Stationary bike workout?

Stayhard_mfp

Hello Everyone!
I’m new here
My activity level is sedentary (less than 2000 steps a day)
I’m a female, 65kg, 5.2ft
My goal is to lose fat
Recently I bought a stationary bike so I can be more active. I’m planning to use this 1hr a day for 7 days. I’m not sure about the intensity. I don’t know if I should do interval training or Same pace for 1hr. Which style do u think is safer since I’m gonna be using the bike 7 days a week?
On top of the cardio sessions I’m gonna be doing 5 resistance training sessions a week. (30 min each session)
Would u recommend intervals or same pace for 1hr?

Thanks x

brianpperkins131

What does your exercise level look like over the past week, month? How much cardio are you doing before this new plan? How much resistance training?

If you're just starting out stick to simple things first. I'd recommend starting relatively steady and worrying more about getting the contact points dialed ... seat position, handlebar reach and height, etc before trying to go hard or in intervals. From zero to seven hours per week cycling is a dramatic change ... consider progressing from where you are to that amount of weekly load.

AnnPT77

brianpperkins131 wrote: »

What does your exercise level look like over the past week, month? How much cardio are you doing before this new plan? How much resistance training?

If you're just starting out stick to simple things first. I'd recommend starting relatively steady and worrying more about getting the contact points dialed ... seat position, handlebar reach and height, etc before trying to go hard or in intervals. From zero to seven hours per week cycling is a dramatic change ... consider progressing from where you are to that amount of weekly load.

QFT. Start easier steady state, gradually increase duration and frequency.

High odds there'll be some saddle soreness at first, too - don't make that extreme, too, by going straight to 60 minutes X 7 days.

Keep it fun, energizing, just a bit challenging . . . not miserable and punitive.

spiriteagle99

If you aren't used to bicycling daily, I'd start with half an hour every other day. Gradually increase the duration and intensity. If you don't have muscle pain after a one hour workout, then start adding days but you need recovery time when you are starting out. I do the bike about once a week on my non-running days. After 30-40 minutes, my lower body goes numb. I have to do something else for 10 minutes to get feeling back, then I can finish out my one hour workout. The next day, my legs are very tight. My bike comes with preprogrammed 20 and 30 minute workouts that increase the resistance. Some days I'll do one of the programs. Some days I just do a pyramid, increasing the resistance every mile, then backing off. Some days I'll do a good warmup, then 30 second HIIT, then recovery, then 30 seconds hard, 30 easy, etc. x 10, then easy recovery.

sijomial

Don't go from zero days to 7 days a week in one go or you will rapidy start to hate your bike!
Do investigate how to set your bike up properly.
Do think about investing in proper cycle shorts.

Probably don't ever go to 7 days x 1hr a week to be honest, if if you do eventually you do want to start devoting 7hrs a week to indoor cycling there's probably better ways to split your exercise and recovery than that if you have fitness/cycling goals rather than just burning calories.

A mixture of steady state (which doesn't have to be low intensity) and intervals (of different intensities and durations) would do more for your fitness than the same thing every time.

lgfrie

Just chiming in to basically agree with the above comments.

Start slow, and don't overdo it. Depending on your fitness level, that could look something like 20-30 mins every other day. Start with steady state, at a comfortable level of resistance.

The point is, don't injure yourself or pull muscles, etc. Ease into it. You can always increase the duration and resistance later, and probably will.

FYI, I do 1 hr (at least! sometimes more) per day on an exercise bike x 7 days a week, usually consisting of a fairly rigorous 30 minute interval training program, and then later in the day, 30-40 minutes of easy steady state, basically just watching TV at 75 watts until I get bored or the show ends. But it took me about a year to work up to that, starting from a place that was more like "Work out for 5 minutes, take next day off".

Start slow & easy and most of all make sure you are having fun with it, not being punitive. Even the lowest intensity exercise that's barely budging your heart rate over 55 or 60 % of MHR is better than no exercise, which is what happens when one starts to not like a machine. Really focus for now on workouts that you find doable and pleasing. It's an investment in your future ability to hit it harder when you feel you're ready.

NorthCascades

It doesn't have to be all of nothing. You're in this for the rest of your life, committing to 10 hours of exercise per week when you do none now is likely to burn you out. I suggest starting slower, at low intensity, with rest days, and working your way up comfortably.

As a cyclist, I think it's important to get a variety of intensities. There's nothing magic about intervals or HIIT, they're more like part of a complete breakfast. But again they're not a great place to start, you should work up to them and start when there's a gap for them to fill.

For now, anything you do on that bike is more than you're doing now, will burn calories, and improve your heart health. Take it comfortably and try to enjoy the ride. You're the tortoise not the hare.