Is exercise cycle good for weight loss?

Is the exercise cycle good for weight loss? As an Author, I, Samarjit, personally love to train legs. For that, cycling does a decent job. And it can aid in losing fat too. When utilized as a cardio workout, it becomes a potent tool for shedding those extra pounds. This low-impact exercise can be done from the comfort of your home, eliminating the need to go outdoors. Riding the exercise cycle can torch a significant number of calories, with the potential to burn over 600 calories in just an hour of intense cycling.

Plus, its low impact nature makes it ideal for those with weak joints, ensuring a safe workout. It offers convenience and time-efficiency, making home workouts a breeze. Incorporating it into high-intensity interval training (HIIT) can elevate your heart rate and drive overall fat loss. Consistently using the exercise cycle also contributes to lower body strength development and overall fitness. With the ability to adjust resistance levels, you can tailor your workouts to your preferences, adding versatility to your weight loss journey.

However, effective weight loss with an exercise cycle goes hand in hand with a proper diet plan and consistent exercise. Some models, particularly air bikes, can produce sound during workouts. Additionally, you’ll need ample space (approximately 4 feet long and 2 feet wide) to accommodate an exercise cycle, and relying solely on it for workouts may lead to a feeling of repetitiveness.

Ideally, any cardio workout with low caloric diet is good for weight loss. And exercise cycle as cardio workout with less joint impact is really great for weight loss. You do not even have to leave your house for this!

Why gym cycles are good for weight loss

TLDR: If you want to lose weight from your home with exercise that is low impact, then exercise cycle or gym cycles are good for weight loss.

Check the full list of pros of exercise bikes for weight loss here!

How many calories will I burn on an exercise bike?

As per a study done by Harvard University, a 70.3 kg person can burn around 260 calories by riding a gym cycle for 30 minutes. But if you do more intense workouts with the cycle, then you might even burn 391 calories. Thus, as per the study, you might be able to burn over 600 calories if you train for 1 hour with the exercise cycle.

Pros of exercise bikes for Weight Loss

There are a few great pros for working out at home for weight loss using an exercise bike. And the top most benefit is the low impact yet good intense cardio to lose weight.

And this will also improve your stamina as well.

Top Freehand exercise for weight loss

Here are the benefits of exercise cycle when it comes to weight loss.

Workout from Home

Most effective or best weight loss exercise programs at home can be done using simple equipments.

And the gym cycle allows you to work out easily from home. No tension of pollution. Cars etc. but still you can scale up and do fast weight loss exercise at home.

Since you are riding an exercise bike at home, you can use the exercise bike to improve your cardiac fitness as well. And due to online sellers owning exercise bike is great.

And another main feature, I feel that, you will need less time to start and do your weight loss workout. Since you are not going to gym or outside, you do not need any preparation time, so you will save time as well.

Does cycling reduce buttocks?

LOW IMPACT Workout

Exercise bike is ideal for those who are trying to lose weight indoor. And gym cycles are more awesome to those who have weak joints or painful knees. Cycling is a low impact workout so your knees, ankles and other joints are safe. 

You can also adjust the exercise bike weight resistance to reap the maximum benefits. And even when you increase the resistance, the overall effect of that on your joint is low. But you should listen to your body and tune the resistance as needed.

This is great for obese and senior citizens who might have joint issues.

Easy CARDIO Workout

No need to burpees, clean and press or other compound and complex movements to do cardio workouts. But that does not mean those mentioned exercises are bad, but not all of are fit enough to do it.

Here comes the home exercise bike, it is a very easy way to do cardio exercise to lose weight. Although you can not burn belly fat since you can not target body parts to lose weight, but intensity interval training with exercise cycle will help your heart rate up and lose fat from all over your body.

LOWER BODY Strength development

A gym cycle allows you to do HIIT style high-intensity training and with a few fast-paced body weight exercises thrown in between you can really push your body to the limit.

If you are truly interested in developing lower body strength, then you should focus on buying a spin bike. These costly gym cycles have heavier flywheels that can give you strong leg if you train regularly.

It will also help gain fitness for weight loss at home.

Adjustable Resistance

All exercise cycles will have an adjustable flywheel to adjust the resistance for your workouts. You can do lower intensity exercise, moderate intensity exercise or high intensity exercise at your will.

Note: Magnetic resistance bikes are silenter than air bikes.

And if even till now if you are wondering if cycling effective for weight loss?

