Stationary bike riding is a good way to enjoy a low-impact cardio workout. But most people wonder how many calories does a stationary bike burn during a ride. The answer to this question depends on several factors such as resistance and speed. If you are here to find the answers to this question, I have you covered. Why should you ride a stationary exercise bike at home? There are so many reasons to ride a bike. You also get to enjoy countless benefits in the end.
How many calories does a stationary bike burn?
A Harvard University study shows that biking at a moderate pace of between 12-13.9 mph may make a person of 155 lb burn 260 calories in thirty minutes. Furthermore, at a speedy rate of between 14 to 15.9 mph, an individual of this weight will burn 391 calories.
If you are riding a bike to burn calories, I would suggest you try stationary biking. As I mentioned earlier, the calories you burn here are influenced by different factors. They include:
- Exercise intensity
- Your body weight
- Metabolism
- Your level of fitness
As you can see, there are many things that determine the calories you will burn when stationary biking. So, there is not an exact answer to this. However, there are some calculators that you can use to find out the exact number of calories burned. According to experts, you are more likely to burn more calories when riding or cycling at a faster speed. The reason is that the body utilizes a lot of energy to ride fast.
When biking at greater resistance or higher speeds, you depend more on anaerobic metabolic mechanisms. You cannot maintain this mechanism for an extended time. However, biking harder may assist your muscle fibers to master how to adjust to demand. However, the calories you burn may differ between outdoor cycling and indoor stationary biking. So, if someone asks you how many calories does a stationary bike burn, you know what to answer.
Why is a stationary bike good for burning calories?
When it comes to burning calories, the experience is different on stationary bikes than on other bikes such as recumbent bikes. Unlike other kinds of cardio machines, a stationary exercise bike puts little stress on the joints. This is all while offering an excellent aerobic exercise. Therefore, there are so many reasons why this type of bike is your number one choice for burning calories. Here are the reasons that make this bike a good option for anyone who wants to burn calories fast.
Offers low-impact workout
With stationary bike exercising, you get a low impact workout that utilizes smooth movements to make joints and bones strong. This is all minus stressing them. If you have an injury or joint problems, a stationary exercise bike will suit you well. When running, jumping, jogging, or undertaking a high-impact aerobic workout, you may put your hips, knees, and ankles under pressure. But this is different when it comes to stationary bikes because you don’t lift the feet off the pedals. While this is a good option for the knees and joints, it offers an efficient workout.
It’s safer than outdoor cycling
If you compare indoor stationary biking with road biking, you will find out that using a stationary bike is safe than the latter. You are safe from some hazards that come with outdoor cycling such as poor visibility, slick or uneven road surfaces, and careless driving.
Helps burn body fat
Stationary biking is a good option for anybody who wants to burn fat. It helps you lose fat from the lower body since it activates hamstrings, calves, quads, and glutes. According to a study, indoor cycling together with a low-calorie diet was effective in decreasing body fat and body weight in the participants of the study. Apart from that, the study also found out that it helped to lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels.
Enhances your heart health
A workout on a stationary bicycle is a cardio activity that assists to raise your heart rate. It also lets the heart muscles to work harder for them to meet the demand for oxygen. As a result, it assists to improve your heart health.
Lose weight
Want to lose weight but can’t find a good way? Get on a stationary exercise bike and get these benefits. Exercising at high intensity means you burn more calories and vice versa. However, when you ride at a high intensity you do not build endurance. As a result, you may not ride for an extended period after starting. With this kind of bike, you may lose between forty and eighty calories within ten minutes. This depends on your exercise intensity and body weight. It is a great way to shed fat from your lower body as it activates the glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves.
Makes lower body muscles and legs stronger
Exercising on a stationary bike is a good way to strengthen your lower body and legs. This can be achieved easily through higher resistance. Your calves, quadriceps, and hamstrings become stronger through the pedaling action. Apart from that, riding on this type of bike helps to work your glutes, back, and core’s muscles. If you want to get this benefit fully, try using a bike with handles as it helps to work the upper body muscles. This includes triceps, shoulders, and biceps. As a result, you strengthen muscles.
What is the best stationary bike to burn calories?
There are different types of stationary bikes and they include the following:
- Dual-action
- Recumbent exercise bike like this one
- Upright
I talked more about different bike types in this buying guide.
Types of stationary bikes
Recumbent stationary bike
Stamina Magnetic Recumbent Bike 1360 – $249.99
from: The Wright Stuff Home Health Care Products
This type of bike lets you sit in a comfortable laid-back spot on a bigger seat that is placed back from the pedals. To make it clear, a recumbent stationary bike doesn’t work or look similar to the normal outdoor bike. It is completely different. And because of its shape and special design, it doesn’t have handlebars. Apart from that, it has a seat that is similar to a cushion that you may not liken it to a bike seat.
Even with all these special features, a recumbent stationary exercise bike as this one can offer you an effective workout regardless of your fitness level. The best thing is that it is created to offer ultimate comfort and it is user-friendly for a perfect low-impact workout. As a result, it offers you an exercise that helps you to enhance your cardiovascular health. And if you are on rehab, you are better going for an expensive recumbent bike like this one from MED-FIT SYSTEMS INC to achieve your fitness objective.
Upright stationary exercise bike
You’ve probably heard about an upright stationary exercise bike once or twice somewhere because it is the most popular of them all. This exercise bike type is similar to the road bicycle. However, it has its pedals located below your body. Also, it has a conventional bike seat placed nearly directly above the pedals. As such, the upright stationary exercise bike offers a good cardio exercise while making your core muscles and legs strong. The best part of upright exercise bikes is that you can use it either sitting or standing depending on how you wish.
When using an upright exercise bike, you will have to bend forward a bit with your hands on the handlebars when pedaling. And because of this bending, this type of bike may stress your wrists and hands. It also has a small seat and thus not suitable for long exercise periods. But if you normally spend a few minutes or hours exercising consider this bike is your best choice.
 | £0.00 £649.00 |
| NordicTrack GX 4.4 Pro Exercise Bike | |
Dual-action stationary exercise bike
This type of bike is not as popular as the other types that I have mentioned but it is one of the best exercise bikes you can ever have. If you are here asking how many calories does a stationary bike burn, try this one and you will thank me later. Also, if you are aiming to work out your upper body muscles, this is the stationary bike for you. It comes with handlebars that move forth and back and thus exercising the upper body. Therefore, you workout your legs and your upper body at the same time.
This dual-action stationary exercise bike is created to change from a bike to other machines easily and fast. Therefore, while using it you will not have trouble changing from one type of machine to another. This machine gives you a full workout.
Conclusion
How many calories does a stationary bike burn? Again, it all depends on several factors and we mentioned some of them above. So, if you are looking to burn calories or exercise your whole body, you know the type of stationary exercise bike you should choose.