stationary bike

tammyquinnlmt
tammyquinnlmt Posts: 680 Member
edited September 26 in Fitness and Exercise
Hey everyone,
I just recently acquired a stationary bike and I'm trying to use it 3x's per week. At my current fitness level (yeah right, i'm fit LOL), I am doing 30 minutes on it. This is what my routine looks like:
5 minutes on setting 2 warm up
1 minute on 3 to push the heart rate up
4 minutes on 2
1 minute on 3
4 minutes on 1
1 minute on 3
4 minutes on 2
1 minute on 3
4 minutes on 1
1 minute on 3
1 minute on 1 slow movement cool down.

My ultimate goal is to start at 4 and push my minutes on 8 (highest setting)

My question is this: Is it an effective workout and how long can I expect to realisticly expect to get to that highest setting?

Replies

  • imichabod
    imichabod Posts: 7
    Looks good. I hope you are using a heart rate monitor.
    Just FYI.
    220 minus your age is the Max Heart rate.
  • tammyquinnlmt
    tammyquinnlmt Posts: 680 Member
    no heart rate monitor yet..the bike is suppose to do it but it seems to be broken...
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
    Stationary bikes primarily work your legs and don't burn that many calories. You'll get nice definition in your leg muscles, but they can bulk up. You might want to use a machine that gives you a more full body work out like an elliptical or arc trainer that has moving handles. Even the treadmill is better than a bike because it makes you use your ab and back muscles and you can use your arms while you walk.

    My trainer said using the bike is pretty useless, I've only used it when I had a cough and couldn't use the other machines. I didn't get my heart rate up and I didn't start breathing hard which is why I could use it and not have coughing fits.
  • allen83
    allen83 Posts: 17
    I've been using a stationary bike for 3 months as my only source of cardiovascular exercise and I've managed to lose 34 pounds. I basically cycle at a constant rate of 15mph for 60 - 80 minutes 5 times a week and by the end of that I'm totally drenched in sweat and my heart rate is way up.
  • tammyquinnlmt
    tammyquinnlmt Posts: 680 Member
    I am also walking 2 to 3 times per week and using resistance band 2 to 3 times per week for upper body. Unfortunately, my house is tiny and don't have room for huge equipment and i live in a tiny town with no gym and with current gas prices driving 30 minutes to the nearest gym just isn't feasable. I'm hoping to get something that will do full body workout soon though :)
  • Renonvme
    Renonvme Posts: 58 Member
    I just finished a stationary bike workout at a level 7. My heart rate was up to 147 and I burned at least 290 calories in 50 minutes. It is a great, low impact workout!
  • Cortx
    Cortx Posts: 103 Member
    i cant stand when people use all kind of "rules" and say something is useless. no kind of exercise is useless. and especially riding a bike everyday whether its stationary or outside. its very good exercise. also when people say its useless if u dont get your heart rate up to certain levels. nothing is useless and yes u still burn calories. those rules pertain to probably someone who is body builder mode already, not someone tryint to actually lose weight.
  • Cortx
    Cortx Posts: 103 Member
    oh and for 60 minutes i burn 735 calories and it is a very very good workout
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