A recumbent bike is a stationary peddling cycle that you can use to peddle and shade off the extra fat and burn the calories as well as to build muscles. Recumbent bikes have seat, a back rest and pedals at the front, same as the ordinary bicycles. Pedals are attached down below in case of upright bikes but for a recumbent bike, it is different. The position of the pedals in a recumbent bike is back friendly and it also accounts for the high appeal of this sort of exercise machine. This is actually the main benefit of using a recumbent bike as this design puts less stress on the user’s lower spine, as well as on the arms, wrists, shoulder and neck and this is also the reason why people at any age can benefit from using one.
There are many types of best recumbent bikes available in the market with various hi tech systems and extraordinary features. Recumbent bikes these days have gained popularity due to their advanced technology as well as the functionality
Why Recumbent Bikes Are Great
The recumbent bike reviews will share the benefits you will get out of using one. These benefits will help you in both getting the health benefits of using a recumbent bike as well as help you in losing extra weight.
Cardio
Cardio is a pretty intense workout method which uses the most large muscle groups such as the hamstrings and quadriceps as well as the muscles on the back. Pedaling on a recumbent bike is a kind of cardio as well and this might help you to improve your body’s ability to use oxygen by strengthening your lungs and heart. Regular cardio can help causing a decrease in your blood pressure and heart rate which will help you in breathing more easily.
The recumbent bike reviews will let you know that when you do cardio on a recumbent bike, you will be targeting different muscles of your body. There are specific parts of the body where the recumbent bikes can work. The muscles of your legs, thighs, abs etc. get worked up when you pedal on a recumbent bike.
Glutes
The gluteus muscles or the glutes are the major muscles that compose the buttock. These muscles get to work every time you move your thigh from a position closer to your body to a straightened position. This motion is called an extension. Whenever you pedal on the recumbent bike, you are doing an extension, thus working on the glutes. You have to do the extension motion often if you want to work on the muscles of your buttock.
Hamstrings
The hamstrings are on the back of the upper thigh part. The hamstrings muscles’ work is to loosen the knees. The hamstrings work every time the lower leg goes from a straight position to a bent down position when you pedal on the recumbent bike. The recumbent bike reviews advice you to pedal on a recumbent bike if you want to work on your knees and make them stronger.
Quads
The quads muscles are situated at the front of the thigh. They function as knee flexors. When you push on the bike pedals of the recumbent bike, the quads get worked on to assist the glutes muscles. They help draw the leg back up on the top of the pedaling motion as well. The adductors, which are the smaller muscles on the inner sides of the quads, also get recruited with this motion. The recumbent bike reviews know that the pedaling motion will help in building the quad muscles.
Abs
The abdominal muscles help to balance your upper body. The cranking will get your abs moving and increase your core body strength. All in all, the recumbent bike pedaling lets you work on large body muscles as you pedal and works on various areas of your body such as the legs, thighs, buttock, upper body etc. Since the recumbent bike lets you target specific body parts, I think it is a great way to exercise on your problem areas.
Core Strength
When you pedal on a recumbent bike, various muscles of your body such as the muscles on your legs, thighs and buttocks are getting worked on to build your overall core strength. The weight will be managed as well since pedaling will help you burn calories. The recumbent bike reviews think this is an all rounder exercise machine that helps in all aspects of the body.
Safer Option
Recumbent bikes are stationary bikes so they are safer than the upright bikes. This is the reason why recumbent bikes are used more in rehab facilities. Recumbent bikes offer back support along with a larger seating area. Another benefit is that recumbent bikes are lower to the ground, making it easier for rehab patients or the elder people to get on and off the recumbent bike without incurring a lot of hassle. This is why people of any age can use the recumbent bike comfortably.
Comfortable
As mentioned earlier as well, recumbent bikes are more comfortable, since there are back rest with larger seat and semi reclining position of the seat. The recumbent bike reviews will let you know that recumbent bikes do not have any of the negative signs of the upright bikes. People with arthritis will have a better time working on a recumbent bike compared to an upright one as with recumbent bike less strain is put on the hip and knees by extending the angle of the knee joint.
Longer Workout Sessions
You are more likely to stick to your workout session when you bike on a recumbent bike compared to an upright one. You are also more likely to work out for a longer period of time because of the comfortable seat with the back rest option. Recumbent bikes keep your body comfortable and pain free and as a result, you are more likely to stick to your exercise routine on a recumbent bike.
How to Use
Even though you might be thinking all you have to do is get on the bike and peddle away, you have to know how exactly to get yourself prepared before you get on the bike.
