What To Look For In Buying Exercise Bikes – How To Get Fit Using An Exercise Bike
What To Look For In Buying Exercise Bikes
Exercise Bikes have been around longer than most types of home fitness equipment. Nowadays, there is now a huge range of brands, models and styles available on the market.
Choosing the right exercise bike can be tough and it is important that you choose one that is suited to your particular needs. To help you, I have outlined some of the things to consider and features to look for when buying your bike. The following exercise bike guide will tell you exactly what to look for when you’re shopping for an exercise bike.
Types of Exercise Bikes
First, ask yourself which class of exercise bike you would like. There are 3 general classes of Exercise Bikes:
1. Upright – The more traditional seating option. You sit just like you were riding a mountain or road bike. Find some best upright exercise bike examples as bellowing:
2. Recumbent – lean-back riding position with a padded backrest, which is more comfortable if you’re pedaling for a long time or recovering from knee/back injuries. Examples for the best recumbent bike as following:
3. Training cycles – usually the same as gym spinning class machines that are used for vigorous work-outs. There are some best indoor cycling bike examples as following:
Budget
BudgetThe next thing you need to decide on is your budget. You must decide how much you are willing to pay for your exercise bike. But remember that as with most exercise machines, you get what you pay. A more expensive model is likely to last longer, be sturdier, more comfortable and has useful added features.
There are really 3 price categories:
1) Under $500 – While there are some above average Exercise Bikes under $500, don’t expect to get a top-quality machine for this price. If you don’t plan on using your exercise cycle much or if you’re on a budget, this may be a good price point for you.
2) Between $500 – 1000 – Unlike treadmills or elliptical trainers, you can usually get a very solid, higher quality exercise bike for your home in this category. Most exercise bikes in this category offer magnetic resistance and high-grade consoles that give you feedback on your workout. You should also expect several built-in workout programs, foot straps, and heart rate, monitors.
3) More than $1000 – These exercise bikes are either the cream of the crop for the advanced home exerciser or they are commercial grade for the health club. Examples of bikes in this category include spinners and commercial bikes like Life Cycle and Star Trac.
Resistance and Operation
Resistance
There are several different types of resistance you’ll find in your exercise bike
1) Direct Tension – offers you a manual adjustment of resistance
2) Air – resistance is provided by pedaling against the airflow of a fan blade
3) Magnetic Resistance – this is the most sophisticated type of resistance allowing magnetic currents to create and track the resistance. It generally allows for a greater variety of workout levels.
Exercise bikes provide adjustable resistance in one of two ways. The cheaper models use a tension belt. And the mid to high priced exercise bikes use magnetic resistance. Magnetic resistance is generally viewed as the best option since it tends to be quieter and provides a more even feel when pedaling.
Workout Options
Most exercise bikes give you information on speed, distance traveled, and time of the workout. The more sophisticated you go, you’ll also find things like total calories and fat burned, resistance level, heart rate, and program mode. The display console and a number of the built-in workouts will vary greatly with each exercise bike.
The cheaper exercise bikes have a poor display (or no display) and no built-in workouts. This drawback can lead to quick boredom with a lack of user feedback and motivation.
Keep in mind that in general, the higher-priced bikes have more sophisticated options and are built with higher quality materials. Warranties
As with all exercise machines, you should check out the warranties offered on any stationary bike you are considering. This is especially important if you are planning on spending quite a lot to invest in a high-spec model. It is also important that you decide how much you are planning to use your exercise bike. If you are new to exercising and not sure you’ll use your exercise bike much, you might want to save some money and go with a cheaper model. If you plan on using the bike a lot and/or are a regular exerciser, invest a bit more and get a machine that will last.
How To Get Fit Using An Exercise Bike
Have you ever uttered similar statements like You know what, I want to lose weight but don’t just have much time to engage in exercise and: Everybody wants to stay fit including myself but I just can’t leave the house over a long period of time? These are just honest sentiments of people wanting to achieve fitness. After all, we should all be health conscious. Start a new healthy habit! Get fit using an exercise bike.
Stationary bicycle and spin bike are words that also refer to an exercise bike-all pertaining to a bicycle-looking workout device with saddle, pedals, and some form of handlebars. This workout equipment can’t get you anywhere since it is a stationary device but it can surely help you achieve your fitness. This steady bicycle should be used with patience, endurance, and persistence from whoever is riding on it. Aside from being an exercise tool, it is also used to increase general fitness, and as a training preparation for cycle events. Additionally, it is best for physical therapy since it provides a low-impact, safe, and effective cardiovascular exercise; it is also convenient to use.
Now, your top priority is to buy your own exercise bike if you still don’t have one. You should put your heart into this fitness training by putting in your money first. This way you would get better results. There are two types of a stationary bike to choose from: upright or recumbent. You need a recumbent bike if you are honestly overweight or you have serious back problems. If you are either of these two, you should use the recumbent type since it is much easier on the knees and back having a more laid back position or structure. For a real biking experience, you should try the upright bike.
Some of the things that you will need to prepare for your training are the following:
(1) Exercise bike;
(2) Water bottle;
(3) Exercise towel;
(4) Time;
(5) Patience; and
(6) Endurance.
These are the tangible and intangible things that you will need to provide to get fit using a stationary bike. The first three things are material objects that will help you to start but the last three are the more important values that will keep you on track until you finish triumphantly. Keep in mind that you can’t get the results overnight with this type of exercise; better prepare yourself in advance.
The issue of the right attitude and focus should be treated seriously to get fit using a bike. Statistics say that an hour of exercise on a stationary bike results in approximately one thousand calories burned if your workout is hard. This is two hundred and fifty calories for a reasonable thirty-minute workout. Anaerobic activity when sustained is the best fat-burner. This is an aspect which this kind of exercise can guarantee you.
In addition, training on a stationary bike can also raise your metabolism for sustained fat loss when you increase muscle mass in the lower body. How about the impact? No worries since exercise biking is easy on the skeleton providing a low impact workout for the lower body and virtually no impact on the upper body. Just try it! Eliminate your boredom and obtain cardiovascular benefits in the process.
