Recumbent bikes are stationary bikes where the user sits in a reclined position and exercises. While using a recumbent bike, you sit in a comfortable reclined position on a larger seat positioned back from the pedals.

Recumbent bikes put less stress on your upper body, joints, and low back.  Your body is fully supported and makes your workout less intense. You can find the best of recumbent bikes here.

It is an excellent option if you have limited mobility, joint issues or injuries, and back pain.

Introduction

If you are new to cardio then recumbent bikes should be the one to start with. Unlike other traditional bikes, recumbent bikes provide more comfortable support to the back and helps you relax the upper body while focusing on cardio and the lower body.

Recumbent bikes are much-needed during this time and hour as people are forced to stay away from gyms and outdoor activities and so let us take a closer look at why you should get one for yourself this year.

There are many benefits of recumbent bikes that can help you reach your fitness or weight loss goals. Let us look deeper into it.

Benefits of Recumbent Bikes

1. Lumbar spine strengthening

Recumbent bikes provide excellent support to the body position while sitting on it and so these bikes go easy on the lower back. The recumbent bike assists you in correcting the spinal posture. So if you have a hunch back, it will help to correct your posture. 

2. Fluid joint movement  

Recumbent bikes work gently on the joints and due to the larger seating space, it supports your lower back, knees and ankles well which results in efficient fluid flow while you exercise on the bike.

3.      Very comfortable 

The overall seating and holding position of the bike gives you a more comfortable workout position.

4. Low impact and less risk

Recumbent bikes provide low impact and help reduce the risk of pain while exercising on it. The reclining position of the bike allows your weight to evenly spread over the back that keeps you comfortable and away from strain.

 It also assists in building strength and burning calories and is ideal for those who want weight loss and have joint related problems such as rheumatoid arthritis. 

5.  Great ergonomics and design

The major USP of recumbent bikes are their designs where the ergonomics are perfectly built. Unlike conventional bikes, these work on different muscle groups and also relieve stress on the joints, bones, ligaments and tendons as there is a larger area on the bike seat to spread your weight.

Based on the different style of handlebars, different muscles get activated. Mostly the short wheel base models with steering levers are best which are really comfortable.

 6. Safety

Recumbent bikes are extremely safe as you will never slide while doing a workout or while taking a fast turn or go over the handlebars from a spastic break. 

7.      Larger weight capacity

People prefer recumbent bikes because they have a larger weight capacity when compared to a traditional bike. They are best for those who are obese and have trouble to get adequate support from traditional bikes. These bikes tend to be durable and a lot stronger.

 Advantages of Recumbent bikes

• Provides full support to upper and lower back while working out.
• Less stress on joints and other bones.
• Best bike for people with lower back injuries.
• Reduces saddle soreness post-workout.
• Due to the larger seating space the bike is very comfortable.
• Varying levels of speed and resistance.
• The bikes are great for up and down hilling due to its incline setting.
• Excellent bike for people with cardiac limitations or for those with injuries.
• It provides perfect stability and balance and targets muscles evenly.

Is a Recumbent bike useful for a good workout?

As traditional bikes have limitations, recumbent bikes have gained popularity in recent times. They are perfect for those who have never used exercise bikes before and due to its low seating, these are extremely comfortable. 

These bikes come with a varied range of resistance, more resistant settings and adjustable speed levels, they are ideal as indoor exercise equipment. Recumbent bikes are good workout gadgets for your home.

Due to great support and comfort, it makes the user to sustain their workout over long periods of time with consistency. They look more inviting and also provide more health benefits during workout. 

Many people assume that these bikes are only suitable for the older aged having mobility problems, and also for those who want to recover from injury, but these are perfectly suitable for all age group workouts and also for people of all fitness levels. Here are the list of Top 7 Best Recumbent Bike For Seniors.

What Muscles A Recumbent bike works on?

Recumbent bikes are designed to strengthen the lower back and heart muscles. Pedaling feature of the bike gets your heart pumping while resistance ramping burns your leg muscles. Slow progressive resistance promotes endurance and strengthens the leg. 

Here are some of the muscle groups that are being used while you are working on a Recumbent bike:

• Rectus femoris – It assists in strengthening the quadriceps muscle that flexes the hip, extends and raises the knee and is responsible for flexibility of thighs.
• Cardiac muscle – Consistent biking on recumbent bikes helps in strengthening heart muscles and improves the capacity of lungs. It reduces the resting rate of the heart and also regulates the blood pressure. It also works on relieving stress and enhances the mood of the biker.
• Semitendinosus – The bike strengthens this hamstring muscle that is responsible for knee flexibility and extends the hip.