Doing Stretches
Recumbent bike will work on multiple muscles while activating multiple joints in your lower body. If you don’t get loosened up before starting pedaling on the bike, you run the risk of suffering an injury to both your muscles and connective tissues. You have to spend five minutes doing dynamic stretches to loosen up your muscles. As you perform the dynamic stretches you should focus on moving smoothly and slowly increasing the range of your motions with each repetition.
Adjusting the Seat
You have to set up the seat before you start the workout. After sitting down, place your feet on the pedals of the recumbent bike and spin the cranks a few times. Pay attention to the extension motion of your knees while you are doing this. You should have a slight bend to your knees when your legs are on the back side of the crank. If you are not in this correct position, move your seat backward or forward to get you to the correct position. Overall, the recumbent bike reviews will inform you that getting the position right are important for getting the right posture.
Warming Up
Spend five minutes for doing a light warm up when you get on the bike. Start with slow pedals and increase your pace as time passes. This will slowly increase your core body temperature and help in further loosening of the connective tissues and muscles. Warm up session is essential so that you don’t strain your muscles and hurt your ligaments.
Workout Session
Pedaling on the recumbent bike for a certain amount of time will bring you the best possible results. Most professionals suggest 60 to 90 minutes cardio for weight loss and 30 minutes cardio for getting the health benefits. You need to follow this routine five times a week. If your goal is to only get a healthy body, do the lower amount of time. If you want to lose weight, go for the higher amount of time.
Adjusting Resistance
Recumbent bike reviews know that recumbent bikes have the option of customizing the difficulty level of exercising. You can do this regularly as you slowly adapt to your recumbent bike. Increasing the resistance makes it harder to push on the pedals, causing you to put in more strength to pedal on the bike. This motion challenges your leg muscles and doesn’t let your body get comfortable with the pacing.
Proper Form
It’s a must to have proper form while using recumbent bikes. You can’t lean forward when using the recumbent bike, even though it is okay to place your hands on the handle bars in front of you. The whole time you work out, you should maintain a straight posture with your back against the back rest. While pedaling, push hard with your legs to gain maximum muscle strength. You should follow the same pattern even if you grasp the side handles. You will create muscle imbalances if you keep leaning forward on the recumbent bike so recumbent bike reviews will warn you on that issue.
Precautions
Precautions include not stressing your back by leaning forward on the bike and always keeping your back straight to the back rest. The seat should be at the floor height and only high enough to bend the knees slightly at the bottom end of the stroke when you peddle. The seat should be adjusted so that you don’t wobble or go back and forth while you peddle.
The Best Workout Exercises for Recumbent Bike
There are a bunch of exercises which you can do on a recumbent bike so that your body gets the most benefit out of it.
Interval Training
Interval training can be a great exercise as it makes you check your strength and lets you use your muscles effectively.
Time Intervals
Your time intervals should be done according to your strength and need but the best recumbent reviews will give you a brief guideline. You can do time intervals in 1 to 1 or 2 to 1 ratio. The 2 to 1 ratio is when you set up your recovery period to be twice as long as your intense workout period. You can do your intense workout for 30 seconds and then rest for one minute. You can increase your tough exercises to one minute as you become more advanced and then your resting period will be increased by one minute as well. The recumbent reviews think that having time intervals is essential for a better workout session with gaining more benefits.
The Workout Session
You should always start with a five minute warm up session, as mentioned earlier in the recumbent bike reviews. You can then increase the pedal resistance and speed by working out for 30 seconds at 95 percent of your maximum intensity. Then you can lower the pedal resistance and speed for an interval of 30 seconds. These two intensities can be alternated for a total of 20 minutes. Then you can finish the session with a five minute cool down period. You can experiment with different interval times to figure out what interval period works best for you. This will also make your exercise sessions interesting with such varieties.
Now I will review some of the recumbent bikes available in the market to give you an overall idea on how to choose your recumbent bike.
Ironman X-Class 410 Recumbent Bike Review
This Ironman recumbent bike is truly one of a kind in its market as there are 32 levels of smooth magnetic tension levels in this recumbent bike. You can imagine how easy to difficult your workout session can get in this recumbent bike. Since you will eventually adjust to the difficulty level as you become more accustomed with the peddling every day, you will be able to customize your way towards more difficult sessions to push yourself. There are 12 computer pre set workout programs in the system so it’s like having your personal trainer with you.
There is a back rest and it can be adjustable so it will provide you with support to help in reducing the lower back strain and stress. There is a use of Air Soft Seat technology that means the seat has individual air chambers for maximum level of comfort. The maximum weight capacity is 350 lbs and the height range is 5’2’’ to 6’4’’.
Pros
- Easy to assemble.
