Four Exercise Bike Routines to Improve Fitness
Indoor cycling modalities are among the most popular, because they are easily accessible and offer multiple possibilities for different goals and people. For its practice, it is not necessary to have a classic bicycle and you do not necessarily require a stationary bicycle for the home. It is enough to join a gym to have the possibility of accessing them.
Nowadays, almost all gyms offer spinning classes. And if they don’t, at least they have the devices with which the user can practice and train at their own pace. Whether you decide to buy the best exercise bike to train at home or prefer to do it from a gym, there are many areas of the body that are activated and strengthened by pedaling.
As an example we have the quadriceps, thighs, calves, buttocks and abdomen, which are some of the muscle areas in which more intense work is done during the time on a stationary bike.
If you are not a regular on these machines, you should know that there are many advantages they offer for the body and for health, knowing that with them you can improve performance and physical condition through regular training.
For example, there are those who use these devices only to warm up for a couple of minutes before starting their exercise routine, leaving aside the benefits that, by itself, a stationary bike can offer.
Benefits of using a stationary bike
Sports trainers often claim that cycling activity improves the cardiovascular system. In turn, this has a positive impact on physical condition, since blood pressure is lowered and heart rate is improved, reducing the risk of suffering from diseases associated with the heart and the circulatory system.
An intense routine, with the right intervals, resistance and rest, can improve physical capacity in a holistic way. Through pedaling it is possible to improve breathing and control the body to increase resistance.
In other words, through permanent routines the body adapts and is able to better tolerate fatigue. This offers the possibility of improving physical condition and capacity, both to face more demanding training routines, with greater resistance and speed, as well as to daily activities, such as climbing the stairs without shortness of breath.
For this reason, cardio and cycling exercises turn out to be an option towards the goals of those who seek to improve physical condition, reduce their body measurements and weight, and increase their muscles.
Therefore, we invite you to perform four exercise routines on a bicycle that will help you achieve different goals. Each of the sessions is designed to increase muscle mass, reduce body fat through burning calories or increase strength, endurance and aerobic capacity.
Emon Session with Sprints
This is an easy workout routine to practice. Before you start, you should stretch your muscles, joints and warm up. It is also necessary that you regulate the height of the bicycle saddle with respect to your height. To do this you must stand to one side of the device and verify that the seat is parallel to your waist.
Once this is done, you should get on the bike and start pedaling at a moderate intensity for a period of five minutes. When you feel ready you should start the Emon sprints (every minute on the minute, for its acronym in English).
The sprint routine consists of pedaling as fast as the body allows for 20 seconds, while the following 40 seconds should be pedaled at moderate speed, until those 60 seconds are totaled. This session or routine should be repeated for a period of 20 minutes. Intense cycling with recovery is a way to lose weight, increase capacity and improve fitness.
20-10 routine
For this day of cycling training, it is also necessary to condition the body. To do this, you need to stretch and warm up for five minutes with fast pedaling and no resistance. After the heating time, the cycles must be started. These cycles consist of pedaling 20 seconds with medium resistance and then 10 seconds with low resistance.
Each cycle is a repetition that must be executed eight times. This is followed by a 60-second recovery with low-resistance pedaling. After each 60-second rest, the cycle routine should be restarted for four repetitions. To conclude, it is recommended to pedal in the same way that you started, with five minutes of easy intensity. This Tabata-style workout gets your heart rate up, building stamina, improving fitness, and burning calories.
More speed
Another effective bike routine is to warm up at low resistance for 10 minutes. The training is then carried out in periods of 10 minutes. The first 10 seconds of each minute should be done at high speed, while the next 50 seconds should be rested with gentle pedaling.
The next ten minutes are divided into 60-second cycles at intense speed, then return to moderate pedaling for the next 60 seconds. This type of training allows to improve the power and speed of the legs, so that the capacity and strength of the muscles in the lower extremities are improved, allowing a faster recovery.
60 minute workout
Pedaling on a bicycle for 60 minutes is a complex activity, since not everyone can achieve the challenge. This time supposes about 35 kilometers of route. Although it seems difficult, it is possible to achieve it through the development of power in the legs.
To do this, you must start the activity with 20 minutes of pedaling at a medium speed. In the next phase, the speed is increased every five minutes until completing the 60-minute routine. With this modality you gain strength and resistance in the legs.