• Medial gastrocnemius – The bike relaxes the calf muscle that flexes the leg at the knee joint.
• Biceps femoris – This complex muscle which is at the back of the thigh and is responsible for the hip extension, external rotation and knee flexion gets strengthened when worked out on the recumbent bike. 
• Vastus medialis – While working on a recumbent bike, it helps in  stabilizing your kneecap and extends the leg at the knee.
• Tibialis anterior – Exercising on the bike enhances the dorsiflexion motion and also helps to keep your foot to be flexible.

The indoor recumbent bike allows you to sit in different positions that allows you to strengthen your thighs, glutes and lower legs. The bike gives a powerful strengthening effect on the entire body. 

Can you lose weight on a recumbent bike?

The recumbent bikes provide the best low impact way of workouts and is good  for any weight loss workout. The recumbent bike is very similar to that of the ordinary outdoor bicycle but without wheels. Though there are different types of bikes in the market, recumbent is the best one to choose.

A recumbent bike helps you lose weight by burning your calories while you  exercise on it. To lose weight you need to work hard on these bikes by doing pedaling at higher intensity. For people who are unwell, they can reduce weight by slow pedaling at low intensity for 10 minutes. Effective weight loss can be achieved by pedaling on the recumbent bike and also having a healthy diet.

Good news for overweight people, exercising on the recumbent bike will make you shed pounds faster when compared to other bikes. So you can work out with regular plans and by changing the intensity levels, the recumbent bikes help you more in reducing the weight.

The next query would be how much average weight will I be losing on recumbent bikes? The answer would be difficult to answer as it might vary based on the workout. On average you can burn nearly 570 calories by working out for 60 minutes constantly and with the weight of 175 pounds.

Recumbent bike before and after results

We invest in fitness equipment based on the results that they will produce. We consider the effects  the bikes will have on our bodies with the ultimate goal of losing weight, fitness, toning up the body and maintaining a good shape.

To be more descriptive here we discuss on the results that are before and after using the recumbent bikes for weight loss exercises:

Here are some of the before and after result of recumbent bike workouts:

• Weight loss from consistent workout
• Cardiovascular system conditioning
• Muscles and joints gets reactivated on the course of workout
• Great increase in the stamina
• Helps in building the strong core muscles
• Elevates your mental and physical states
• You can see a lot of changes in confident sitting, running and other activities.

The before and after results are vivid and change from person to person. If you are not getting any changes from the regular exercises or after prolonged workouts, then shift to working out on the recumbent bikes for faster results.

As a general rule, if you workout well and eat a healthy diet, then it would take at least three months for everyone to notice changes in your body.

Types of workouts on recumbent bikes

Cardio workout – to lose weight in a cardio workout; make sure you are in the heart burning zone for 30 minutes. Your fat burning heart rate should be around 124-133 bpm and to achieve this you need to work out for 1 complete month.

Most importantly as you get fitter, you should increase the speed and resistance to reach the target heart rate zone. Trainers suggest you to increase weight and resistance as you get fit and so it helps you to increase your calorie output throughout the day.

As the exercises on the recumbent bike focuses more on the quadriceps, hamstrings, lower abdomen, glutes, working consistently and stressing the core muscles are vital to reduce fat from the body.

Glutes workout – many people complain that normal workouts do not give enough workout to their glutes but working on  recumbent bikes provide great stress to the muscles toning the glutes as desired.

Quadriceps – fitness lovers see a sturdy pair of quads after working on the recumbent bike for two months as the most direct stress is taken by the quadriceps from pedaling.

Hamstrings – they get strengthened by taking the reciprocal effect from pedaling and stretching.

Hips – they get strained by leaning back while at the same time the recumbent bike provides the optimum effect it requires.

Calves and Shins – these are two vital parts that are required for daily movement. And the recumbent bike provides a great workout for these muscles and over the period of workout you can see great toning.

Conclusion

The recumbent bike is a one-stop solution for all fitness levels and also ideal for debilitating health issues. On the whole the recumbent bikes provide extreme comfort, support to the lower back and are effective for cardiovascular workouts and lower back resistance workout. It provides a safe and versatile way to challenge individuals at every fitness level.