Get fit using a bike
There is no specific ‘right way’ of getting into shape; some people love the gym, some people hate it, it’s all about finding something you can at least put up with – even if you don’t love it.
If the thought of exercising in public makes you want to run a mile but you just can’t stand the thought of doing one more cheesy exercise video in your living room then a stationary exercise bike could be the ideal solution for you.
Once you’ve purchased and set up your new exercise bike the first thing to do is get on it and give it a go – for the first use you only need to stay on it for around five minutes as this is to help determine what level you should be riding at and how much resistance you should have to make the most out of your bike.
The key to getting it right is that you should be able to feel your heart rate increasing and you should be breaking a slight sweat after five minutes of exercise – if you’re finding it easy then make the resistance stronger, if you feel like you’re about to keel over then you might be a little ambitious and want to reduce it a bit.
Remember though; the key to making the most out of any exercise regime is to challenge yourself – the second you start to find your workout nice and comfortable – you’re not working hard enough, so crank it up a notch.
Once you’ve got yourself a beginning speed and resistance you need to make yourself a progress record – this should have every day of the week in it, and include the whole month. You can make this on a spreadsheet on the computer or on a piece of paper; however you do it this grid is designed to track your progress so you can see how well you’re doing.
Now the key is creating a routine – a successful workout regime is a regular one, and the same goes for you and your exercise bike. Work out what your main goal is for using the exercise bike; if you want to lose weight then the majority of your bike sessions should focus on sprinting (low resistance but lots of speed) if you want to tone up then reduce the speed and increase the resistance.
The best way of getting a well rounded workout is to alternate your bike sessions between speed and resistance so on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday work on your speed to burn calories and fat and on a Tuesday and Thursday tone your legs by working on your resistance.
An exercise bike is a versatile piece of equipment if you use it properly, so why not give it a try?