| Exercise bike fitness is a great path to | | | | |
| better fitness and health. The exercise bike | | | | 1 minute moderate |
| is an old stand-by exercise tool that has | | | | |
| stood the test of time. Fad exercise | | | | 30 seconds fast |
| machines have come and gone but the exercise | | | | |
| bike is still a proven machine to build | | | | 1 minute moderate |
| fitness. | | | | |
| | | | 30 seconds fast |
| For overall fitness you need exercise for | | | | |
| heart fitness, muscle building and | | | | 2 minutes moderate |
| flexibility. Your exercise bike can be a key | | | | |
| part in your overall program. Especially | | | | 1 minute fast |
| during wet or cold weather the exercise bike | | | | |
| is useful every day and at any time. | | | | 2 minutes moderate |
| | | | |
| Heart Conditioning | | | | 3 minutes slow |
| | | | |
| For the cardio-vascular or heart conditioning | | | | Bet that's not boring! |
| part you need something that will elevate | | | | |
| your heart rate up to 50 percent of your | | | | Muscle Building |
| maximum if you're a beginner or 70 percent if | | | | |
| you're more experienced. Then you should | | | | For muscle building nothing beats weight |
| maintain that rate at least for 15 minutes | | | | training. Simple weight lifting routines |
| and longer is better. Your maximum heart | | | | done just once a week can help you improve. |
| rate is about 220 minus your age. For this | | | | My favorite weight lifting plan is in the |
| activity your exercise bike is ideal. You | | | | book Slow Burn Fitness Revolution. There is |
| can alter the resistance of your bike to | | | | a wealth of information on the Internet to |
| target just the effort level you need. Of | | | | help you design a simple set of exercises to |
| course you can walk or ride a regular bike or | | | | tone and build muscle. |
| jog or do any other aerobic exercise too. | | | | |
| Mixing up the exercise over time is the key | | | | Don't think that the exercise bike has no |
| to not getting bored with stale repetitive | | | | muscle building potential. Your exercise |
| exercise. Boredom will stop your exercise | | | | bike is working all the major muscles of your |
| program so don't let that happen. | | | | lower body. If you have a dual action |
| | | | machine that works your arms too you're |
| Rather than just pedaling away at an even | | | | getting at all the major muscles of your |
| pace for a half hour, try mixing up the pace | | | | body. But you still need a weight lifting |
| of your exercise bike workout to make it more | | | | routine for an ideal program. |
| challenging and interesting. Try this | | | | |
| pedaling tempo variation: | | | | Stretching |
| | | | |
| 3 minutes easy warm-up pedaling | | | | A stretching routine rounds out your overall |
| | | | program to improve your overall fitness. |
| 2 minutes moderate | | | | |
| | | | Exercise bike fitness may be just what you |
| 1 minute fast | | | | need to improve your overall health and |
| | | | physical fitness. It's a convenient at-home |
| 2 minutes moderate | | | | activity you can do in any weather and at any |
| | | | time. |
| 1 minute fast | | | | |