An indoor exercise bike allows you to practice indoor cycling, which is an organized group of fitness formats. Indoor cycling helps users focus on different key areas of fitness such as strength, endurance, high intensity, and interval training. Indoor exercise bikes are designed with a chain drive, flywheel and a friction resistance surface to help owners mimic what is obtainable to that of a road bike.
Riding or using an indoor exercise bike is a great way to burn out excess calories from your body system. It also helps to strengthen your heart, muscles, and lungs. Indoor exercise bikes place less pressure on your joints when compared to other types of bikes. It presents you with a very efficient way to carry out aerobic exercises without having to engage in stressful and inconvenient cycling outside. Don’t get use wrong, outdoor cycling has its own advantages, but if you are just starting out and you need a low impact exercise routine, indoor cycling might just be what you need.
Read on to discover why you should own an indoor exercise bike. Indoor exercise bikes are great for workouts without the stress associated with outdoor activities. Here are some benefits:
- Cardio Fitness
To get your heart pumping at optimal levels try cycling indoors for a change. Cycling is an efficient way to improve the cardiovascular system. An efficient cardiovascular system helps the heart and other organs of the body function at optimal rates. The flow of blood through the body is enhanced and vital organs receive the required oxygenated blood for proper function. Cycling indoors can help:
- Lower blood pressure
- Improve memory and brain functioning
- Help you rest and sleep better
- Burn out excess sugar from the system
- Clear out the veins and arteries
- Lower stress levels and increase energy and output
- Indoor cycling with an exercise bike can help with your weight loss efforts
Depending on your workout plans and weight loss targets, with an indoor exercise bike, you can burn out up to 600 calories an hour if you stay motivated. This means that cycling indoors is an excellent option for burning out calories quickly. The more calories you burn with a helpful exercise routine the more weight loss you will experience. However, weight loss is also dependent on a healthy eating lifestyle.
- Burn out those body fats
Using an exercise bike on high-intensity workouts are an efficient way to burn strength and loss fats. Numerous studies have been carried out on indoor cycling, and FlexMasterGeneral says that if combined with the right low-carb diet they help in weight reduction. Studies have also shown that it reduces cholesterol levels and the buildup of triglycerides.
- Indoor exercise bikes provide low-impact workouts
Low-impact workouts use smooth movements to strengthen joints and bones. This is exactly what an indoor exercise bike does for you. Without placing much effort on the joints and muscle, they will give you a low impact ride that is far removed from the rough terrains of outdoor cycling. First-timers to workouts and routines are often advised to ease into more strengthens workouts by first engaging in low-impact workouts. This way, the risk of developing injuries is minimized.
During jogging or running, the ankles, knees, and joints are usually under a lot of pressure because of the high-impact nature of these exercise routines. With indoor exercise bikes, your feet hardly lift off the pedal making them kinder to your joints and bones.
- Strengthens your legs
You should make use of a stationary bike or the best upright exercise bike if you want to build up muscles in your legs. The stationary pedaling action can strengthen the calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings. The more resistance you attain, the stronger your muscles at the back, glutes, and core gets.
If the indoor exercise bike also has handles, then you can also strengthen your upper body core including your triceps and shoulders.
- Interval Training
Interval training will help you alternate your work routine in varying levels of resistance, this can help you burn out more calories in lesser time frame. You should seek the advice of a fitness expert on the right interval exercises to engage in.
Most indoor exercise bikes are designed with varying levels of resistance to help you engage in interval training. You can start from low, medium and gently progress to high intense resistance.
- Indoor exercise bikes are safer to use
No doubt, cycling outdoors can be a great way to exercise burn fats and stay in shape, but they aren’t without their fair share of hazards. Inattentive drivers or obstacles can lead to accidents you didn’t envisage. Other times, if the weather is cold o too hot, it can be very hard to muster up the required courage to go out. It’s not even safe to cycle under bad weather conditions.
If you own an indoor exercise bike, you won’t have to worry about traffic or bad weather conditions.