Recumbent bike and weight loss?

sinbadnz

I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience losing weight using a recumbent bike for exercise alone?

For the last week I have used mine 4 days a week, doing about 10 miles per day, and I want to continue with this routine. I am wanting to lose ideally about 60 pounds eventually. I aim to strictly stick to my daily caloric limit also of course too. I hope this will be enough!

Any info and personal experiences with doing this?

Alysgrma

bump

Espressocycle

Not sure what your question is. Exercise burns calories. Biking is great exercise.

fdgetter

I've been using my Schwinn recumbent more than anything else for exercise since January 1, 2011 and I've lost 120 pounds, as of this week.

Jeff92se

Not sure of the question here. Why wouldn't it work? It's cardio much like any other cardio. As long as you're working hard at it.

Gah (as others have already mentioned).

taso42

I dunno, I heard the body can't burn calories in the recumbent position.

killagb

I dunno, I heard the body can't burn calories in the recumbent position.

Yeah, once you recumb, it's done.

Hellbent_Heidi

Yeah, I've got one, and also use on at the gym. Eventually you'll need to mix things up though...your body gets used to a certain type of cardio and it becomes less effective, so its a good start, but you will want to add some other things into your routine, like walking/running, or maybe some DVD aerobics (I'm guessing you're planning to work out at home and not join a gym right now?)

CorinthiaB

I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience losing weight using a recumbent bike for exercise alone?

For the last week I have used mine 4 days a week, doing about 10 miles per day, and I want to continue with this routine. I am wanting to lose ideally about 60 pounds eventually. I aim to strictly stick to my daily caloric limit also of course too. I hope this will be enough!

Any info and personal experiences with doing this?

I burned 289 calories this morning for a 30 minute ride. It burns calories so I don't see why you won't lose from riding the bike. My goal is to bill up to 1 hour.

yummy♥

I dunno, I heard the body can't burn calories in the recumbent position.

just another reason to include a variety of positions in your workout

My1985Freckles

Yeah, I've got one, and also use on at the gym. Eventually you'll need to mix things up though...your body gets used to a certain type of cardio and it becomes less effective, so its a good start, but you will want to add some other things into your routine, like walking/running, or maybe some DVD aerobics (I'm guessing you're planning to work out at home and not join a gym right now?)

Agreed!.... You can easily mix it up on the bike by doing HIIT (High-Intensity-Interval-Training)... Max out for 30 seconds and recover 90 seconds.... I do this on the elliptical. Gives an amazing burn! I started doing this because I've hit a plateau. Hoping I'll be off it by the end of the week. :-)

killagb

I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience losing weight using a recumbent bike for exercise alone?

For the last week I have used mine 4 days a week, doing about 10 miles per day, and I want to continue with this routine. I am wanting to lose ideally about 60 pounds eventually. I aim to strictly stick to my daily caloric limit also of course too. I hope this will be enough!

Any info and personal experiences with doing this?

I burned 289 calories this morning for a 30 minute ride. It burns calories so I don't see why you won't lose from riding the bike. My goal is to bill up to 1 hour.

How much are you billing per hour? That would be awesome to bill for the time I run.

Gigi_licious

I've heard that if you burn calories and eat a deficit then you will lose weight. Although, I'm not sure if the calories burned by sweating your *kitten* off peddaling for 10miles would count or not.

jayliospecky

I think what you're asking is will this be an intense enough exercise? I would say yes, but you have to be a little more careful not to get lazy about it. If you can adjust resistance to make it tougher, do that. And try not to zone out mentally if you have the tv on (I know how it is, I have a recumbent, too). The advantage for me is that my back does not get nearly as sore as on an upright bike, and it's a nice change from the treadmill (when it's not nice enough to go outside, as we have loooong winters here). My recumbent has a heart rate monitor, so that helps me keep my intensity up. If I think I haven't been biking intensely enough on mine, I often just increase the duration and go for some extra minutes. Calories burned is what you're going for, and a recumbent is better than sitting on the couch any day. I say any exercise is better than nothing.

TDGee

Make sure you wear a helmet, because the weight you lose shouldn't be your brains splattered all over the ground. And bright clothing, people in cars tend to gawk more at recumbent cyclists and they are probably busy texting so you want to be as visible as possible.
But have fun! :flowerforyou:

sinbadnz

I've been using my Schwinn recumbent more than anything else for exercise since January 1, 2011 and I've lost 120 pounds, as of this week.

That's the kind of info I was after, personal experiences doing this. Thanks for sharing! That's good motivation for me, 120 pounds is awesome!

