Tips for beginners in the use of indoor bicycles

Fitness enthusiasts enjoy a wide variety of options. The world of cycling has been gradually transforming, and what was once a purely outdoor exercise has now become an outdoor and indoor exercise thanks to the spinning modality. It is for this reason, and thanks to the emergence of indoor cycling bikes, that we can take full advantage of the benefits of cycling indoors.

In this article we come to explain precisely what is the exercise bike workout for beginners, in case you are considering how to start exercising with exercise bike. We bring you, below, some of the best tips for indoor cycling workouts for beginners if you want to know all the advantages of this type of exercise bike modality.

How to get started on an exercise bike

As you may already know, spinning has become a great phenomenon because it is a type of sport that only requires the use of a bicycle for its realization. For this reason, it is a relatively simple sport, but not easy, and with which we can set our own pace and improve it progressively as we gain resistance. Thus, if you want to know how to start practicing exercise cycling, how the exercise bike works, how to use it and what are the best exercises to practice indoor cycling, we bring you below the keys that you have to take into account:

Indoor cycling classes. One of the most common ways to learn how to use these indoor cycling bikes is by attending spinning or indoor cycling classes. In many occasions, doing this type of exercises accompanied and with a group of people can be extremely beneficial to get the most out of the sport. In these spinning or indoor cycling classes, in addition, we will be taught how to use an exercise bike and we will also be given the best tips to get used to the sport. The support of other athletes can also make exercise a lot more fun. You can also count on the help of a professional trainer to assist you.
Set your limits. One of the most important aspects of exercise cycling is to always work at your own pace. In many cases, when we go to a cycling session, we can see that there are people who work faster and for longer, but it is important to understand that each of us has a different resistance. The first thing is that we adapt to the sport to start enjoying it and then we will see the results. This applies equally to the exercise we do at home.
Exercises on exercise bike for beginners. Once we have both of these things clear, the next steps will be to know what is the best exercise bike routine for beginners. It is important to adapt these exercise bike workouts to our own capabilities. Even so, we can start with these indoor cycle exercises on forks for twenty to thirty minutes a day and increase the time as we gain endurance. The key is to start pedaling at a low intensity for five to ten minutes and increase the speed every two to three minutes until you reach a medium intensity. After that, simply reduce the intensity again to perform a transition workout from less to more to less.
Create a training plan. Beyond establishing this spinning exercise routine for beginners, it will also be important to create short- and medium-term goals. This will help us to combat demotivation and also to get the most out of this tool. If, in addition to setting goals, you are encouraged to monitor your progress, you will see results more quickly and consistently.
Food as a complement. The practice of indoor cycling is more intense than it seems and, therefore, it will be essential to be clear that it is necessary to compensate the fat burning with a good diet. Eating fruit before workouts can be an excellent way to increase energy, for example. Drinking water during exercise is also essential, as it helps to keep us hydrated. And, again, a fruit after training can be perfect to replenish the minerals we have lost. If you also want to gain muscle mass, it is important to plan a good spinning diet.

How to train on an exercise bike: tips

With all these facts in mind, and now that we know how to train safely on an exercise bike, we would like to take this opportunity to give you some tips for training on an indoor cycle type exercise bike. These are essential not only for you to get used to the sport easily, but also to get the best possible results and feel comfortable with your indoor bike.

The bike is the most important element when it comes to indoor cycling, therefore, the first question we have to solve is how to choose a good bike for indoor cycling. Especially if we are beginners, we will have to look at the performance of the bike, the budget we have and be clear that we have the space and time to use it. We must also know what kind of exercises we are going to do on this indoor bike to make sure we are choosing the right bike among the types of spinning bikes that exist.
Posture is key, so the height at which you place the saddle of the bike is going to be essential to see a greater or lesser performance. The most important thing is to keep your back straight and that once the pedal is at the lowest point you have your legs completely straight. If you slouch or notice that you can’t reach the pedal, it is best to adjust the seat height. It is also important to alternate your gaze, neither too high nor too low, to avoid creating tension in the neck.
In relation to the two previous points, the setup of the spinning bike will make a difference. We not only have to look at the height of the saddle, but also at the height of the handlebars and the distance between the saddle and the handlebars of the exercise bike. Once we have the bike set up, we can go on to perform our first exercises to test it.
Warming up is very important and although many people overlook it. If you want to see more results with your workout we recommend that you warm up. Some hamstring stretching exercises or dynamic strides, as well as a warm-up for your pecs, can help prepare your muscles for this workout. If you skip this step you may notice more fatigue, more muscle tension or more stiffness afterwards.
While many times it can be difficult due to lack of discipline, other times we may get caught up in the sport too quickly and want to do more exercise than is appropriate. As a beginner, we recommend that you do not overdo it and that in your training plan you propose exercises that are appropriate for your level. Gradually you can increase the intensity and improve your exercise routine, but don’t push yourself too hard at the beginning or you will burn out too quickly.

With all this, of course, you should be ready to perform the exercises with your indoor bike. You already know that the benefits of training on an exercise bike, such as improving blood flow, burning fat, strengthening lungs, muscles and heart, among others, are an excellent incentive to play sports -and, of course, to improve your performance in professional cycling-. However, maintaining the habit is more costly than it seems. That’s why the most important thing is to make sure you enjoy the first few weeks of training on your indoor bike to create a healthy routine and stay motivated about the sport.