Then I can only tell you that yes, cycling is effective for weight loss. Either you do it with outdoor exercise cycles or do with gym cycles, you will reap the results with good diet.

Cons of Exercise cycle for weight loss

You will need a proper diet plan and exercise for weight loss to see the benefits of using exercise cycle for weight loss. But this is not a shortcoming of exercise cycles.

Sound: All exercise cycles will make sound. Especially air bikes. Magnetic bikes are most silent.

Size: Most exercise cycles do not make much size, but still you will need at least 4 feet long and 2 feet wide space to accommodate a cycle.

Boring: Only working out with exercise cycle will make the workout sessions boring.

But if you are wondering if is biking good for weight loss then yes it is despite the cons that it might have.

Exercise for weight loss at home

Best home exercise equipment to lose weight will be full body workouts like burpees, squats. But you have to do them carefully so that you do not injure joints.

For seniors, walking and if possible climbing stairs might work as well too. And if you have a swimming pool or a pond, then swimming is a good exercise to lose weight. 

And squat or deadlift could be one of the best weight workout for weight loss. These will develop good muscles too. And to keep those muscles, you will burn more calories in the long run as well.

Best cycling exercise for weight loss

Here is one of the best bike exercise for weight loss – 

• Warm up with light resistance for 5-10 minutes until you start to sweat. Always to warm up before you start your workout and stretch once you are done – this is one of the great tips on weight loss and exercise that I have learned.
• Once you have done your warm-up, get off the gym cycle and do somebody weight squats, push-ups and knees to the chest.

Do not only do peddling, it will quickly get boring. This is another exercise tips for weight loss at home that I can share.

• Hop on your cycle and raise the intensity and go full beast mode with the cycling. The more intense you are, the more you will burn the fat. And stronger you will become.
• Take breaks to catch your breaks and repeat the squats and push-ups.
• Run this workout series for 1-3 times for best weight loss effects.
• If you still feel you have more left in your tank, then I would suggest you to start weight training as well. Here are some information on how to set up your home gym in India.

With these workout tips with stationary bike / exercise bikes, you will have an edge when working out for weight loss.

High intensity training with cycling, full body workouts and low calorie diet will make you lose fat quickly.

Below are more generic tips on how to get successful with your weight loss journey with an fitness bike.

How to use exercise bikes for weight loss

Here are some weight loss tips for women and men who want to do exercise cycle workouts to lose weight.

These are applicable for any fitness bike or for stationary bikes to burn calories easily. I hope this stationary bike workout tips will help you burn calories, burn fat weight loss plan.

BE CONSISTENT

The idea is to be part of a workout routine to get shredded. You have to be consistent and have to persevere the urge to not do workouts. The more regular you are with your workout routine, more you will lose weight and increase your stamina.

Increase RESISTANCE

Rather than doing low intensity workouts, you should vary your workouts. For that, you must increase the resistance of your cycle. Higher the resistance, higher the effort you have to put in to do move the paddle.

And more effort means more energy which will be the fat, so you will lose fat quickly.

LISS

LISS stands for low-intensity steady-state cardio. This usually includes cycling, swimming etc. for 45-60 minutes. Unlike HIIT this LISS method of workout allows to keep a steady heart rate. Although this is not as good as HIIT when it comes to calorie burning, but still you will need LISS for the days you do not feel good.

LISS is also good for those people who have joint pain as well/

HIIT Training

HIIT training is best when it comes to lose body fat. HIIT training shifts your body from aerobic state when you taking oxygen in the anaerobic mode where you are using your bodies stored energy to perform. 

This allows you to shed of fats much faster since this allows little rest and the overall workout is very intense.

Overall, gym cycles are good aerobic exercise for weight loss.

Vary Pace and Difficulty

Over training at fast pace will break down your muscles in the long run, for that you should vary your pace and workout intensity. This will keep challenging your brain, and you will improve with overall fitness and weight loss goals.

Do Resistance Training

Only exercise cycle workouts will get you to a limit, but adding some weight training or other strength training. This will help you built your body better with adding muscles. And to keep the muscles, your body will burn more calories even when you are resting. 

More calories you will burn, so you will reach your weight loss goals faster. And it is a no-brainer that the more exercises for weight loss you do, you will reach your goals faster.