I am a member at a gym too, I just find it more convenient (and admittedly much less intimidating) working out at home. I think i'll try to push myself to go to the gym at least once a week though, and try and increase the frequency as I get more fit and confident.

krithsai

You need to add weight training to your schedule. Cardio alone is not the way to achieving a healthy weight and a healthy body composition(more muscle than fat). Obviously, that is because weight training builds muscle. The more muscle mass you have, the better your metabolism is and hence, you burn more fat. Even more important is the fact tht weight loss almost definitely implies muscle loss and unless you are weight training, you are going to end up being "thin fat" which means that although your weight/BMI etc might be under control, you have more fat than muscle and that is never a good thing. I circuit train 50% of the time...this keeps my heart rate elevated(cardio) and builds strength. The other 50% I dedicate to the cardio machines.

TheGlen

killagb,

Thanks for your informative responses. Your condescending sarcasm and ability to quickly point out typing mistakes ("bill", instead of "build") makes everyone feel welcome, confident, and overall just thankful to have been blessed with your presence.

Keep doing whatever makes you feel good about yourself.

Hellbent_Heidi

I've been using my Schwinn recumbent more than anything else for exercise since January 1, 2011 and I've lost 120 pounds, as of this week.

That's the kind of info I was after, personal experiences doing this. Thanks for sharing! That's good motivation for me, 120 pounds is awesome!

I am a member at a gym too, I just find it more convenient (and admittedly much less intimidating) working out at home. I think i'll try to push myself to go to the gym at least once a week though, and try and increase the frequency as I get more fit and confident.

I hope you can let go of the "intimidated by the gym" mentality. There are plenty of unfit people there who are much larger than you, and most people aren't going to judge you at the gym when you're obviously there to improve your health! I think that's a misconception a lot of people have that everyone at the gym is skinny, mean and just waiting to point and laugh!

killagb

killagb,

Thanks for your informative responses. Your condescending sarcasm and ability to quickly point out typing mistakes ("bill", instead of "build") makes everyone feel welcome, confident, and overall just thankful to have been blessed with your presence.

Keep doing whatever makes you feel good about yourself.

Will do! Thanks for the kind words! I feel inspired to keep it up!

jayliospecky

Make sure you wear a helmet, because the weight you lose shouldn't be your brains splattered all over the ground. And bright clothing, people in cars tend to gawk more at recumbent cyclists and they are probably busy texting so you want to be as visible as possible.
But have fun! :flowerforyou:

**picturing the OP carefully putting on a helmet and bright clothing on her stationary recumbent bike, so as not to get creamed by people in cars**

I automatically assumed she was talking about a stationary bike, but if I'm wrong, my post makes no sense, either.

**literally giggling so hard I have tears in my eyes**

mrimike

Don't worry about the trolls with the smart *kitten* comments that live on these message boards. The recumbant bike is a great way to burn calories and you'll be fine. Just stick with it and work hard.

KavemanKarg

Exercise is a wonderful thing.

You can choose any one you want, and the results will echo the effort you put into it.

If you sit and peddle like grandma, then you will get a body like gramma.

If you sit and peddle like Lance Armstrong...

Cheers,

VeganGal84

I'm a HUGE fan of the recumbant bike. Mine is awesome, and I use it most days, and yes I've lost weight.

It's like any exercise: You'll get out of it what you put into it. I put a LOT of effort into my recumbant bike rides.

CorinthiaB

I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience losing weight using a recumbent bike for exercise alone?

For the last week I have used mine 4 days a week, doing about 10 miles per day, and I want to continue with this routine. I am wanting to lose ideally about 60 pounds eventually. I aim to strictly stick to my daily caloric limit also of course too. I hope this will be enough!

Any info and personal experiences with doing this?

I burned 289 calories this morning for a 30 minute ride. It burns calories so I don't see why you won't lose from riding the bike. My goal is to bill up to 1 hour.

How much are you billing per hour? That would be awesome to bill for the time I run.

Good one! I meant to type build! Damn Damn Damn

jayliospecky

I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience losing weight using a recumbent bike for exercise alone?

For the last week I have used mine 4 days a week, doing about 10 miles per day, and I want to continue with this routine. I am wanting to lose ideally about 60 pounds eventually. I aim to strictly stick to my daily caloric limit also of course too. I hope this will be enough!

Any info and personal experiences with doing this?

I burned 289 calories this morning for a 30 minute ride. It burns calories so I don't see why you won't lose from riding the bike. My goal is to bill up to 1 hour.

How much are you billing per hour? That would be awesome to bill for the time I run.

Good one! I meant to type build! Damn Damn Damn

See, I agree this is funny. There was a typo, and it made for a cute joke. The person who committed the typo got it. I got it. Not everything is meant as an insult. We don't need to assume a person is being mean.

tigersword

Don't worry about the trolls with the smart *kitten* comments that live on these message boards. The recumbant bike is a great way to burn calories and you'll be fine. Just stick with it and work hard.