- Adjustments make it easy to be used by different members.
- Comfortable seat with adjustable back rest.
- Bluetooth technology with free apps.
Cons
- Can’t fit people outside that height range.
Recumbent Bike by Eshion Review
This stationary recumbent bike can be folded conveniently and can be used in the indoors. The LCD display on the bike helpfully tracks the distance, calories, time and speed to keep the user updated with their daily routine. This will in turn help the user to stay motivated as they get to see their improvement firsthand. This recumbent bike is sturdy as it is made with high density steel. The seat cushion is padded with memory foam and is easily adjustable to suit any type of fit and size. It is possible to do folding portable exercise with quiet V – belt double drive transmission system.
There is a precision balanced flywheel that allows the user to adjust the tension level for an easier or more difficult workout. This makes the recumbent bike customizable and it means that it is great for increasing your difficulty level as you become more accustomed to your usual routine. The maximum user weight capacity is 300 lbs or 100 kg.
Pros
- Comfortable and adjustable back rest to provide support on the back.
- Easy to read large computer display.
- Smooth and noise free operation.
Cons
- The seat slightly wobbles while peddling very fast.
Marcy Upright Mag Bike Review
This recumbent bike is made with steel, pvc and rubber and is pretty solid. The imported recumbent bike is equipped with a smooth magnetic resistance system and the resistance can be easily adjusted by screwing a cork. There are 8 levels of preset resistance which means you get to customize your work out session’s difficulty level according to your capacity. The display is large and very easy to read. The large console tracks the time, distance and speed covered by you in per workout session and conveniently calculates the calories you have burned in one session to keep you motivated.
There are counter balanced pedals on the foot straps which can be easily adjusted as well. This means there is no chance of a foot slippage on this recumbent bike. There are transportation wheels on this recumbent bike, meaning you can easily move this around the house to different places. The recumbent bike weighs 43 pounds.
Pros
- Lightweight and portable with built in transportation wheels.
- Comfortable bike which can be used to have longer work out sessions.
- Pedals with straps which can be adjusted to secure the user’s feet.
Cons
- The pedal gets broken after using only a couple of uses.
Ancheer Folding Recumbent Bike Review
The made of this recumbent bike is sturdy as it is made with high density steel. Due to this sturdiness in build, it can support up to 300 pounds of weight. The seat cushion is made with memory foam padding, so you know that it is going to be comfortable for you to seat in longer hours. The seat is even adjustable to suit different sizes and ages of people. This adjustable feature makes the recumbent bike versatile as it can be used by multiple users.
The precision balanced flywheel is a magnetic tension control system that lets the user adjust the tension level of the resistance by making the workout session easier or harder according to their capacity. It is possible to do folding portable exercise with the quiet and smooth operation of the V – belt double drive transmission system. The LCD display of the recumbent bike conveniently tracks the time, speed, distance and calories burned to keep you updated on the sessions. This recumbent bike comes with a 3 years quality warranty.
Pros
- Precision balanced flywheel with magnetic tension control system.
- Sturdy made with high density steel.
- Easy to read large display screen.
Cons
- Back rest might be too hard for some users.
Exerpeutic 2000 High Capacity Programmable Magnetic Recumbent Bike Review
This recumbent bike is equipped with the Air Soft Seat Technology, which means it is made with special material to make the seat as comfortable as possible. The seat is 3 ½’’ thick and there are individual air chambers in the seat cushion that are shock absorbent. This seat can easily disperse the user’s weight as well, which makes the seat comfortable to be used for longer hours.
There is an 8 level magnetic tension control system that lets the user to adjust the tension level according to their capacity. There are 6 preset workout programs in the recumbent size that counts and shows the time, distance, RPM, Watts, calories burned as well as the heart rate of the user during their work out session. The hand pulse monitor system conveniently helps the user to stay within the targeted heart rate zone without any issues. The extended weight capacity of the user is up to 300 lbs.
Pros
- Air Soft Seat technology makes it useable for prolonged uses.
- 8 levels magnetic tension system lets the user adjust the tension level easily.
- 6 preset workout programs.
Cons
- The seat wobbles slightly.
- Handlebars spread way too far out to the sides.
Schwinn MY16 230 Recumbent Bike Review
The Schwinn 230 Recumbent Bike gives you a relaxed position to do your workout at with increased lower back support. The contoured seat gets adjusted in the aft positions. There is a sliding seat rail to make variety of positions for multiple users as well. There are 20 levels of computer controlled resistance for a wide range of workout difficulty levels and you can choose one according to your capabilities.
