With the winter season fast approaching, trying to choose the best way to get regular cardio in your schedule isn’t as hard as you think.
Whether you make your current bike an indoor bike with the right accessories or purchase a permanent one, you have options to help you get in shape and help you lose weight.
How Many Miles On A Stationary Bike To Lose Weight?
If you want to lose weight daily by riding your stationary bike, you must ride at least five miles daily to lose 0.5 – 1lbs. This distance on the stationary bike allows you to get the appropriate amount of daily cardio and burn fat without putting too much stress on your body.
Will I Always Need To Do Five Miles?
As you build up your endurance over time with the stationary bike, you will notice that you are not as tired and can push yourself a little more. In most cases, you will find that you will need to do these five miles for at least a month.
This gives your body time to acclimate to the new exercise regimen and for your metabolism to adjust.
Once your weight loss starts to plateau, you will need to increase the number of miles. Your body will get used to the fixed amount of exercise and will need an additional stimulant to continue shedding weight. This also assumes your diet is constant.
How Often Should I Increase My Mileage?
Once your weight loss starts to slow down or even hits a plateau, you want to increase your mileage slowly.
In order to build your endurance, you can increase the mileage every two weeks on your stationary bike.
This gives your body time to adjust to the new mileage in time for you to increase it again. When you keep adding to it every two weeks, you prevent the ability of your body to maintain that new metabolism and move into a maintenance stage.
How Long Will It Take Me Each Day?
When riding the original five miles each day on your bike, you will take 1 – 1.5 hours to complete the five miles initially. This assumes a moderate pace, and you’re not going all out!
Over the next few weeks, you will find this gets easier, and your speed will increase with your endurance.
Interesting read – Can Indoor Cycling Help Improve My Running?
How Many Minutes Should I Ride?
It is recommended that adults who want to maintain their body weight have at least a half hour of cardio each day. If you are trying to lose weight with your stationary bike, you need to double that at least and make sure you do an hour of cardio a day.
When your five miles take less than an hour to complete, then this is another sign it is time to increase your miles so you can keep losing weight.
Do I Need To Do This Every Single Day?
If you want to lose weight with your stationary bike, you only need to do this routine five days a week. This gives you two days off to rest your body.
However, it cannot hurt you to push for a sixth day or even a seventh if you have the energy and the time.
Is A Stationary Bike Safe?
Once you have the correct saddle height set up, there should be minimal chance of injury to your knees or other parts of your body. The stationary bike allows you to manage your mileage and reduce the intimidation you may have from avid cyclists when out riding in public.
A stationary bike also allows you to ride it throughout the year without having a concern for weather conditions. Stationary bikes are used indoors, so you can bike at any time that works for you and every day.
Related article – Why Are Spinning Bike Seats So Uncomfortable?
Are There Other Benefits Than Just Losing Weight?
While you may be using the stationary bike to lose weight, you will start to notice the benefits below. This should help encourage you to keep going.
- Improve Posture
- Encourage more sleep
- Reduce anxiety and stress
- Enhances your immune system
Improve Posture
When riding a stationary bike, you must have a great posture to complete the miles. Over time, you will start to notice that you are holding your back straighter, and your posture will be tighter.
This will improve any lingering back pain that you once were experiencing and reduce fatigue throughout the day. Having good posture long-term can reduce issues you may have in your back or with your spine in the future.
Encourage More Sleep
Many folks who do not get enough exercise also do not get enough sleep. Other unhealthy factors in their environment, such as poor eating habits or back pain from poor posture, keep them from getting the sleep they need at night.
When you work out regularly, your body is more willing to accept and encourage sleep daily. You will rest better through the night and have more energy the following day. Those who suffer from insomnia find that exercise helps relax their muscles, and they are not as likely to stay awake for long periods as they have in the past.
Reduce Anxiety And Stress
One of the best things that exercise can do for you outside of helping you lose weight is to help rid your body of unhealthy stress and anxiety.
Anxiety will impact your sleep, increase the chances of poor eating choices, and make you feel bad physically and emotionally. Anxiety and stress have been known to impact cardio health negatively and encourage mental illnesses like depression.
When you exercise on your stationary bike, your body relaxes, which helps reduce anxiety and stress from building up.
Improve Your Immune System
In order to prevent sickness or keep symptoms from getting work, a steady workout regimen keeps your immune system healthy.
Exercise helps blood pump properly, and your white blood cells will be produced at a healthy rate. You will be healthier when you come into contact with viruses, bacteria, and other illnesses that can affect your body.
Regular cardio exercise allows your body to function properly and always keeps your immune guard ready.
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