your entire weight on your joints as you cycle. Therefore, you may build up your fitness as you burn nearly as many calories.
Do you enjoy interval training?
If so, a spin bike would suit you best because you can alternate between standing and sitting during intervals, which enables you to have a high-intensity workout.
Stationary Bike Workouts for Weight Loss
Below is a detailed overview of some of the best workout plans you should consider.
1. Interval workout
Generally, a bike workout is fundamental for any cycling training or weight loss. They offer massive aerobic benefits and burn numerous calories. The best part is that you can do this both indoors and outdoors.
Try 6 efforts of 30-second sprints. You need to begin by performing a 10-minute warm-up followed by your first 30-second sprint, and then resting for 2-3 minutes after every interval.
Start by performing this 6 times, with a cool down for 10 minutes of steady-state cycling. Besides being a great way to shed excess pounds, it also improves your endurance as you work at short, high-intensity sprints.
Once you start to gain more muscles and strengthen your stamina and endurance, you may begin to extend the length of these sprints to 1 minute with a 5-minute rest, with an easy-pedaling ride between each.
Additionally, you can increase the number of rounds you perform. It shouldn’t exceed an hour.
You should aim to perform this workout 2-3 times per week to strengthen your endurance, and you may go on building up your resistance. Don’t forget to have recovery days as well.
An interval stationary workout is incredible for burning calories and weight loss, unlike going at a steady pace. Undoubtedly, it is the largest fat-burning payoff compared to most stationary bike exercises.
You can also work out at your preferred exertion, including:
- Easy. Ensure your resistance feels as if you are riding on a flat road with a bit of base resistance. In other words, you’re moving at a pace that you can sustain for a long period.
- Moderate. Although you’ll begin to feel the resistance more, it’s still manageable. It will also help to increase your heart rate and build your cardiovascular fitness. At this point, you may talk but not in full sentences.
- Hard. You’ll feel as if you’re certainly working as well, your breathing gets much heavier, and your heart rate goes up. You need to aim at a medium to heavy resistance for every interval.
- All-out. Giving your full effort is everything here. You might feel your legs becoming a bit gelly-like. And if you can take it, go for a high resistance!
This workout is a real fat burner:
- Start by pedaling at a low intensity for around 5-10 minutes
- Shift to medium intensity for 3-5 minutes.
- Alternate between a high intensity for about 1-3 minutes and then medium intensity for 20-30 minutes.
- Ensure that you remember to cool down at a constant state for 5-10 minutes.
2. Endurance training
This is an essential stationary bike exercise for building your riding abilities. Improving your endurance can help you during your interval training to work for relatively longer and burn even more calories!
Furthermore, improving your endurance can also aid improve your aerobic capacity.
It would be best to cycle at a steady pace for about an hour or two several days a week before going into interval training.
You could even do this on your resting days between interval training to gain muscle and protect against injury. Begin with easy pedaling for 10 minutes to warm up on the stationary bike, and then go for 45-60 minutes of steady-state cycling. You can even increase this time to push the limit.
And if you want to push the limits, even more, try cycling for at least two hours at a low intensity. It will raise your heart rate by up to 70%. But to avoid getting bored, it would help to either do this with friends or watch a good film during the exercise.
3. HIIT Workout
In general, a HIIT Bike workout is one of the most common stationary bike exercises in the industry. It primarily prioritizes high-intensity interval training that’s incredible for cardio training and a great way to burn calories and shed some extra pounds of body fat.
So, let’s break down this exercise:
- You should start by warming up with a light pedal at medium resistance for about 4 minutes.
- Between the 4-10 minute mark, aim at pedaling at a high resistance for 15 seconds while giving your full effort, then maintain a low resistance for 15 seconds. Remember to take it easy since the low resistance is mainly for recovery and not exercise.
- Do this for 4 rounds of high intensity for 15 seconds and then take a break for 15 seconds.
- Between 10-20 minutes, you need to pedal at a high resistance for 20 seconds while maintaining full speed with a recovery period of 40 seconds between each interval.
- You need to continue doing this until you get to the 20th minute (this is around 6 rounds).
- During the last five minutes, you need to be pedaling at a low resistance and taking your time to cool yourself down, as well as recover your muscles.
Ensure that you pair this with some strength training, and you’ll notice the weight loss and become fit as a fiddle soon.