Diet

And to maximize all the efforts, you should get these –

• Good foods for weight loss
• Good fats for weight loss

Without a diet, you will only burn calories, but your diet should not replenish them completely. Otherwise, you will not lose fat and stay the same. Thus, with your stationary bike workout combined with the effect of calorie deficit, you will be burning calories and not getting them at all.

Types of Fitness bikes

There are few exercise bikes that are available in India, here are the best exercise cycles in India that you can buy.

And if you want to improve your leg muscles, then you cam look into spinning bikes as well.

But all stationary bikes have some common elements like a resistnace knob, padels, handles and seat but due to their working mechanism there are few stationary bikes that you should look for.

UPRIGHT bike

Upright cucles does not have back seat to lean on. These exercise bikes can be used while sitting or even standing on the cycle while you do workout. These are good for people who want to do high intensity traning.

And high intensity traning results in higher burning calories.

RECUMBENT bikes

Recumbent exercise cycles have a back support. This is great for senior citizens who have back problems. These are called recumbent bikes since the back support allows you to sit upright and paddle. These exercise bikes have wider seat and good for balancing.

Magnetic gym cycles

Magnetic gym cycles can be upright or recumbent. The magnetic feature is in the resistance feature. The resistance of a magnetic flywheel is easily adjustable and is silent while working out.

This magnetic flywheel in exercise bikes is great for smooth workouts and low noise operation.

Air bikes

Air bikes have fan in front of them and when you paddle it will create resistance by turning the fan. This will also create a strong breeze. These cycles are good for gym workout but for home these could be very noisy if you have old people and children.

Cross trainers 

There are few exercise models which have moving handles, you can run the bike and also move the arms to do a full body workout. This is more intense htan regular cycling and might help you tone your upperbody and burn more fat.

If you use cross trainers for daily exercise for weight loss then you will be slimmer in no time.

• Decathlon cross trainer review

Maintain Proper form

Always maintain a proper form while you are doing cycling. For example, you should not lean too foward or too backward. For a short period of time you could lean forwardwhen speeding up your gym cycle.

But do not do it for prolonged period of time.

With a proper form you will have a better chance of burning calories while you do your stationary bike workout.

Seat Height Adjustment

You should be able to reach the paddle and the floor easily while sitting on the gym cycle. So you should buy gym cycle that has adjustable seat height. In those models you can adjust the seat as per your height.

Also check if your height is suitable for the gym cycle that you want to buy.

Seat Position Adjustment

Seat position adjustment allows you to adjust the seat by moving it forward or backward to make your workout session comfortable. Otherwise, you will feel extra sore with your weight loss cycle machine, which is you will not need.

Adjust Pedals and Straps

You do not want to get hit by the pedal, so a pedal strap is a much-needed addition to your gym cycle while workout out to lose weight. I have got hit once and then the biking for weight loss experience turns into a painful session.

Also, pedal adjustment is also vital to adjust the pedal as per your feet.

Adjustable Handlebars

As per your height, your seat height and handlebar height should be changed. Otherwise you would have to lean back or lean forward. But with adjustable handlebars you can adjust them as per your hands.

Movable Handlebars

Some exercise bike for weight loss comes with movable handlebars, and this helps with working out the upper body as well. Since it becomes a full body workout, thus it is better than walking for weight loss as well.

 

FAQ

The Last Rep!

the exercise cycle undeniably proves to be a powerful ally in your weight loss journey. Its ability to facilitate calorie burn, provide a low-impact, convenient, and versatile cardio workout that can be performed from the comfort of your home is a true game-changer.

The exercise cycle’s adaptability allows users to tailor their routines, focusing on lower body strength development and promoting overall fitness. The incorporation of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into your cycling regimen elevates your heart rate, aiding in fat loss.

The consistent and disciplined use of this fitness equipment, coupled with proper diet planning, holds the key to achieving your weight loss goals.

However, it’s essential to acknowledge that while exercise cycles are excellent tools for weight loss, they come with their own set of drawbacks.

The need for a proper diet plan and consistent exercise cannot be overstated. Additionally, exercise cycles, particularly air bikes, can generate noise during workouts, which may disrupt your training experience.

Moreover, accommodating these machines within your living space requires a certain amount of room, typically around 4 feet by 2 feet. It’s essential to remember that relying solely on exercise cycling for your workouts might lead to feelings of repetition, so it’s beneficial to incorporate variety into your fitness routine for a well-rounded approach to weight loss.

Ref: Research paper on weight loss maintenance