Can't stand long exercise bike sessions - splitting them up?

Pastaprincess1978
Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
Do I just continue to total my calories earned in the short 5 min bursts I can stand? The most I can do before I can't stand to be on there any more!

Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited April 2018
    If you can only stand it for 5 minutes, maybe you should find another activity?

    I can't imagine you're burning any meaningful calories unless you are doing twenty of these 5 minute bursts per day. That's not to say that they are bad, but rather that there are probably easier ways to accomplish whatever you're trying to accomplish. But to your question - if you're doing 5 minute sessions, I'd probably log/estimate them as 3 or 4 minutes of actual work to try and be a bit more accurate on calorie burns.
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    Why are you doing exercise bike if you don't like it?

    I try not to - just sometimes if it rains then it's the only real cardio option!
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
    Hey I think this answers my question in part:
    https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/ask-well-3-short-workouts-or-1-long-one/

    I just need to stay on 10 mins instead of 5!
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    Pastaprincess1978 wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    Why are you doing exercise bike if you don't like it?

    I try not to - just sometimes if it rains then it's the only real cardio option!
    Is there a reason you can't do cardio in the rain? There's no reason why you can't bike or run outside when it's raining. You might not want to, but I suspect 10 min biking in the rain would be more enjoyable for you than 5 min inside.
  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    Pastaprincess1978 wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    Why are you doing exercise bike if you don't like it?

    I try not to - just sometimes if it rains then it's the only real cardio option!

    No reason not to run/bike/walk/skip/ jump in the rain. The way I sweat during a run, I'm getting wet, dry or wet weather conditions.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited April 2018
    I can't sit on my rower for longer than 15 mins w/o serious discomfort (despite many attempt to modify the seat for afditional comfort) but can sit on my spin bike for 30 mins or more (as boring as that is) w/o any discomfort at all.

    However, I prefer rowing and dislike (hate is too strong a word) biking and seldom use the spin bike anymore.

    My main exercise is rowing and what I do is 4 intervals of 12-12.5 mins @ w/a 5 min rest period in between intervals in one workout session, which takes about an hour and allows me to log 10k meters of rowing and burn about 550 cals/day, which frankly is a lot of rowing but works well for me in my current maintenance program.

    Of course, I won't get any benefits (whatever they may be) by rowing farther and longer but unless you're a marathon rower (42,197 meters) or Century (100 mile) biker (or aspire to become one), I don't think it matters.

  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    Spin classes are 45 minutes or an hour long. Maybe you need a program like that, not just pedaling while watching a movie or some such.
  • Steff46
    Steff46 Posts: 516 Member
    Sometimes I'll do up/down intervals on the spin bike. Ride standing up for a few minutes then ride setting on the saddle for a few minutes.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    What is it about it that you can't stand? Does it hurt? Do you get bored? Does your bike break? Does your dog start biting your feet?
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    What is it about it that you can't stand? Does it hurt? Do you get bored? Does your bike break? Does your dog start biting your feet?

    lol I think it's a combination of boredom and seat pain :) 10 mins a time is do-able though - 10x3 could be a solution.

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Why would she not burn calories in 5 minutes? You can burn calories lying on the floor for 5 minutes and biking takes more energy than lying on the floor. If someone bikes for 25 minutes they burn more calories than biking for only 20 min. The only difference in doing only 5 min is the slight time it takes to "ramp up" to full speed.

    As for the article, https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/ask-well-3-short-workouts-or-1-long-one/
    it is discussing cardiovascular benefits, not calorie burns. I agree you won't get much cardio benefit in 5 minutes. BUT you will get a calorie burn. Calorie burn is not discussed in the article. Context is everything. :)
  • mk2fit
    mk2fit Posts: 730 Member
    I prefer running. When the weather is bad, I reluctantly get on my elliptical. I can handle an hour even though I don't like it. One of my preferred go-tos is exercise videos on youtube. There are tons of them from walking to HIIT and Tabata and everything in between.
    @pastaprincess1 maybe you just need to find something you actually like to do. That way you might actually stick with it. Good luck.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Pastaprincess1978 wrote: »
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    What is it about it that you can't stand? Does it hurt? Do you get bored? Does your bike break? Does your dog start biting your feet?

    lol I think it's a combination of boredom and seat pain :) 10 mins a time is do-able though - 10x3 could be a solution.