The Schwinn 230 Recumbent Bike also comes with an oversized console packed with 22 preset workout programs, 20 resistance levels, 9 course profiles, 8 heart rate control, one flywheel, speakers charging port with USB, 2 custom user defined, 2 fitness tests, 1 quick start and a heart rate monitor. You can call it the supercomputer of recumbent bikes. Other than all these there is an adjustable three speed fan added as well to keep you cool while you burn those pesky fat. The maximum user weight capacity is 300 pounds.
Pros
- The console system is very up to date trendy.
- The handle bars with the crossbar make the experience comfortable.
- The 3 speed fan attachment.
Cons
- The machine is better suited for people under 6’2’’.
Marcy NS-716R Magnetic Resistance Recumbent Bike Review
This recumbent bike has a magnetic resistance with eight preset levels of resistance to give you the chance to customize your workout session with the right amount of difficulty level which will be best suited to you. The tension level can be adjusted with a knob which is very easy and can be done in a snap. There is a seat stride adjustment option as well for individual user leg strengths. There is an easy to read computer screen that can display the speed, time, distance, calories burned and the odometer with just one touch. The handle bars are covered with foam for comfort.
The frame is designed with a step through way to ensure easier entry and exit for the user. The seating position is comfortable and nice to accommodate any needs of the user. There is a cup holder that will be convenient for you as you won’t need to get off the bike when you get thirsty. There are transportation wheels added to the recumbent bike so you can easily transport the bike anywhere and there is no need for you to carry the heavy bike around.
Pros
- Adjustable options with many features.
- Step through design for easy entry and exit.
Cons
- Can’t be used by people under 5’1’’.
Velocity Exercise Dual Motion Recumbent Bike Review
This recumbent bike is one with a sleek design and a sturdy steel frame. You can use this on the indoors to get a fitter and healthier lifestyle. There is an easy to read large display screen that makes it very easy for you to track your progress. This will keep you motivated to continue with the program as you will be seeing your results in the real time. The display shows the time, speed, odometer, distance, calories burned and the user’s hand pulse during the work out session. The recumbent bike has a sturdy made as it is made with steel. The seat is very comfortable as well as it is made with cushion rather than just plastic.
The flywheel is 5 kg and a belt driven system. There are 8 levels of tension control which can be used to adjust your difficulty level for the workout session. The maximum weight capacity of the recumbent bike is 250 pounds.
Pros
- Very sleek looking with sturdy steel made built.
- Easy to rear large display.
- Cushioned comfortable seat.
- 8 levels of magnetic tension.
Cons
- The packaging is done very poorly.
- Customer service is not good.
Ironman X-Class 410 Recumbent Bike Review
This recumbent bike is super versatile as the adjustment option for the resistance level has wider range than any other bikes available in the market. There are 32 levels of smooth magnetic tension levels in this bike to choose your difficulty level from. There are 12 computer pre set workout programs in the system as well. There is a back rest and it can be adjustable so it will provide you with support to help in reducing the lower back strain and stress. There is a use of Air Soft Seat technology that means the seat has individual air chambers for maximum level of comfort.
There is an IRONSTRONG compatible fitness app included in the program to make the workout sessions more interactive and fun. The maximum weight capacity is 350 lbs and the height range is 5’2’’ to 6’4’’.
Pros
- Quick to assemble by one person.
- Adjustments can be made to be used by different people of the family.
- Comfortable seat with adjustable back rest for maximum comfort.
- Bluetooth technology with free apps.
Cons
- Computer screen freezes after using for a long time.
Exerpeutic 1000 Magnetic Recumbent Bike Review
This is an extended capacity recumbent bike with pulse. There is an 8 level magnetic tension control system that lets the user to adjust the tension level according to their capacity. There are 6 preset workout programs in the recumbent size that counts and shows the time, distance, RPM, Watts, calories burned as well as the heart rate of the user during their work out session. The hand pulse monitor system conveniently helps the user to stay within the targeted heart rate zone without any issues. The extended weight capacity of the user is up to 300 lbs.
The seat is comfortable and there is a back rest that can be adjusted according to the user’s height and comfort. This seat can easily disperse the user’s weight as well, which makes the seat comfortable to be used for longer hours.
Pros
- 8 levels magnetic tension system lets the user adjust the tension level easily.
- 6 preset workout programs.
- Comfortable seat with adjustable back rest.
Cons
- The seat wobbles slightly while the user peddles very fast.
- If you are over 6’2’’, you might not feel comfortable.
Final Words
The recumbent bike reviews will conclude saying that there are many recumbent bikes in the market and you should choose one wisely. Recumbent bikes can be a great way to get your daily workout done and to make you fitter and healthier.