The exercise bike can be considered the most popular and often used by athletes of various groups. An exercise bike is a very simple technique for losing extra pounds, toning up the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, and increasing endurance and resistance to physical activity. Among other things, an exercise bike helps build muscle corset, tone it and stabilize the interaction of individual muscle groups. This article will cover the basic aspects that you need to follow while exercising on an exercise bike. There is a lot more interesting information on our blog.
Before you start training, you need to rationally formulate the goal that you want to achieve from training on this simulator. Goal and motivation play an important role, since it is from them that the program of your classes, their intensity and the scope of additional stress on the body will be formed. The development of a training program will be influenced by your body’s indicators, in particular your pulse and blood pressure.
About the maximum heart rate
To find your way around the optimal heart rate, you will need to calculate the maximum permissible limits beyond which you would not want to rise. It becomes possible to calculate the maximum value of the pulse indicator for your age based on the following formula: your full age is subtracted from the number “220”. The resulting difference will indicate the maximum systolic pressure, which is not recommended to be exceeded. You will need the maximum heart rate parameter in order to determine the intensity of your workouts and outline a preliminary workout plan in the gym.
Determining the optimal heart rate if the priority goal of exercise is weight loss
For the female half of the population, losing weight is the primary goal, thanks to which they began to visit gyms and engage in sports disciplines. It is worth noting one important aspect right away: if your weight exceeds the permissible level by 15 kilograms or more, then you should consult with your doctor about drawing up a training program. Perhaps the exercise bike will have a negative effect on your body, so it will be recommended to replace it with running or even walking. Only after reaching the optimal limits in the weight category will it be possible to move on to an exercise bike. In such cases, a preliminary consultation with your doctor is required.
If you have exceeded the permissible weight by less than 15 kilograms and you want to lose weight, then you should know about the optimal values of your own heart rate. To lose weight, you must keep your heart rate to no more than 60-75% of your maximum. Within this framework, maximum consumption of subcutaneous fat and kilocalories will occur, and this will allow you to quickly reduce the weight you have gained.
To make it clearer, it is worth analyzing these indicators using an example. Let's say your age is 20 years and the maximum allowable systolic heart rate is 200. To determine the acceptable limits, you need to multiply this value by 60 and 75 percent, and thus you will get the limits of 120-150. By exercising within these limits at the age of 20, you will ensure the most effective fat burning in the body.
Determining the optimal heart rate if the priority goal of exercise is to improve your health
General health and strengthening activities for one’s own body can be considered the second point why people visit gyms or engage in sports disciplines. To achieve strengthened immunity and a general health effect, you will need to exercise with much greater intensity and your heart rate should be up to 75-85% of its maximum value. This framework is called the endurance zone of the human body. Within this framework, the human cardiovascular and pulmonary systems begin to actively engage in work, which makes it possible to strengthen them and put them in order.
What should your heart rate be during training?
The most important thing with any cardio workout is to monitor your heart rate. You need to start from the maximum heart rate, which can be easily calculated using the formula “220 – your age.” The resulting number is the maximum heart rate for your age group.
Target heart rate zone
Depending on what goals you set during training, you must calculate your effective (target) heart rate zone and stay within it during the training. There are three such zones: therapeutic – 50%-65% of the maximum value; “low” – 65%-75% of the maximum value, it is most suitable for burning calories; and the “middle” zone – 75%-85%, in this zone endurance training is carried out, and less fat is burned. Higher loads are used only by athletes. Of course, these values are only recommendations, and nothing bad will happen if you shift the limits a little, but it is not recommended to exceed 85% of the maximum heart rate - there may be overloads.
So, you choose your target heart rate zone (in the case of losing weight, this is 65%-75% of the maximum value) and during the workout you try to mainly stay within it.
Optimal heart rate indicators during the warm-up and final parts of the lesson in the gym
To prepare your body for the upcoming intense exercise and allow it to relax after it, a warm-up (you can read about it in the powerlifting section) and final parts must be present. To properly perform the preparation and finishing stretches, you should perform them within 55-60% of your maximum heart rate. This will help activate the cardiovascular system and ensure its readiness for upcoming stress.
Training at home: program and rules
With regular exercise on an exercise bike, combined with proper nutrition, you can get rid of 5 kg in a month.
First of all, you need to competently develop a program for increasing loads. You need to exercise at least 4 times a week. It is advisable to plan the training process so that at least an hour passes from the end of the meal to the start of classes.
The first training time is 15 minutes, gradually their duration is increased to 30 minutes. It takes at least 2 months to stabilize the condition. Only then can you move on to increasing the load.
During exercise, you need to monitor your heart rhythm. It is considered normal if the pulse does not increase by more than 70% of the original value. At the initial stage, it is not possible to lose weight - the excellent result will be that the weight stabilizes and does not increase.