    Boredom - get some good music. Interval training is more mentally involving than steady state which seems to make the time pass faster.

    Seat pain - learn to set up your bike properly. About 90% of casual bike users simply don't understand how to set their saddle height correctly. There's also the issue that a lot of saddles are just nasty (not so much unisex, more like no sex ever again.....). Padded bike shorts make a huge difference.
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
    edited April 2018
    lorrpb wrote: »
    Why would she not burn calories in 5 minutes? You can burn calories lying on the floor for 5 minutes and biking takes more energy than lying on the floor. If someone bikes for 25 minutes they burn more calories than biking for only 20 min. The only difference in doing only 5 min is the slight time it takes to "ramp up" to full speed.

    As for the article, https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/ask-well-3-short-workouts-or-1-long-one/
    it is discussing cardiovascular benefits, not calorie burns. I agree you won't get much cardio benefit in 5 minutes. BUT you will get a calorie burn. Calorie burn is not discussed in the article. Context is everything. :)

    Yeah I tend to think the same way - it makes sense to me that fitness advantages would not be the same but calorie burn (over TDEE) requires movement and I'd be moving pretty much the same amount in 5 or 10 min hits vs 30 mins straight.

    I guess I'm disliking exercise as I age lol
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Pastaprincess1978 wrote: »
    lorrpb wrote: »
    Why would she not burn calories in 5 minutes? You can burn calories lying on the floor for 5 minutes and biking takes more energy than lying on the floor. If someone bikes for 25 minutes they burn more calories than biking for only 20 min. The only difference in doing only 5 min is the slight time it takes to "ramp up" to full speed.

    As for the article, https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/ask-well-3-short-workouts-or-1-long-one/
    it is discussing cardiovascular benefits, not calorie burns. I agree you won't get much cardio benefit in 5 minutes. BUT you will get a calorie burn. Calorie burn is not discussed in the article. Context is everything. :)

    Yeah I tend to think the same way - it makes sense to me that fitness advantages would not be the same but calorie burn (over TDEE) requires movement and I'd be moving pretty much the same amount in 5 or 10 min hits vs 30 mins straight.

    I guess I'm disliking exercise as I age lol

    You just need to find something you enjoy. I love swimming. It's easy on the joints and so peaceful.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Exercise is so important as we age.
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
    For the record I managed 15 mins today!
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    Pastaprincess1978 wrote: »
    For the record I managed 15 mins today!

    Did you enjoy it or was it just something you felt that you had to do to prove that you could do it?

    If the former, congrats; have fun doing it again! If the latter, it will not be sustainable but congrats anyway. ;)
  • rowlandsw
    rowlandsw Posts: 1,166 Member
    I tried the bike and it made my on knee hurt like hell, the treadmill works better in my case.
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
    sgt1372 wrote: »
    Pastaprincess1978 wrote: »
    For the record I managed 15 mins today!

    Did you enjoy it or was it just something you felt that you had to do to prove that you could do it?

    If the former, congrats; have fun doing it again! If the latter, it will not be sustainable but congrats anyway. ;)

    Hard to say - I call it 'type 2 fun' where I feel determined and proud doing it but the sense of enjoyment and accomplishment kicks in only afterwards lol!

    I used to get a runners high running hard - but my joints don't care as much for that now.

    I'm getting old lol
  • Pastaprincess1978
    Pastaprincess1978 Posts: 371 Member
    Impressed with the calorie burn though - MFP and the bike married up ok - To log the burn I went with very light effort when it was probably more like medium to light effort.
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