Since when is having a sense of humor, "trolling?"

mandasimba

I saw a man sleeping on one the other day at the gym, I imagine he wasn't burning too many calories


If you enjoy the bike, keep at it! You are probably more likely to stick to a physical activity that you enjoy than try and suffer through one you don't.

TheGlen

Four times a week seems like a great start, keep it up.

I thought it would be a good idea to try to find a mini recumbent bike that would fit under my desk at work ( http://goo.gl/91TwW ). Unfortunately, there wasn't quite enough clearance for my knees (I needed the desk to be about 1" higher).

Don't worry about the trolls with the smart *kitten* comments that live on these message boards. The recumbant bike is a great way to burn calories and you'll be fine. Just stick with it and work hard.

Since when is having a sense of humor, "trolling?"

I guess what bothers me is when you see the same few people making "funny" comments, as opposed to saying anything useful. When you have a person who has only posted a few times (as the OP), and you start making smart *kitten* remarks on their post to *try* to be funny or "cool", I just don't feel that it creates a very welcoming environment for that user (or other new users) or encourages future posts/involvement.

I'm sure that many of the people on here who have struggled with their weight throughout their lives have known more than enough "funny guys", making comments to be cool.

Why not be a funny/cool guy in the "Chit-chat, fun, and games" board, and stop pestering people who are actually interested in getting an informative answer?

This particular user has almost 1,800 posts/responses since July, and I've yet to see any that haven't been for the sole purpose of stirring the pot or being "funny" at the expense of other people. As I said to him, keep it going if that's what it takes to make you feel better about yourself. In the end, it doesn't really matter how much weight you lose or how good of shape you get into if you are going to be ugly on the inside.

mrimike

Four times a week seems like a great start, keep it up.

I thought it would be a good idea to try to find a mini recumbent bike that would fit under my desk at work ( http://goo.gl/91TwW ). Unfortunately, there wasn't quite enough clearance for my knees (I needed the desk to be about 1" higher).

Don't worry about the trolls with the smart *kitten* comments that live on these message boards. The recumbant bike is a great way to burn calories and you'll be fine. Just stick with it and work hard.

Since when is having a sense of humor, "trolling?"

I guess what bothers me is when you see the same few people making "funny" comments, as opposed to saying anything useful. When you have a person who has only posted a few times (as the OP), and you start making smart *kitten* remarks on their post to *try* to be funny or "cool", I just don't feel that it creates a very welcoming environment for that user (or other new users) or encourages future posts/involvement.

I'm sure that many of the people on here who have struggled with their weight throughout their lives have known more than enough "funny guys", making comments to be cool.

Why not be a funny/cool guy in the "Chit-chat, fun, and games" board, and stop pestering people who are actually interested in getting an informative answer?

This particular user has almost 1,800 posts/responses since July, and I've yet to see any that haven't been for the sole purpose of stirring the pot or being "funny" at the expense of other people. As I said to him, keep it going if that's what it takes to make you feel better about yourself. In the end, it doesn't really matter how much weight you lose or how good of shape you get into if you are going to be ugly on the inside.

Thank you for responding to that. You almost took the words right out of my mouth...........minus a few heated ones:)

killagb

Four times a week seems like a great start, keep it up.

I thought it would be a good idea to try to find a mini recumbent bike that would fit under my desk at work ( http://goo.gl/91TwW ). Unfortunately, there wasn't quite enough clearance for my knees (I needed the desk to be about 1" higher).

Don't worry about the trolls with the smart *kitten* comments that live on these message boards. The recumbant bike is a great way to burn calories and you'll be fine. Just stick with it and work hard.

Since when is having a sense of humor, "trolling?"

I guess what bothers me is when you see the same few people making "funny" comments, as opposed to saying anything useful. When you have a person who has only posted a few times (as the OP), and you start making smart *kitten* remarks on their post to *try* to be funny or "cool", I just don't feel that it creates a very welcoming environment for that user (or other new users) or encourages future posts/involvement.

I'm sure that many of the people on here who have struggled with their weight throughout their lives have known more than enough "funny guys", making comments to be cool.

Why not be a funny/cool guy in the "Chit-chat, fun, and games" board, and stop pestering people who are actually interested in getting an informative answer?

This particular user has almost 1,800 posts/responses since July, and I've yet to see any that haven't been for the sole purpose of stirring the pot or being "funny" at the expense of other people. As I said to him, keep it going if that's what it takes to make you feel better about yourself. In the end, it doesn't really matter how much weight you lose or how good of shape you get into if you are going to be ugly on the inside.

Yes, I never help, ever, do I? Please.