Last Updated On April 22nd, 2016
Are exercise bikes good for losing weight? This is a question that most people have probably asked themselves at least once or twice. In fact, a lot of people wonder about exercise bikes, especially those that have tried treadmills, running outside or other forms of exercise that have punished their bodies more than anything else. Some people are looking for a way to lose weight that is easier on the joints while others are trying to lose weight and simultaneously recover from some type of injury that makes running or similar types of exercise exceptionally difficult. Some people simply want to know the answer to this question because they enjoy riding bikes and they would far prefer to spend their time doing this type of exercise than virtually anything else.
Why Choose Exercise Bikes?
In short, exercise bikes can indeed help you lose weight. It is not as important that you choose a specific type of exercise over another as it is that you do something that forces you to get up and start moving. If you are riding a bike in order to lose weight, you can create a workout routine that is exceptionally challenging if that is what you are looking for. By the same token, you might be able to choose one that lets you build up gradually, increasing the difficulty level a little at a time so that you can just start moving without making it too difficult on your body.
In reality, exercise bikes are an exceptionally good form of exercise because of the fact that you can easily adjust your workout routine to fit your own personal needs. Nothing forces you to punish your body, especially in the beginning when you might not be as fit as you would like to be. A lot of people that really struggle to get fit find it almost impossible to spend time running on a treadmill. If you haven’t exercised in a number of years, trying to go out and start running on day one is asking a lot of your body and you might be pushing yourself far too hard. The truth is, you actually need a form of exercise that allows you to take things a little more slowly and build up to the more difficult routines.
Conclusion
In that sense, exercise bikes make an especially good choice. You can start out doing something that is only mildly difficult and then you can ratchet it up to be as difficult or as challenging as you want it to be. When you are fit enough, one of the best ways to lose weight on an exercise bike is to use interval training. This is a type of training that involves short bursts of high intensity exercise followed by longer bursts of rest time in between. In other words, you would peddle as hard as you possibly can for a certain amount of time and then for a slightly longer amount of time you would peddle at a much slower pace. The idea is to keep doing this over and over until your workout is completed.
If you really want to lose weight and get in shape, this is the ideal way to do it. In addition, you don’t have to worry about punishing your joints or further complicating an injury that you have already had as a result of running.
Related post: Do Exercise Bikes Build Muscle?