Know the exercises to practice on a stationary bicycle
Each person has their own ways of enjoying time. Some are attracted to physical activity as a way to de-stress, escape from everyday life, lead a healthy life and, at the same time, be active.
It is scientifically proven that exercising or practicing some kind of sport frequently helps improve living conditions and has positive effects on the mind and body. There are many benefits that sport brings, such as promoting muscle development, releasing toxins, losing weight and promoting self-esteem, among others.
That is why doctors recommend doing at least half an hour of physical exercise a day. The modalities and disciplines are many. Everyone can have their preferences, being able to do running, pilates, yoga or crossfit, among many others. However, one of the most popular and considered a trend due to its multiple benefits is cycling.
Did you know that cycling has several branches? Those who want to start in the activity should know that there are many modalities that can be practiced on a bicycle: mountain biking, road cycling, BMXx and many more. In turn, each of these modalities has subsections, each with its own advantages.
Now, if your thing is not to go outdoors to ride a bicycle but you like to pedal, an alternative is indoor cycling. This sports modality is comfortable, safe, fun and helps to sculpt the body. And to enjoy it, you only need to use the best exercise bike, from the comfort of your home or from a gym.
For sport to promote happiness, it is necessary to stop seeing it as a boring activity that involves fatigue. The idea is that the person does not feel it as an obligation, but as a distraction and, instead of counting the time for the session to end, count the minutes left to get on the bike.
Muscle groups and results
To make pedaling sessions on a stationary bike more entertaining, there are different exercises that can be performed and that will make the routine more entertaining. In addition, the user can be sure that there will be many benefits that the activity will bring to the body, body and mind.
To begin with, you should know that through the exercise bike there are several muscle groups that are worked. However, the greatest concentration of strength and intensity is for the lower body. That is why the impact of pedaling will be felt more intensely in areas such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, hips and of course, the glutes.
Likewise, other muscles of the middle part of the body, such as the lower back and the abdomen, are also involved in pedaling. There is indirect work on them, since it is the area where the force that leads to moving the legs is generated. Hence, these are the muscles that are activated more quickly after a period of training.
In general, the results at the body level will begin to be seen after a month of continuous training. The modality of indoor cycling with a stationary bicycle increases the capacity of the cardiovascular system and the resistance of the users who practice it, because they must adapt to the intensity required by the exercise.
Stretch then pedal
Before starting to pedal, it is necessary for the user to take some time to stretch the muscles. Next, it’s time to get on the bike. The most common and popular models of bicycles are the stationary type with measurement and counting options. These designs provide greater freedom, are comfortable and secure. With these bikes you can develop different routines and training systems.
Next, we present one of the training routines suitable for stationary bicycles that allow the user greater versatility when pedaling. With this day of exercises, the user will have the opportunity to sculpt muscles and enjoy an active and healthy life, just by dedicating a few minutes to training.
Follows the routine
To start this training session on a stationary bike, you must stretch your muscles. Then we will have to get on the bike and pedal sitting down for a period of five minutes.
After this time, it is time to increase the resistance and increase the intensity of the exercise. To do this, you can pedal by lifting the body of the saddle slightly. With this posture, direct work is achieved on the gluteal area. The position and constant pedaling should be maintained for about three minutes.
Once this time has elapsed, the user must catch his breath by slowing down the pedaling rate and returning to the initial position. Subsequently, it is necessary to increase the intensity or resistance of the load again, so that it is a little more complex for the legs to pedal. However, the load should not be increased excessively.
At this stage of the session the work should be focused on speed. To do this, it is advisable to pedal at the maximum speed that the legs and body allow, but always controlling the movement to prevent injuries. This intensity should be maintained for a period of 30 seconds, then the frequency should be regulated and the pedaling intensity lowered to recover for one to three minutes.
This entire process should be repeated for five or six sets. The number of series will depend on the level of fatigue, recovery time and cardiovascular activity of each individual. Although the body can always give more, the demand must be progressive so as not to generate injuries.
Once the training session on the exercise bike is over, it is necessary to close the cycle in the same way that it started. To do this, when descending it is necessary to stretch the muscles. This will prevent tension and allow faster recovery of the areas involved in the exercise.
