Bicycle body! How to pedal properly to lose weight in two weeks?

Bicycle body! How to pedal properly to lose weight in two weeks?

An exercise bike is a sporty part of many home interiors. Turned into a bothersome obstacle on the way to the refrigerator or clothes hanger, it may be the most visible reminder of failed weight loss attempts. Or it can turn into a powerful ally. The main thing is to be able to handle it correctly! Sports experts, trainers of the World Class fitness club network Anastasia Pakhomova and Stanislav Skonechny told Healthy Food Near Me about how to ride a stationary bike to the figure of your dreams.

 48 427 20August 11 2020

Question one: will an exercise bike help you lose weight?

trainer of the network of fitness clubs World Class

Exercising on a stationary bike is a cardio workout, that is, an exercise aimed at the cardiovascular system. If you use such a load correctly, observing a certain frequency and intensity, and also carefully monitor your diet, then the answer is unequivocal – yes, an exercise bike will help you lose weight. Of course, those who lose weight achieve the best results by combining cardio with other types of workouts, but if you choose between exercising on a stationary bike and lying on the couch, the simulator is definitely more useful!

The second question is: won’t I pump up my “athlete’s legs” by pedaling hard?

This is a common myth, somehow ingrained in the popular mind. It is impossible to develop hypertrophied volumetric muscles of the legs and hips with the help of an exercise bike exclusively. Otherwise, bodybuilders would pedal, forgetting about heavy squats and deadlifts.

You can “pump up your knives” if your workouts are not accompanied by a proper fitness diet. If there is an excess of fatty foods and simple carbohydrates in your menu, the volumes will increase not only below the waist, and it will not be the simulator that is to blame, but the lack of self-control.

Question three: What should I do if I want to lose weight on an exercise bike?

  • train in a stable mode at least three times a week;

  • Finding a playlist with motivating, uplifting music is more important than it sounds!

  • sit on an exercise bike in the morning on an empty stomach or after strength training (glycogen stores in the body at these moments are minimal and the process of burning fat begins faster);

  • pedal for more than 20 minutes;

  • monitor the pulse, maintaining it at the level of 65% -75% of the maximum heart rate. The calculation of the target heart rate zone is done according to the Karvonen formula, it is most convenient to use numerous online calculators (to calculate the coveted figure for you, you will need two values ​​- the athlete’s age and the heart rate at rest);

  • follow a healthy diet;

  • take notes on the frequency and duration of the sessions.

Question four: What mistakes lie in wait for those who undertook to lose weight on an exercise bike?

trainer of the network of fitness clubs World Class

These errors are the exact opposite of recommendations. If you skip workouts, pedal for less than 20 minutes at a time, do not control your heart rate, allowing it to decrease or exceed it within a given heart rate zone, eat everything, exercise chaotically and forget about monitoring results – you will not lose weight and benefit your health … Boredom and the painful counting of the minutes remaining until the end of the lesson are also a strict no: since you are on a bike ride, go with a twinkle!

Question five: Can exercise bike training replace the rest of the sport?

Once you get on with yourself and get on an exercise bike, you can count on success – you will get rid of fat stores and achieve volume reduction. However, you will not get an ideal figure, also because fat will go away not only from those parts of the body that are involved in cycling training. Whoever says anything, point weight loss is impossible, and every girl knows problem areas from which fat is extremely reluctant to leave.

Subject to regular and sufficiently long exercise on a stationary bike, you can noticeably pull up, but, for example, you will not get relief rounded buttocks and do not deal with the annoying “angel wings” triceps). “Sculpting” a really beautiful figure is the next step after getting rid of excess body fat. Achieving this goal will help you combine anaerobic (strength) training in the gym with aerobic (for example, on a stationary bike), and, of course, a balanced moderate diet with natural, minimally processed foods. As long as baked goods, sweets, sauces, hydrogenated fats, semi-finished products, soda, alcohol remain on the menu, you can train at least all day long – the dream of a beautiful body will not come true.

Be prepared for the fact that the result and the timing of its achievement is difficult to predict even for the most experienced trainer: it will be easier and faster for someone to lose weight, and for someone – to acquire sexual forms. The best advice you can give in this situation is to treat fitness not as a challenge, but as a lifestyle.

Question six: Exercise bikes are so different! Which one is best for losing weight?

The most common types are the recumbent bike and the upright stationary bike. They are most often bought for home use; there are such equipment in gyms. Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages.

It allows the rider to sit leaning back, so it is especially suitable for very plump people, as well as for the elderly and those who are recovering from surgery.

Pros:

– fixes the back

– allows you to take a comfortable and comfortable position 

Cons:

– assumes a load of lower intensity

– takes up a lot of space in the apartment

It is as close as possible in sensations and action to a “real” bike: with it you can master a bicycle trick, taking any position, including standing position (the so-called “dancer technique”).

Pros:

– allows you to use a larger number of muscle groups (for example, if you tear off the pelvis and tilt forward, keeping the natural curves of the spine, then the back of the thigh and buttocks will be loaded more actively)

– able to provide a more intense workout

– compact 

Cons:

– not recommended for permanent use for those who experience back pain

– has a higher cost

Numerous programs, “bells and whistles” and gadgets, which manufacturers equip modern models of exercise bikes, can make the equipment more attractive to the buyer, but in reality they have little effect on the result. The main thing is that the simulator is comfortable for you, and you can achieve the required heart rate and train for a sufficient duration without discomfort, risk and injury.

Two-week cycle training program from Nastya and Stas

Our fitness experts invite everyone who wants to test whether it is possible to lose weight using only an exercise bike to participate in an experiment. Anastasia Pakhomova and Stanislav Skonechny promise: your result depends on the initial weight, but if you strictly follow the recommendations, then in just two weeks you will see that your figure has changed for the better!

The entire period of the experiment follows eat regularly (5 times a day), in small portions, composing a menu of foods with a low glycemic index and eating at the correct biological time (in the morning – proteins and complex carbohydrates, in the second – proteins and foods high in fiber). Drink plenty plain water, remembering to compensate for fluid loss while pedaling. Before exercising on a stationary bike, you can drink amino acid supplementto stop the catabolic processes in muscle fibers, and after the program is “rolled back”, it is worth taking a portion of whey protein within 15 minutes or eat two egg whites (boiled or in the form of a steam omelet). You can eat normally one and a half hours after the bike ride on the spot – in this case, the meal should include a protein product (meat, fish, seafood), a source of complex carbohydrates (whole grain porridge) and fresh vegetables (non-starchy). Go!

You should train in the morning on an empty stomach time prescribed by coaches, avoiding breaks:

1 day – 30 minutes

2 day – 33 minutes

3 day – 35 minutes

4 day – 35 minutes

5 day – 37 minutes

6 day – 40 minutes

Day 7 – rest

8 day – 43 minutes

9 day – 45 minutes

10 day – 45 minutes

11 day – 47 minutes

12 day – 50 minutes

13 day – 55 minutes

14 day – 55 minutes

Have you decided on the experiment “Weight loss on an exercise bike”? Share your achievements in the comments!

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