Anya Hawkins's blog : Which Exercise Bike Is Right for Your Needs

An exercise bike can provide many health benefits, especially for those who are just getting started in exercising. They can provide you with an effective cardiovascular workout as well as burning off calories, which will help you lose weight. For anyone who has struggled with finding the perfect exercise bike for their home gym, here is a review of the bikes that are available on the market to help you decide which one may be right for you. The basic features of all bikes include an upright drive motor, resistance, pedals, and a comfortable seat, though each kind comes with its own unique features and benefits.

The classic exercise bike

These exercise bikes offer a total body workout and are often equipped with dual heart rate sensors, a hi-tech LCD display, and usually have a jack for connecting earphones. The classic upright exercise bike offers a low-impact workout and is great for people who may have trouble with their joints or back.

They usually have a sleek aluminium frame or a black powder coated metal frame, and they provide a smooth ride and are great for tight spaces due to their more compact size. Most of these bikes will also have a drinks holder for your water bottle so you can stay hydrated while you pedal.

Smart exercise bikes

Fitness trainers love these exercise bikes because they work just as well as a fitness monitor and an exercise bike and they have all these useful and practical features built in. Smart bikes come with many different features including unique performance capture systems that give you personalised feedback on your workout which are accessible from the bike’s control panel or an app.

The unique touch screen offers a multitude of workout modes so you can easily switch up your routine to challenge yourself. You can also set a goal and go as hard as you want to reach that goal, capturing data and insights as you go. These smart bike systems use advanced technology to ensure that you get a true feeling of your heart rate and performance over time. They too usually have a drinks holder and somewhere convenient to stash your caffeine energy gel packets.

Recumbent exercise bikes

The recumbent style bike lets you keep track of distance, pace, speed, heart rate, and other useful metrics, but gives you a much more comfortable riding position. Rather than being sat completely upright, the recumbent bike seat is more like a standard chair than an exercise bike saddle that you need to straddle to use correctly. The bikes can be fully adjusted in terms of distance between the seat, handlebars and pedals, which allows you to customise the bike to your own size requirements.

Elliptical bikes

If you prefer to exercise while sitting at your desk or standing, then the elliptical exercise bike will work for you. These are probably the simplest and cheapest type of exercise bike you can buy, and are made of a set of pedals with a resistance mechanism in a frame to keep the whole thing stable. They do not have a seat so they are perfect for using while sitting at your desk or while you are watching TV from your couch.

Some will have a console to display your workout stats and see how many calories you have burned during your workout. This will also tell you how long you have worked out. This type of fitness bike is great for improving balance and core strength. Cycling takes all of the major muscle groups and works them thoroughly.

Sports performance bikes

Sport spin bikes have been improved since they were introduced many years ago. Now they include more detailed performance data for professional athletes, are smaller, and are more convenient to use. Performance information is shown on a screen that is easy to read so you can measure your distance, heart rate, and speed at a glance. You can compete against other users or use a virtual pacer.

The best indoor cycle trainer bikes that you can buy are designed for both cardio and anaerobic fitness. There are recumbent, upright, and elliptical exercise systems to help you burn fat while toning your body. The systems are designed by fitness experts to give you maximum results and have been tested to ensure that they are safe and effective for use in the home gym.

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