!: How to Burn Off More Fat Using a Stationary Exercise Bike

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

How to Burn Off More Fat Using a Stationary Exercise Bike

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The stationary exercise bike is a very popular piece of fitness equipment because it can be very effective for burning off calories without subjecting your body to excessive impact, especially on your knee joints. That is one reason why using a stationary exercise bike may be more useful for some people than a treadmill, even if you generally burn off less fat from cycling. However, it is possible that you may run into the problem of not burning off as many calories as you should in doing your stationary cycle exercise. Let me give you a couple of simple tips that may help you to improve the fat-burning effectiveness of your stationary bike exercise.

First of all, before beginning your exercise, you should make sure that your bike seat is adjusted to the correct height. This may seem to be a minor thing, but in fact, the height adjustment of your seat can have a considerable effect on your workout. If the seat is too low, then your exercise will cause your legs to become much more fatigued than they should, making it more difficult to exercise effectively. Another problem of having a low seat is that it adds to the stress that your knees will receive during the workout. However, a seat that is too high is not good, either. A high seat can force your hips to constantly sway from side to side, making for a less comfortable and less efficient workout.

Here is how you adjust your seat to the right position. Get on the seat and set one of your heels against the center of the bike pedal, where you would normally press with the ball of your foot. Adjust your seat until your leg is fully stretched and straight against the pedal, which should be at the lowest position in its rotation. Then, when you put your feet on their natural positions on the pedals, you will have exactly the right amount of bend for an effective workout.

Another thing you can do to improve a stationary exercise bike workout is to vary the intensity of the workout. Try doing two or three minutes of high-speed cycling followed by three minutes of more relaxed pedaling. Continue doing that for at least fifteen minutes. It also helps if every now and then you stand up while doing your exercise. When you stand, your muscles will need to do more work to pedal the bike and to support your body, and more work done means more fat burned.