Burn Fat In Just 20 Minutes With This Gym Equipment You Probably Have At Home
Who has time for long sessions at the gym? We show you how to make the most of that exercise bike to get back in shape
Many of us have the traditional exercise bike tucked away in the spare room gathering dust. And in the gym, it's seen as the easy option - just hop on and flick through your favourite mag while you pedal. But if you use it right, you can have a great short, sharp workout (I mean, have you ever seen a spin class?).
Dan Little, fitness expert and indoor cycling specialist, explains that the bike isn't just a terrific way to start your fitness journey, it's also great to maintain or improve your cardiovascular fitness.
"It's a low-impact piece of kit – ideal if you have any niggling injuries or need something easier on the body," he explains.
Ready for a more effective ride? Learn about a bike workout for every level below:
Maintain a cadence between 80-85 revolutions per minute (rpm), to slowly increase body temperature. For the next four sections, keep a steady cadence between 85-95 rpm. Select gears/levels based on your own RPE (Rate of Percevied Exertion. Only you can be the judge of this - an RPE of 10 means you are going FLAT OUT).
6 minutes - RPE 6-8
30 seconds - RPE 3-4
6 minutes - RPE 6-8 3
30 seconds - RPE 3-4
Maintain a cadence between 80-85rpm. Go up a gear/Level every 2 minutes.
The next section is a pyramid set, based on RPE and cadence. Be honest with yourself...
2 minutes -100 rpm/RPE 7
3 minutes - 90 rpm/RPE 8
4 minutes - 80rpm/RPE 9
3 minutes - 90rpm/RPE 8 2 minutes -100rpm/RPE 7
Starting with a cadence of 80 rpm, every minute, increase your RPM by 5. Next up are three blocks of varying intensity. For the 'on' segments, choose a gear that equates to an RPE of 8-10 and a cadence of 95-110rpm. We never said this was going to be easy...
BLOCK 1
4 minutes -8 x 20 seconds ON/10 seconds OFF
1 minute - Recovery
BLOCK 2
4 minutes - 4 x 45 seconds ON/15 seconds OFF
1 minute - Recovery
BLOCK 3
4 minutes - 3 x 60 seconds ON/20 seconds OFF
1 minute - Recovery
Interested? Time to hit the gym! If you need some advice on which bike to pick for your workout, check out these three different bikes and what they are best used for:
Biking gets brutal. Often used in CrossFit studios across the world, you have to coordinate both your upper body and lower body simultaneously on the assault as the fan the front of the bike provides the resistance.
Modern versions are often equipped with effective gearing systems, power meters and monitors. But they do run on a fixed pedal system where you can't freewheel and need to continually control the cadence, "Personally this is my top pick - it's as close to true cycling as anything else," says Dan.
Perfect for a warm-up. If you can't ride an upright bike, this is a nice replacement.
"There is a misconception that if you have lower-back problems, this is the bike to use. That's wrong. If you have a back issue, your initial set-up is wrong. Speak to your trainer," advises Dan.
Text: bauersyndication.com.au