Next to jogging, a stationary bike stand is the most efficient way to stay fit and get in the best shape of your life. If you plan on investing in a bike trainer stand, pay attention to the display screen – the best one to choose is the one that will provide you info on how many miles you have gone and how many calories you have burned. This way you will also be able to calculate how many calories you can intake in order to get the most from your exercising.
The challenge with a stationary bike stand is that you have to stay focused and train while being in one spot all the time (unlike when you go out and cycle, enjoying the scenery around you). You can overcome this problem and prevent boredom by bringing along an mp3 player and listen to music, or if you are at home you can watch TV and will finish your training in no time.
The recommended time for training on a stationary bike stand for indoor riding is 45-60 minutes, depending on your fitness goals, physical abilities and body shape. If you want to lose weight quickly, try riding a bike stand for a shorter amount of time but under a load (which will make turning pedals more challenging). Variations of this training are 60 minutes under lighter load.
Before you start training, eat a banana and make sure that you are equipped with a water bottle to stay hydrated at all times. On a training day you should avoid fats – concentrate on proteins to ensure energy for muscles and to promote the fat burning process.
How often should I use my stationary bike stand?
A stationary bike stand should be used at least 5 days a week. Don’t think that it would be a good idea to add 10-15 minutes to a single training and cut one training day. This will only lead to a higher risk of injury and muscle strain.
You can ride a indoor bike trainer as you would ride your bicycle outside, but there are certain tricks that will promote higher calorie burn. For example, you can ride standing up, which means you are practically running more than riding a bicycle, and this way your body will burn more calories. Equally, you can change the pedal turning pace as well as add load. For the first 20 minutes, cycle the most difficult stage and move toward the easier ones. Do this the entire week and then change the training the next week: cycling first the easier stage and then give your maximum for the last 5 minutes. Change of pace is an effective mode for preventing your muscles to get used to a certain routine and to keep them developing.
A stationary bike stand will definitely help you with weight loss and to develop stamina and durability, but this process will be successful only if you take care of your diet as well. As you have probably learned already, diet is 80% of your fitness goal success and you have to take both of the elements in the equation.
