Why An Exercise Bike Is A Great Addition To Your Home Gym

Let’s take a look at those benefits, along with how to choose the right exercise bike for you:

What are some benefits of the of having an exercise bike?

An exercise bike provides a great cardio workout that gets your heart pumping. It provides a low-impact workout that gives great aerobic results and targets numerous muscles throughout the body. It can help a person at any age reach goals of improving their cardio health and losing as well as maintaining their weight.

Another benefit of an exercise bike is that it allows you to change the intensity to challenge yourself during your workout. Make each workout easier or more difficult than your workout before—you have control.

Also, having your own exercise bike indoors allows you to train all year round, in all weather conditions. Cold winters and extremely hot summers don’t have to slow you down anymore.

Will the bike be different from exercising on a treadmill?

Sure, a treadmill is a great go-to machine for your home gym. But an exercise bike can be the perfect addition to a treadmill since it provides a different kind of workout. Or you might want to choose it as an alternative to a treadmill if you have certain workout needs or limitations.

Exercise bike – ProForm Tour De France

You workout a lot of the same muscles when you hit the exercise bike as when you use the treadmill, but since you’re sitting on one and standing on the other, you end up using the muscles in different ways. On both machines, you’ll target your hamstrings, quadriceps, gluteus maximus, and calf muscles. While the main focus is on your lower body on both machines, you’ll tend to workout your core, arms, chest, back, and shoulders to an extent more so on an exercise bike.

One of the main reasons people choose a bike over a treadmill is that the bike gives a lower impact workout than a treadmill. This can be helpful if you have an injury or health condition that could be worsened by high-intensity activities. Alice Burron, a personal trainer with an M.S. in physical education, says that the repeated motions of an indoor exercise bike help create a controlled exercise session that benefits an injury. In particular, an exercise bike is often recommended for knee problems since it doesn’t put the weight of your body on your knees during exercise. Nonetheless, to avoid aggravating the knee, you need to adjust the bike to your body.

It’s also possible that you simply prefer working out on a bike. If you think you would continuously use a bike while a treadmill would sit in your home collecting dust, then the bike would be a better choice for you. It’s also possible that you would be able to workout longer on the bike than the treadmill considering the lower impact workout. Or if your home gym included both types of machines, you could switch up your exercise sessions to keep your workouts interesting and motivating.

What should you look for when buying an exercise bike?

If you’ve decided to move ahead with adding an exercise bike to your home gym, the next step is finding the right bike. First, you can choose between an upright model or a recumbent bike. With the latter, you sit back more than with the upright one. The recumbent variety might be better if you experience back issues, while the upright models will probably give you a more effective workout.

Look at the features each bike model offers. Does the bike have features that will help you reach your goals? Look for features such as different resistance levels, customized workout routines, and a readout of your calories burned, heart rate, speed, and other workout data. Make sure that the bike will fit your weight and height and that you can adjust it to get the right fit.

While it might be tempting to go for a bargain, quality machines tend cost a little more, but then you can trust that they are safer, more effective, and longer lasting. They also tend to have higher level features and better warranties. Also, consider whether you want optional features like a sound system or built-in fans. ProForm offers a range of well-made exercise bikes with different designs, features, and price points to choose from.

An exercise bike is a great choice for your home gym, whether it’s your only piece of equipment or incorporate it with other machines. You may want to choose a bike for its low-impact workout because riding is your preferred exercise or to mix up your workouts with other types of exercise. Whatever your reasons are, a bike can help support your goals for weight control and improving your overall health and fitness.