3 Important Factors to Lose Weight on a Recumbent Bike

Exercise recumbent bike are becoming an increasingly popular form of cardiovascular exercise for those looking to build a regular cardiovascular routine. Recumbent exercise bikes are one of the most comfortable ways to achieve a cardio workout, while still being an incredibly effective choice for burning calories, losing weight, and building overall fitness. If you’re interested in losing weight with your recumbent bike at home, keep reading for 3 important factors to losing weight on a recumbent bike.

1. Find the Right Recumbent Bike

This may seem like a no-brainer but choosing a recumbent bike that’s a good fit for your body and needs will best set you up for a successful and effective fitness routine. With a proper bike fit, you’ll be able to ensure a good range of motion so you can both sit comfortably, and pedal with good form. If you’re unable to exercise with proper form, you’ll be at a higher risk for an injury which will only delay your weight loss.

First, ensure the weight capacity, and inseam range of the recumbent bike you’re interested in is a good fit. Your inseam is the measurement from the upper inner thigh to your heel when standing straight and is a good measure to ensure you can achieve a full range of motion when pedaling on your bike.

2. Consistent Exercise Routine

When it comes to weight loss, the results you see are largely based on maintaining a regular, and consistent exercise routine. Think about it, just as one healthy meal isn’t going to change anything, one great workout - while it’s better than nothing - isn’t going to help you see the lasting results you’re looking for.

Regular, consistent workouts are what’s going to deliver weight loss results. It all comes down to calories. With more regular cardio sessions, you’ll see a higher overall calorie deficit which will contribute to greater weight loss over time.

For weight loss, I recommend a minimum of 3 cardio sessions on your recumbent bike each week. Ideally, you’ll be able to fit in 5-6 sessions with at least one day of total rest if you’re really serious about losing weight.

3. Varying Intensity of Sessions

Last but not least, to see better results, you’ll want to vary the intensity of your sessions. By increasing the intensity of your workouts, you’ll be able to burn even more calories. You can change the intensity of your workout by increasing the resistance or speed.

Most of our recumbent bikes offer up to at least 8 levels of resistance, some ranging up to 24 levels to really challenge your fitness and your body for even more calorie-burning potential. Having a bike that has a wide range of resistances will ensure that you continue to progress and challenge your fitness over time, which is an important factor to continue to see weight loss results. Don’t shy away from making use of the resistance on your recumbent bike - it will not only help to increase calorie burn but also help to build lean muscle tone in your legs.

However, you won’t want to do high-intensity sessions every day, or at least not on consecutive days. It’s important to give your body time to recover between intense sessions. So, if you do plan to incorporate high-intensity workouts into your schedule, I recommend alternating high-intensity workout days with moderate intensity steady state cardio days so you can fully maximize your schedule and continue to work out consistently throughout the week.

If you’re interested in incorporating high-intensity workouts into your routine, be sure to check out our Intermediate Recumbent Bike Endurance Intervals Workout, Intermediate Recumbent Bike Pyramid Challenge, or Recumbent Bike HIIT Workout. If you’re a beginner, don’t be scared to try these intermediate workouts, you can always adjust the resistance and the pace of these workouts to your fitness level, so they’re great for anyone!