Those who bike (indoor or outdoor) I have questions

[JulieL]

Recently in the last 2 months I started using the bike at the gym for 30 mins a couple times a week adding 150-200 walking lunges with weights after the workout. My gym has a 30 min rule for the aerobic machines, so I don't alway get to pop back on. The point of doing this several times a week is to tone and tighten the legs. I seem to feel some much needed tightening in the inner thigh area - finally. I work my resistance up through the 30 from level 3 to level 7 or 8, about 70 RPM. I definately feel the burn in the legs while biking, which is what I want. Now I never learned to bike as a kid, and had a pretty bad accident once which has freaked me out about biking IRL. BUT... now I'm pretty excited about my biking in the gym and it's results so far.

Questions:

My level now on the bike, where is this in terms of difficulty? I usually burn about 170 or more calories in 30 min, and could definately go on. How can I get more out of biking in the gym. What should I try to work up to? Lower resistance at higher RPM, or up the resistance keep the RPM up as high as I can.

If you bike what results have you seen in your muscle definition? Is it better than running for the leg muscles or equivilent? I like that it is better on the knees.



If this keeps up going well, I think I'm gonna try to learn to bike in the spring, gulp, it seems like such a fun activity to do alone and with a family.

Thanks!

eta: Oh, and something is happening to my hamstrings, like there is some muscle showing! Is this the biking or lunges????

 

[Kathy02]

I don't have a lot of experience on bikes at the gym. What I have done in the past though, when I would use the bike, is up the resistance to keep my RPM up. Or you can do one of the interval programs, or the up hill program. I don't suppose that you're gym offers a spinning class?

Now, the outdoors biking I have a lot of experience with. That is probably my favorite outdoor exercise to do. I keep my gears set as high as I can comfortably go and bike as fast as I can. I obviously adjust the tension when I'm going up hills and down hills. I would suggest starting with a fairly flat area, then working your way up to a hilly area. I used to start at biking about 10 miles or so, and then upped it to about 20-30, when I was young and had time. I think more than likely now that I'm getting a feel for my "new" area that I live in and am figuring out ways to not go on freeways to get to other towns I will be trying for some major distance this spring.
I love biking! I love the speghetti legs that you get when you get off after I good ride. I love the scenery, I love the wind in my hair and face as I go along, I love it all!
Ok, there is my thoughts on your situation. LOL!

Kathy

Edited to change spelling error

 

[andtckrtoo]

Julie - my first real foray into exercise was with biking. Mountain biking to be exact, but you can get many of the same benefits from a stationary bike. Biking does help define the legs and glutes but I think it's different than running (which I also do) as it works the muscles very differently. You won't go wrong with spinning. And the definition is probably due to both the biking and the lunges.

My suggestion for getting more out of biking at the gym would be to add some iCycle workouts by iTrain (www.itrain.com). You can download these to an iPod or download them then burn them to a CD. Cardio Coach (www.cardiocoach.com) is also a good choice - and you can buy the CD's from them directly. These workouts will take you through "hill" (resistance) and "sprint" (spin speed) variations and really work you hard. They're basically like a spin class. The iCycles are more like a traditional spin class. The Cardio Coaches are more true interval training. Both speed and resistance and varying them are great options. I use cycling a lot as cross training and I think cycling helped me complete my half marathon last weekend.

 

[toastythemosty]

I'm no expert, but I will just tell you that I have seen more definition in my legs since biking. Was biking about 14 miles 2x's a week, on average.

Charlotte~~

 

[mogambo]

I started road biking last fall. I've tried to go twice a week since then. I started around 15 miles, and now go from 30-45. 30 on a weekday after work and 40 or 45 on one of the weekend mornings.

My legs have NEVER looked so good in my life. Unfortunately, I'm 49, so my head looks a bit old. Too bad I couldn't get all the bits to match at the same time, eh? x(

I've been doing Cathe for 10 years, running, swimming and so forth, but biking has done the trick. I live in rolling hills (NC Piedmont), so I can't help but climb about half the time, with little breaks. I guess it's like a lot of intervals.

I think another thing is that a long ride takes 2 hrs or more. You burn an awful lot of calories in that much time, so its' also helped me lose those last few stubborn pounds.

Spinning is a great workout too. I will do it some this winter when the weather is too rainy and cold on the weekend and I miss a ride. I think it's best to do some interval work on a stationary bike. And try some long climbs, in and out of the seat.

Good luck next spring with a "real" bike. There are lots of websites out there to help beginners, and you can always post here again and ask us.

Liane