4. Strength training
So, what are some of the key strength training bike workouts? Let’s find out.
To build strength and promote fat loss in each pedal stroke, you need to be maintaining a zone of 4-5.
The most effective method of building your fitness level and strength is by climbing steeply at a high resistance level for about 5 minutes with 1 to 2 minute recovery periods.
You must do this several times per week, particularly if you’re a newbie before you jump in with a more intense exercise or higher fitness level.
How Long Will It Take To Lose Weight?
Research has demonstrated that you won’t see results overnight. In most cases, people take a few months to notice changes.
Generally speaking, if you’re consistent with your exercises and eating properly, it takes approximately a month for you to see your body changing.
Several studies have shown that indoor cycling really can aid weight loss. Consistency with your biking workouts is key! Try to ride daily for at least 30 minutes per day.
So, are there other advantages of using a stationary bike?
Other Benefits of Riding a Stationary Bike
Using your exercise bike can help burn many calories based on the intensity of your exercise. Simply put, the longer you pedal as you maintain your heart rate in your age’s fat-burning zone, the more calories you’ll burn.
But, besides aiding weight loss, here are other benefits you should expect:
- Offers a low-impact exercise
It benefits the hip joints, knees, and ankles while enhancing the range of motion. It’s also highly recommended for rehabilitation, particularly after an ankle or knee sprain.
Cycling is usually easy on your body since it’s a closed chain workout. It simply means that it’s connected to a fixed object — and in this case, it’s the pedals — putting less strain on the body. Generally, this closed chain makes it a subtle choice for those who want intense exercise without stressing their joints.
- Strengthens legs & lower body muscles
When you add speed and resistance to your routine, then your body must work much harder. The added resistance helps build strength in your legs, lower back, and butt.
- Boosts cardio fitness
We can all agree that cycling is a brilliant way to have your heart pumping by raising your heart rate and letting your heart muscles work harder to manage the oxygen demand.
One study discovered that bicycling to work helped curb clinical cardiovascular risk factors in middle‐aged men and women.
- Reduces cholesterol
A proper workout promotes good cholesterol and ultimately reduces bad cholesterol. Such positive impacts on cholesterol have been cited in numerous scientific studies. According to the American Heart Association, you should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity workout every week to reduce bad low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
- Improves balance
The stationary bike not only improves balance but also helps to enhance coordination and gait. It can be especially helpful for seniors to prevent falls and fractures.
- Great for lungs & breathing capacity
While exercising, your heart tends to pump faster to supply more oxygen to your muscles. As a result, this makes you breathe faster to inhale more oxygen, which increases your lung capacity. Increased breathing usually exercises your lungs.
- Safer than road cycling
It’s safe to say that unless you’re on a designated bike path, taking your ride along highways, city streets, and busy roads can have obstacles and rough riding. Riding a stationary bike will do away with these dangers.
Summary
Working out is vital! However, your results will take much longer if you don’t incorporate a healthy and calorie-controlled diet. A proper dieting plan will help you to hit your muscle tone and weight loss goals by providing your body with the fuel it requires.
By drinking lots of water the entire day, you can also increase your metabolism and prevent hunger.
Regular exercises on your stationary bike offer massive benefits for your body, mood, and general health. Working out makes us feel good.
This positive effect is psychological and beneficial for your body.
Stationary bikes are ideal for weight loss because they’ll get you moving and ultimately burn many calories. In turn, this helps in creating or sustaining a calorie deficit.
It’s a highly convenient machine that utilizes minimal space and provides great results without consuming too much of your time.
References
- https://www.healthcanal.com/life-style-fitness/stationary-bike-weight-loss
- https://pedallers.com/top-stationary-bike-workouts-to-lose-weight/
- https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/stationary-bike-workout
- https://www.self.com/story/4-ways-to-turn-the-stationary-bike-into-a-fat-burning-machine
- https://blog.131method.com/weight-loss-exercise-program-stationary-bike/
- https://www.hoodmwr.com/stationary-bike-workout/
- https://prowellness.childrens.pennstatehealth.org/7-great-benefits-of-a-stationary-bike-workout/
- https://365moves.com/stationary-bike-burn-belly-fat
- https://www.smartfitnessresults.com/how-to-lose-weight-on-a-stationary-bike/