Later, you need to pedal 5 times a week for 45 minutes, not forgetting to control your pulse. A table will help you determine your heart rate, showing what values should be after 10 minutes of training, depending on age.
| Age, years | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 45 | 50 | 55 | 60 | 65 |
| Pulse/min | 156 | 156 | 150 | 144 | 138 | 132 | 126 | 120 | 110 |
If they correspond to the table, or are within acceptable limits: plus or minus 5 blows, then the load is set correctly. Active fat burning is possible only with a heart rate above 110 beats.
The speed of pedaling during exercise should constantly change, but not jerkily. The acceleration time depends on your own well-being. It is recommended to increase the pace for 5-10 minutes, and then return to a moderate speed.
Before you sit on the exercise machine at home, you must remember to warm up your muscles. Warm-up - regular exercises with raising your arms, squats and running in place, should take about 5-10 minutes.
After class, it is advisable to perform a few more strength exercises to strengthen the muscles of the shoulder girdle.
Tips for Beginners
Learn how to sit on an exercise bike correctly:
- You need to sit up straight, without arching your back. The position should be natural and not cause discomfort. The back is slightly rounded;
- Under no circumstances should the weight of the body be transferred to the hands - they should be completely relaxed;
- The load on the leg muscles should be distributed evenly. To ensure this distribution, the feet need to be parallel to the floor and the knees slightly brought together;
- You should not lower your head.
Think in advance about what clothes you will wear for training. Comfortable sportswear is necessary even when working out alone. Feet should not be bare. If it is not possible to purchase cycling boots, then ordinary lightweight sneakers – a walking option – will suffice. Tight pants must be worn: tights or bicycle shorts.
How to exercise so as not to harm your health?
Not only heart rate indicators are criteria for the correct execution of exercises. In particular, for exercises on an exercise bike, you will need to monitor your performance (no more than 85% of the maximum permissible value) and the general well-being of your body: during exercise you should not experience any discomfort or pain. Otherwise, classes are stopped and you should seek advice from your supervising doctor. Having received his permission, you can safely continue.
How to monitor your heart rate while cycling and exercise bike
For this you definitely need a sports gadget - and the better, more complex and more expensive it is, the clearer the result will be.
- Many amateur athletes use sports watches. They monitor your heart rate from your wrist. They are suitable for training by pulse zones, but you need to keep in mind that the indicator will not be clear. The watch begins to “lie” after the pulse exceeds 100 beats per minute, and the differences can be 10-20 beats.
- The chest straps that come with the watch are the most accurate gadget available for tracking your heart rate during exercise, and athletes who are focused on precise heart rate zone training need just such a gadget.
- Top brands of heart rate monitors that have proven themselves are Polar, Suunto, Garmin.
Development of a muscular corset using an exercise bike
The exercise bike has a general stimulating effect on all systems of the body, and does not bypass the muscle corset. Thanks to constant training on an exercise bike, you tone your muscles, thus regulating their work. At the same time, their elasticity and resistance to physical stress increases. It is practically impossible to achieve a significant pumping of muscle fiber with the help of an exercise bike, but it is quite possible to shape the relief and improve aesthetic indicators. Only for this you will need to exercise more intensively on an exercise bike and put in much more effort.
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How to properly train on an exercise bike
In order for the training to bring only benefits and not discomfort, the body must be in the right position during the exercise.
Body position
If, while riding a bicycle, the athlete’s back is in a bent position and at the same time working, then while exercising on an exercise bike, the back does not engage in work, and therefore must be straight - as when sitting on a chair. In this case, you will avoid unnecessary stress on your back.
While exercising on an exercise bike, it is not necessary to hold the handles of the exercise bike. But if you like to train at high speeds and completely lose yourself in your training, then this can be useful.
If the exercise bike has seat adjustments, be sure to adjust it to your height so that you can pedal comfortably.
Comfortable clothes
When exercising on an exercise bike, you must follow basic rules that ensure comfort and safety during training - wear comfortable clothes, preferably made from natural breathable materials, without dangling laces and ends, and comfortable sports shoes with non-slip soles - sneakers or sneakers.
Cool down and warm up
Before training there should always be a warm-up, which will bring the body into a state of “combat readiness”. The workout itself should begin with a light load and end with the same, so-called cool-down, which will allow the heart to gradually slow down. The heart is a fragile organ, and there is no need to “tug” it again.
Breath
Be sure to breathe through your nose - this is a necessary condition for any workout - and control your breathing, trying not to slow down its pace.
Nutrition and hydration
Don’t forget to replenish your water balance - a bottle of water should always be nearby, at hand. Drink water little by little, in small sips, after rinsing your mouth.
In order to exercise comfortably, it is necessary that the workout takes place at least an hour after eating, so that the heaviness in the stomach does not interfere. Within an hour after training, a “carbohydrate window” opens, which allows you to replenish energy with fruit, yogurt, or even a piece of chocolate with impunity. But if you are trying to lose weight, then it is better to wait out this time and have a snack later.
Workout length
Calculate the length of your workout correctly - it should correspond to your goals. When losing weight, you can exercise in the fat burning zone for 40 minutes at a heart rate of 70% of the maximum, but when training for endurance, you simply cannot withstand that much.
