Any time spent peddling away on the exercise bike is good, but why not make it great? Rain or shine, indoor stationary bikes provide a significant aerobic workout without inflicting a beating on your joints. But indoor cyclists beware, without cranking up the intensity your sitting bike workout can be more relaxing than engaging. To prevent bike boredom, transform your regular routine into a high-variety, high-intensity workout that gets your blood pumping for at least 30 minutes.
The exercise experts at Life Fitness have created this high intensity workout to challenge any cyclist:
0-5 minutes: Ease into the workout at a low resistance, low speed for the first five minutes to get the body warmed up and ensure you’re seated comfortably. Your legs should almost fully extend at the bottom of your pedal.
5-7 minutes: Slowly kick up the resistance until you reach a challenging level. It should feel like you’re pedaling through sand.
7-8 minutes: Lift yourself from the seat, firmly grasping the handlebars and feel the burn as you climb.
8-9 minutes: Sit back down and power through a seated climb.
9-10 minutes: Lower the resistance so it feels like you’re riding a smooth, paved trail and quicken your pace to a sprint.
10-19 minutes: Repeat the climbing sequence twice.
19-21 minutes: Reduce speed, maintaining your sprint resistance and calm your heart rate and breathing.
21-22 minutes: Increase resistance and pedal eight times standing, eight times sitting.
22-23 minutes: Decrease resistance and ride seated.
23-24 minutes: Repeat round of eight standing and seated climbs.
24-25 minutes: Decrease resistance and ride seated.
25-27 minutes: Enter into one last, hard sprint at a comfortable level of resistance.
27-30 minutes: Cool down your body and breathing by easing out of workout mode and toward your resting heart rate.
If you feel pain, faint or shortness of breath, discontinue the activity immediately and seek a doctor’s advice.
Fit Tips are provided by Life Fitness, the leader in designing and manufacturing high-quality exercise equipment for fitness facilities and homes worldwide. For more information on Fit Tips and other fitness advice and expertise visit www.lifefitness.com or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LifeFitness.
