How to choose an exercise bike

With the arrival of winter, the bike goes to winter, and the athletes change to exercise bikes. These compact devices can be easily installed even in a city apartment, with their help you can not only not lose your skills over the winter, but also work on muscle groups in the body, as well as lose weight.

Top exercise bike manufacturers

When choosing an exercise bike, first of all, you should prefer the products of European and American manufacturers of sports equipment and equipment, which are popular among professional athletes and are installed in many gyms of the planet:

1. Proxima;

2. Body Sculptor;

3. Spirit;

4. Intensor;

5. SunnyFit;

Unnamed Chinese models, despite their low cost, should be bypassed – the functionality of such devices, as well as the subsequent reliability in operation, is a lottery. Well, of course, you should look for more information about the model you are interested in on thematic forums and on social networks on the Internet.

Types of exercise bikes

Similar to the transmission mechanism in bicycles, exercise bikes are equipped with the ability to adjust the load, which has a positive effect on the intensity of the exercise and makes it possible to emulate many situations – downhill, ascent, slalom, as well as give the body a variable load.

Depending on the type of flywheel drive, exercise bikes are divided into the following types.

Mechanical exercise bikes

The most simple and inexpensive devices. The load here is adjusted by tensioning the drive belt – the higher the tension, the more force must be applied to perform the exercise. These devices are compact and great for those on a budget.

Advantages

• Inexpensive;

• The load is adjusted manually;

• Compact;

disadvantages

• There is no smooth adjustment of the stroke during the exercise;

• High noise level;

Inertial exercise bikes

A more advanced version of mechanical trainers, differing in the type of drive. The load is not regulated here by means of a belt drive, but thanks to special brake pads that compress and expand the flywheel. Thus, during the exercise, it becomes possible to stepwise adjust the intensity of the load.

Advantages

• Inexpensive;

• Simple and unpretentious to operate;

• The load is adjusted mechanically;

disadvantages

• High noise level;

• Intensity modes are switched stepwise, there is no smooth adjustment;

Electromagnetic exercise bikes

The most functional, advanced and, accordingly, expensive exercise bikes. Electromagnets are also used here as an adjusting mechanism, but they are controlled by a microcontroller acting on them and allowing you to change the intensity of the load in real time, without distracting the athlete from the training process.

Advantages

• Functionality;

• The presence of all kinds of sensors that allow you to monitor the state of the body;

• Dynamic regulation of the degrees of load right during the exercise;

• Microcomputer, which allows you to adjust the intensity of the load directly during the exercise;

disadvantages

• High price;

• Large dimensions and weight;

The main criteria for choosing an exercise bike

dimensions

This parameter plays an important role, first of all, for those who are going to install the simulator in an ordinary city apartment. A large and functional device is hardly suitable here, and therefore preference should be given to a compact magnetic trainer. The magnetic option is also preferable because mechanical and inertial models are noisy, which is unlikely to please neighbors. If such restrictions do not play a role, and the device is chosen for a country house or a fitness club, you can prefer absolutely any exercise bike, regardless of the specifics and functional features.

Presence of a microcomputer and special sensors

The computer allows you to greatly expand the functionality of the device. Thanks to him, the athlete receives comprehensive information regarding the training time, distance traveled, calories burned and the intensity of the loads created by the flywheel. In addition, with the presence of special sensors, it becomes possible to track the pulse and even blood pressure, which allows you to closely monitor your own well-being and adjust the load depending on it.

Weight Limit

Each exercise bike, regardless of its functionality, has a certain maximum allowable weight. As a rule, this weight is at around 100-120 kilograms. When choosing an exercise bike for this parameter, you should take into account the most significant member of your family. In addition, the maximum permissible weight declared by the manufacturer should be increased by 15-20% – this parameter is usually overestimated by this number of percent.

Choosing an exercise bike for weight loss

Experienced nutritionists say that in order for the process of losing weight to be as effective as possible, the body must be given long, at least 35-40 minutes, medium-intensity loads. For the first 20 minutes, the body spends glycogen stores in the blood, and only then starts burning fat. It is for this reason that an electromagnetic exercise bike with a medium flywheel is best suited for weight loss, allowing you to sensitively adjust the intensity of your workout. In addition, it will be useful to adjust the training algorithms and create your own programs, due to which it becomes available to perform interval training, when low intensity of exercise alternates with short, explosive intervals.

In the following articles, our experts will tell you how to choose a treadmill, the secrets of choosing an elliptical trainer and recommendations for choosing dumbbells for training at home.

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Attention! This material is the subjective opinion of the authors of the project and is not a purchase guide.