How to Improve Your Cardio with a Stationary Bike

How to Improve Your Cardio with a Stationary Bike

Whether at home or the gym, stationary bikes are fitness equipment you can easily purchase for your home or almost always spot at the gym. Their compact body and easy usability make them an all-time favorite for nearly anyone looking to go into cardio workouts. 

Stationary bikes can be enormously helpful for your cardio workouts when used correctly. Here are some activities you can adapt to your routine to take advantage of the stationary bike and significantly improve your cardio. 

20-minute Interval Workout

According to many fitness experts, working out in intervals can be far more effective than doing it in one go. The same rule applies to stationary bike workouts for cardio. This 20-minute workout fluctuates between 3 stages, easy, moderate, and challenging. Follow the level best suited to your story and needs. 

Easy: for this level, give yourself a 5-minute warm-up, after which you can go for three sets of 1-minute reps. You can push it to 2 minutes for the last one before finally finishing up. 

Moderate:  for this level, you can go a bit higher in terms of difficulty. Start with your easy 5-minute warm-up, then dive into four sets of 30-second reps. Take a break, then dive into another four sets of 30-second reps. 

Complex: If you think the tiers below you are too easy, it means you’ve already graduated to the problematic stage, so you should give this level a try instead. After starting your regular 5-minute warm-up, dive into four sets of 30-second reps. After which, get into another four sets of 1-minute reps. Before you finish up, go with three sets of 45-second reps. 

These are the three stages you should try for this workout to make good use of your stationary bike. 

Target Heart Rate Workout

This is a somewhat different sort of workout, and it requires you to have a heart-rate monitor. However, when done correctly, this can give you incredible results regarding cardio workouts right from your stationary bike. 

For beginners, start with steady-state training, which includes 60-70% of your max heart rate for about 45 to 90 minutes. Don’t forget; you need to have a warmup and cool-down period. Pair this with the following: 

For 1 minute, cycle at 76-85% of your maximum heart rate. Recover for the next 2 minutes by bringing it down to 60% of your maximum heart rate. You can repeat this six times. 

This method will bring practical results in your cardio workouts through your stationary bike. 

Tabata Workout

While you may have heard of this workout before, it’s possible you did not know that the Tabata workout can indeed be done from a stationary bike. 

In this workout, 20 seconds of work should be done between 80 to 100% effort. The warmup period includes 5 minutes of exercise at 4-5 RPE. Next, you can move to 20 seconds of workout at 8-10 RPE. After which, you go to 10 seconds at 0 RPE. You may repeat this step 8 times. 

The next is the recovery period. For this, you can work out for 1 minute at 3-5 RPE. After which, you end the workout by going into the cool-down stage. During the cooldown stage, spend 5 minutes at 4-5 RPE. 

This should bring out Tabata’s workout to an end. When done correctly, this can be another great workout to add to your cardio list that you can do from your stationary bike. 

The three workouts mentioned here exemplify what you can achieve with your stationary bike. Whether at the gym or inside your own home, a stationary bike can be an instrumental piece of equipment. Its affordable price and compact design make  it a hot seller for most fitness-focused people. 

You can, of course, pay for these workouts with others that may benefit you and, as a combination, achieve and design an excellent cardio plan for yourself. Check out Athletic Vision for the best-in-class stationary bike available in the market these days. Not only do we have the latest and greatest fitness equipment but also the best prices, so you have a solid deal waiting you on Athletic Vision