Losing fat is definitely easier said than done. If it were that easy, there wouldn’t be so many different exercise and diet fads that claim to be the solution for many. However, we all know that there’s no one size that fits all. Even when it comes to exercising, there are few workout regimens that could work for everybody.
When we all know that hard exercise always works, not everyone could put that kind of strain on his or her body. Fortunately, there are a few low impact exercises that can yield high fat-loss results. One of those is working out on a recumbent bike, read more.
Recumbent bikes versus the rest
There are different ways to exercise through cycling. You could go outdoors or indoors; you could also cycle on an upright bike or a recumbent bike. With any of those options, the recumbent bike is the gentlest way to cycle.
It’s the safest on the body, but it also yields the same amount of caloric loss. It also happens to be the most comfortable way to cycle. The seats are wider; the positioning of the body is also more natural. It’s an option that could be used by anyone to lose belly fat.
Targeting belly fat
There’s a lot of false knowledge out there stating that you can lose belly fat through abs or core exercises alone. It would take an incredibly long time for you to lose belly fat if you’re only doing abs exercises.
Cardio exercises remain to be the best way to lose belly fat, and exercising on a recumbent bike is a great way to target fat in the core area. When you’re cycling, you’re using a lot of your core to perform the action. By adding core exercises to your regimen, you can, therefore, strengthen your core enough to perform on a recumbent bike better.
Other benefits of recumbent biking
Besides being able to target belly fat while being a gentler form of exercise, recumbent biking will also allow you to exercise in any type of weather. That’s one of the biggest benefits of indoor cycling—you can never use the weather as an excuse not to exercise. It’s also the most convenient for most people, especially those who don’t have regular bicycles, to begin with.
Recumbent biking also allows you to build your endurance and strength. It’s one of the easiest exercises that can give you the highest impact of workouts. With a recumbent bike, you can build your core and leg strength slowly while building up your endurance at the same time.
Apart from losing fat on your belly, you can also lose fat on other parts of your body as well. The more calories you burn while you’re working out, the more fat you’ll burn from all over your body. Biking indoors will surely get your heart rate up, and speaking of heart rates, it’s also probably one of the best ways to maintain your cardiovascular health. Cardio exercises such as biking are most crucial to a healthy heart.
Using the recumbent bike properly
It’s really a simple machine to use. You use the recumbent bike just like any other bike—except you’ll be sitting in a reclined position while doing so. As easy as it may be to use, a lot of people still use this kind of bike inappropriately.
As with any other exercises, make sure that you’re properly stretched out before you get on the bike. You need to adjust the seat of the bike just so your knees are slightly bent when in extended form. If your knees are too far bent, you risk injury during pedaling by being too close to the front of the machine. If you’re too far, on the other hand, you’ll be too uncomfortable to do the exercise.
While you’re riding the bike, make sure that you maintain proper form throughout your intended workout routine. This means that you should always sit in the appropriate position with your back straight against the seat. If you find yourself sliding down your seat, pull yourself back up. Remember that you have the side handles on the bike to give you support.
Types of biking exercises
There are three different training approaches you can take when exercising using the recumbent bike: steady-state, high intensity, and interval training.
- Steady-state training
This is the simplest approach to bicycle exercise. You simply decide on the amount of time you’re willing to devote to cycling and commit to that amount of time at least five to six times per week.
For example, if you can commit to 30 minutes of cycling a day, you’ll need to do five 30-minute cycling workouts throughout the week. You’ll want to make sure that you’re performing at a moderate-intensity level. If you can’t do 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling, start small with 10 minutes and work yourself up.
- High-intensity training
When you’ve built yourself up enough that moderate-intensity cycling just doesn’t cut it, you can transition over to high-intensity cycling. When you’re performing at a higher-intensity level, you can replace two days out of your five-day workout with 30-minutes of high intensity while keeping the other three days at moderate-intensity level.
You can increase intensity by upping the level of resistance on your bike. This should get you to about 85% of your heart rate maximum.
- Interval training
This basically involves performing HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, on the bicycle. You should only be doing HIIT on the bike about two to three times per week. To do this, you’ll have to start off with a warm-up of five to ten minutes of low resistance biking. You need this to wake your body up.
Next, you’ll need to pedal about two minutes at a higher resistance with intense pedaling. This should spike your heart rate up where you need it to be. After the two minute mark, you should go back down to easy pedaling for another two minutes. You should feel your heart rate recover for a bit until it is time to spice it up again. Alternate between low to high intensity pedaling about 10 to 15 times before concluding with a three to five minute cool down consisting of low-intensity biking.
Conclusion
The best way to see results on the recumbent bike is to be consistent with it. Without consistency, you’ll never see your belly fat burn away. Incorporating biking into a complete regimen is also helpful; you’ll want to continue to strengthen your core because that will help you perform better on the bike.
All in all, if you want to lose belly fat, the recumbent bike is a great option as long as you stick with it and exercise consistently—almost on a daily basis.
You can also check the best recumbent bikes for your workout.
