What is the Best Recumbent Bike Workout For Beginners?

Because they are exceptionally comfortable and simple to use, recumbent bikes can be the perfect way for beginners to lose weight, achieve their fitness goals, or simply start a healthier lifestyle. However, the outcome of using this equipment largely depends on the intensity, duration, and speed at which you use it as well as your recovery time.

To make the most of your efforts, here is the best recumbent bike workout for beginners! It does not require too much from you but will surely help you get a fitter, healthier body!

Benefits of Using a Recumbent Bike

First, let us discuss why a recumbent bike is a nice piece of equipment that is great for everyone, especially beginners. Here are some of the reasons why:

• The seat is larger and provides more comfort for extended use
• The reclining position puts less pressure on the joints and allows the user to relax while pedaling
• It is convenient since you can have a recumbent bike at home and use it anytime
• It can be used by almost everyone including seniors, disabled individuals, those who are overweight, and even teens.
• It helps the user shed pounds and burn calories without ever leaving the comfort of your home or gym
• A recumbent bike provides a great, healthy pastime and recreational activity
• Most recumbent bikes have a variety of cool features including heart rate monitors, fitness statistics display monitor, a music dock for your iPod or MP3 player, desks, water bottle holders, program setting, and many more.

Recumbent Bike Interval Training

Interval training is a series of cardio workouts performed with short periods of high intensity bursts followed by less intense periods. With a recumbent bike, you can simply do this by increasing or decreasing the resistance and speed.

Essentially, you set the time intervals depending on your needs and physical capability but most people do a 1:1 ration of activity and rest. For beginners trying recumbent bike interval training, I suggest doing 1:2 ratio of activity to rest. Meaning, your recovery time is twice as long.

For example, perform 30 seconds of high intensity pedaling and then have a minute of rest. You can do this for as long as you can until your body gets used to it. Once you get a hang of it, increase your high intensity interval to a minute but keep the recovery period as is.

The Workout Routine

So now, here’s how to do a recumbent bike interval workout:

Warm Up

It’s never wise to jump into a workout routine without a proper warm up. This can lead to injuries, muscle strain, and overall less successful results. Do yourself a favor and do a five-minute stretching or warm up that will increase your heart rate, get your blood pumping, and loosen up your muscles.

Right after this, some people go straight to the interval training while some pedal at a low resistance and a steady moderate pace for another five minutes. I recommend the latter because this will get your leg muscles ready and help you get your rhythm on the bike. This also jumpstarts your stamina and breathing

To help you out, here’s a 5-minute warm up video that you can try before you ride: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWcHKbn8yiI

Actual Workout

The actual workout is pretty simple. All you have to do is to observe the proper form and get the intervals right to reap the best benefits.

1. Try to maintain a steady pace as you warm up, which will serve as your baseline pace.
2. Once you got into a steady pace, Start pedaling at 95% of your capability for half a minute. You can use a resistance that is one to four levels higher than your warm up. This is the peak of your training and you will be working harder than the baseline. The resistance should be bearable but still quite challenging as to make you work hard and sweat profusely while maintaining your breathing.

1. Reduce the speed and resistance for and keep pedaling for another 30 seconds. This is your rest or recovery period.
2. Bring the resistance and speed up and pedal to 85% of your capacity for half a minute followed by half a minute of recovery. Do not increase the peak to be harder than the previous one as it can have a negative impact to your body.
3. Alternate between the two settings, doing 30 seconds each for twenty minutes.
4. After twenty minutes, do a five-minute cool down session on your bike using the same speed and resistance as you did during your warm up. This should bring back your breathing to normal and get your pace to a more comfortable one, perhaps even less than your baseline.

If this routine starts to feel too easy and repetitive, increase the intervals by 30 seconds each until you are pedaling for 2 minutes for the activity and rest pace. Then, keep adding 5 minutes to the routine after around a week or two.

Conclusion:

So that is how you do the best recumbent bike workout for beginners! For best results, make sure to observe the proper form, track your progress, and pair your exercise with a balanced diet!

Did you learn something from this article? Tell me in the comment box below! Also, you can learn more about the best recumbent bikes out there by clicking here!