Introduction to the Three Types of Exercise Bikes
Buying an exercise bike is not something that we do every day therefore should be looked into properly. The first question you should ask yourself is why are you buying the bike? For many people, buying an fitness bike is the first step in taking control of their own health and fitness for others however they may believe that simply buying the exercise bike is enough. Once you have decided on why you want the bike for your home you then have to decide on what type would be best for your current available space and for the amount exercise you will be doing on the bike.
Let’s begin by saying that an exercise bike is a stationary bike mainly used indoors, although the warmer climes during summer periods they can be used outdoors as well, just don’t expect to travel very far. In general they can look similar to a normal two wheeled variety of bike with only a few main differences. The first difference you will notice is often there will be no rear wheel (or front wheel for that matter) and that since the bike never travels anywhere there will be no brakes. But of course that is if you are looking at an upright exercise bike.
Modern day fitness bikes have come on somewhat since the traditional up-right first came on the scene. Today we have recumbent exercise bikes which allow you sit on the bike like a chair with your feet extended out in front of you.
Although extremely popular in all the gymnasiums and health clubs they are less popular for those interested in home exercise. This is due to their large and cumbersome size and only those with a dedicated space for home workouts finding a use for the recumbent exercise bikes.
At the opposite end of the spectrum we have mini exercise bike. These small compact items often come easily foldable to increase the portability. These small bikes can be used on the floor and on a table allowing you to not only obtain a cardiovascular workout but an upper body muscular workout as well. It is however their small lightweight and compact design of the mini bike that has led to some people discrediting them as a gimmick. Many people believe they do not provide sufficient resistance to enable a proper muscular or cardiovascular workout and in fact they are just a small toy.
Somewhere in between the portability and light weight mini bike the large cumbersome generally fixed in one place recumbent bike we have the upright bike. These bikes have greatly increased in popularity and become the number one home exercise machine along with the treadmill. They are now light weight, foldable and portable as well as being available in many different budget brackets making them affordable to just about everyone.
Along with the new materials that help the portability and light wait off the upright exercise bike new computer technology has been integrated into even the most reasonably priced machine. One word of caution here however must be to try and not be overly impressed by the ability of the computer on the bike to such an extent that you forget to check out the other more important features.
More information on the recumbent stationary bike like the Weslo exercise bike can be found at Darren’s blog exercise bike guide
- Exercise Bikes For Weight Loss
- Cardio Training With Yukon Fitness Equipment
- Elliptical Exercise Equipment – An Overview
- Increase Your Workout With an Exercise Ball
- Here's How I Used Exercise For Preventing Panic Attacks – Part I
- Choosing the Right Dumbells For Your Home Gym
- Rebounding Your Way to Better Health
- Lose Arm Fat Through Exercise!
- The Balance between Health and Nutrition, and Exercise
- Dramatically Improve Your Weight Loss With Exercise
