Are you wanting to lose weight but find it hard to stick to any exercise?
Year after year millions of people start ambitious diet and exercise plans only to give up a few weeks in. From fad diets to complicated workout plans they keep throwing trendy new things at the wall hoping something sticks.
Most of these plans are complicated, time consuming and a downright miserable way to live.
Fortunately there is an exercise bike.
Simpler, more effective, and surprisingly versatile exercise bikes might be the missing piece you’ve been looking for. In this post, we’ll show you why the exercise bike is one of the best ways to burn calories and lose weight.
What you’ll learn:
- Why Exercise Bikes Are Perfect For Weight Loss
- How Many Calories You Can Actually Burn
- The Best Types of Exercise Bikes For Your Goals
- Simple Strategies To Maximize Your Results
Why Exercise Bikes Are Perfect For Weight Loss
What if there was a way to burn a high number of calories without taking a beating to your knees, ankles and hips? And what if you could do that in the comfort of your own home in as little as 20 minutes a day? Sounds pretty great right?
Believe it or not, there is, and it’s called an exercise bike.
That’s because they work well for 3 big reasons:
First, unlike running or other high impact cardio that can cause all sorts of joint and muscle problems, the exercise bike is super low impact. That means you can workout harder, longer, and more often.
Consistency is the key to losing weight, and it’s easy on an exercise bike.
Also, research published by Harvard Health says a 155-pound person can burn 260 calories in half an hour at a moderate pace. Push it up a level, and the calories soar to 378 for 30 minutes of vigorous cycling.
Impressed yet?
The third reason exercise bikes work is that no matter the weather outside, what time of day it is, your current fitness level or your schedule they are ready to go. Exercise bikes require no extra time or special conditions to work, and they’re easy for beginners and experts alike to get good results.
How Many Calories You Can Actually Burn
The amount of calories you burn on an exercise bike will depend on a variety of factors like your weight, your intensity level, and the duration of your ride. But some of these numbers will blow your mind.
In most cases, the average person can expect to burn:
- 400-800 calories per hour (depending on their weight and intensity)
- 260-378 calories in 30 minutes (moderate to hard intensity)
- Twice as many calories as walking (same time frame)
The cherry on top is that unlike other cardio machines like treadmills or ellipticals where you need perfect form or high skill levels to maximize results, an exercise bike is all about intensity. Turn up the resistance, pedal faster, or throw in some intervals. It’s as simple as that.
The best part is that you don’t need to be a fitness guru to start torching calories on an exercise bike. It’s easy to start reaping the benefits from day one with zero learning curve or complicated movements.
The Best Types of Exercise Bikes For Your Goals
There are three main types of exercise bikes to choose from, and each has different pros for certain goals and fitness levels.
Upright Exercise Bikes
These exercise bikes look like a traditional bicycle with the handlebars in front and a higher intensity workout.
You engage your core, upper body, and legs all at once, which means you’ll have a higher calorie burn.
Upright bikes are great for:
People who want to maximize their calorie burn, and those who don’t mind the higher impact and increased muscle fatigue of a more intense ride.
Recumbent Exercise Bikes
Something most people don’t realize about recumbent bikes is…
They have that “easy” look because of the back support and reclined position, but don’t be fooled, they’re a total hidden gem for weight loss. The Vanswe recumbent bike has been designed to help you exercise longer and more comfortably, which translates into more calories burned overall.
Research actually shows that while recumbent bikes only burn about 20% fewer calories per minute than an upright bike, the comfort factor of the recumbent bike means people can work out longer – leading to greater total calorie burn per session.
Recumbent bikes are best for:
Beginners, those with back issues, or anyone who is focused on building a sustainable, long term exercise routine.
Spin Bikes
These are the heavy lifters of the exercise bike world, offering the most intensity of all the different types.
Spin bikes have variable resistance, higher ranges, and also allow you to work out in a standing position. This means you can take on higher intensity interval training to seriously torch those calories during and after your workout.
Spin bikes are perfect for:
Experienced riders who want to push their calorie burn to the max and do it in the shortest time possible.
Simple Strategies To Maximize Your Results
This is where most people get it wrong with exercise bikes workouts…
They hop on for 30 minutes, pedal the same moderate pace the whole time, and wonder why they’re not seeing the results they want. But the real key to using an exercise bike to lose weight is changing up your workout approach.
Start With Consistency Over Intensity
I know this may sound counter-intuitive, but stick with me here…
Instead of aiming for one 90-minute session per week or just doing random exercise when you feel like it, aim for short, regular sessions. Why? Because consistency is what creates the calorie deficit you need to lose weight.
I recommend you do this:
Start with 3-4 weekly sessions of 20-30 minutes each. Make it a habit and routine before you start pushing harder.
Use Interval Training
If you want to kick your calorie burning up a notch, try interval training.
A simple interval workout to try looks like this:
- 5 minutes moderate warm-up
- 1 minute hard, 2 minutes recovery (repeat 6-8 times)
- 5 minutes cool-down
Interval training can help you not only burn more calories in your workout but continue to burn them for hours afterward. It’s known as the “afterburn effect” – extra bonus calories burned even when you’re sitting on the couch.
Track Your Progress
Ok here’s the truth about something important…
Your weight on the scale is not always the best measure of your progress. Cycling on an exercise bike can build muscle in your legs while burning fat so you might see changes in body composition before weight changes.
Track these instead:
- How long you can go comfortably
- Your energy levels during the day
- How your clothes fit
- Your resting heart rate (should drop over time)
Don’t Forget About Nutrition
You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. Exercise bikes are a phenomenal way to burn calories and get fit, but losing weight comes down to creating a calorie deficit through both exercise AND nutrition.
The formula is simple:
Burn more calories than you take in. Exercise bikes can help with the “burning more” part of the equation, but you also need to focus on “consuming less” to lose weight.
Wrapping It Up
The exercise bike is not just another piece of gym equipment, it’s the key to a sustainable, long term approach to losing weight and keeping it off.
Here’s what makes exercise bikes so powerful:
- The low impact design means you can workout harder longer without injury
- You can burn 400-800 calories per hour, depending on your level and intensity
- They offer the unmatched convenience of home-workouts
- You can scale the intensity for any level of fitness
- The perfect tool for building a sustainable, long-term habit.
The best exercise bike for weight loss is the one you’ll use consistently. Whether that’s an intense upright bike, a comfortable recumbent model, or a hardcore spin bike, doesn’t matter nearly as much as just showing up day in and day out.
Weight loss isn’t about finding the perfect workout or the fanciest new equipment. It’s about building sustainable habits that you can maintain over months and years, not just weeks.