Cycling exercise is one of the most efficient forms of fitness that can be done at home. It is known to burn body fat and calories. This is what we all want. Lose weight in the most convenient way, even within the spaces of our home. Cycling exercises is a good way to stimulate your lungs, heart, and muscles without overdoing an exercise. Besides, it is a fitness routine where people of all ages are welcome to try.
Coming by this post only means you’re curious about how to put your stationary cycle to good use. In this article, we will help you identify the best exercise workout plan based on your experience. There is a particular workout plan for every goal you want to achieve. Not all are designated for weight loss. They vary depending on your fitness goal, whether if it is for bodybuilding, weight loss, weight gain, and other fitness-related programs.
4 Benefits of Indoor Cycling
You might be wondering by now why do you need to know the best exercise bike workout plans for you. Each workout plan serves different purposes. If you are delivering a workout plan that doesn’t suit your goal, working out is useless. To help you further understand, here are three benefits of cycling that will convince you why it’s a good indoor workout.
Improves Body Posture
Indoor cycling has the ability to improve your body posture without you knowing it. The curl up position you make while biking improves your upper and lower body coordination. The number of minutes or hours you devote to cycling help in making your lower back sturdy. This is actually a training ground to keep your body straight as you stand up even as you sit down.
Stimulates Cardiovascular Health
Indoor cycling is the most efficient exercise you can do within your home. It helps in strengthening your cardiovascular system involving both your heart and lungs. The fitter your body becomes, the more you perform efficiently. Cycling helps in improving the blood flow throughout your body, which is important if you want to keep and be fit. The effects are gradual, but you will eventually see results about how they improve your heart and lungs that stimulate your level of fitness.
Burns Fat
Even if indoor cycling is considered a low-impact workout, it is proven to burn fat and calories. It may not show immediately, but you can already notice the change in your body measurements. But of course, you have to incorporate your program with a balanced diet as well to further achieve your body goals.
What are the Best Exercise Workout Plans?
There are numerous exercise bike workout plans that you can see on the internet. But which one best suit your workout program? Which workout plan will help deliver noticeable results? We will be introducing four cycling workout plans depending on your fitness level. This will help you identify which ones you can and cannot handle. Of course, we have to consider your workout experience as well as your current body weight. Read on so you can further understand each of the workout plans.
Beginner’s Training
The beginner’s training best fits people from fitness levels. Bike workouts are mostly aerobic, wherein the goal is to start at a steady and builds up to moderate intensity. The intervals in between are made challenging to help your body in adjusting and training the movements that will burn calories and stimulate fitness.
For three to five rounds, start the workout with a warm-up to loosen up the muscles before building intensity. Finish the rounds in about six to ten minutes before proceeding to the light workout. Your RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion is where your rest periods will depend on. It usually comes on a scale from one to ten where one is the easiest and ten pulling off maximum effort. It would be best to start with three to five rounds that will take up to 45 minutes inclusive of rests. You can divide it into five parts. Eight minutes per part inclusive with two to three minutes rest.
Cardio and Strength Training
Cardio and strength training is a cycling workout of moderate difficulty. This usually takes 45 minutes up to an hour wherein the routine helps in strengthening three key elements, which are leg strength, pedal stroke, and cardiovascular fitness.
Just like any other workout, it should start with a 10-minute warm-up before proceeding to the cycling itself. This is the part where you have to focus on delivering each skill with the right posture and right intensity.
Deliver each skill while accomplishing the 3-minute work sets. The main workout should be repeated for three to five rounds with rests in between. Finish each round with a five-minute break. The number of minutes for the break depends on the number of minutes at work.
Weight Loss Training
Just by indoor cycling, you can burn more than 700 calories in an hour, depending on the intensity of the workout. This workout training plan is actually helpful for those who want to lose weight, body fat, and calories. It is a good option to incorporate with your fitness program.
For the weight loss training, you have to start with a low-intensity warm-up for 10 to 15 minutes to build up your pacing. Right after, deliver low-intensity pedals for 8 to 10 minutes. After taking a one-minute break, you can now proceed to medium intensity for 8 to 10 minutes. As your body builds the pacing, switch alternately between low-intensity and medium intensity for the next 30 to 45 minutes. Before ending the workout, do not stop pedaling suddenly. Pedal at a low-intensity for the next 5 minutes.
High-Intensity Training
For the professional bikers, high-intensity workout plans will serve you best. Because of their experience, they can manage to cycle for over an hour. But the routines associated with this training program only require a 60-minute cycling workout. Start the workout with a warm-up composed of different routines and mobility drills. For seven sets in total, repeat 30-second work periods with 50-second rest intervals.
The rest periods help in recovering between routines. It builds back the pacing of the initial intensity. After the recovery, pedal moderate-intensity for 20 minutes to stimulate your strength and endurance. Do not focus on sweating and straining. Focus on your breathing and consider it as a meditation. This way, you get to motivate yourself about the program you chose.
Conclusion
By now, you already have an idea of the different bike workout plans depending on the fitness level. A takeaway that would help you the most in training is to work out at your own pacing. Do not overdo cycling with the objective of losing weight in just a couple of days. Your mindset or perspective matters the most in achieving your desired fitness level. Besides, once it becomes a routine, you wouldn’t think of bike exercises at home as a workout but as a hobby.
Allow your body to meditate while you cycle. This will not just help with boosting your motivation but with training your breathing patterns as well. Choose a workout plan that you think you can handle and not a workout plan you think would expedite the process. Enjoy as you ride. Don’t think that working out with exercise bikes bring you stress.
