This is a guest post by Dr. Ron Fritzke.
Just about everyone recognizes that, in order to have a weight loss program that really ‘works’, there has to be an element of exercise involved. While the possibilities are seemingly endless, the choice of using a bike trainer as an integral tool in the fitness arsenal has several advantages.
Before I get into some important benefits of exercising on a bike trainer, let’s get the issue of defining a bike trainer behind us. A bike trainer isn’t an exercise bike, although they can also be excellent fitness devices.
A bike trainer is a resistance unit that you attach the rear wheel of your bicycle onto so that you can go for a ride without going anywhere.
Here are the four advantages of using a bike trainer:
- A Bike Trainer Can Be Convenient
- Exercising at home, rather than at a gym eliminates wasted travel time to and from the gym.
- Not having to pack along the ‘correct’ clothes for the gym experience is a bonus.
- Doing a workout at home insulates us from the embarrassment of rubbing elbows with a bunch of physically fit gym rats. Hey, we’re aiming to get as fit as they are…but until then, not wanting to be the ‘object lesson’ of the difference between fat and fit may keep us away from the gym.
- Save The Joints On A Bike Trainer
- Force Your Bike To Work All Year
- Get Optimal Workouts From A Bike Trainer
If you’re already doing workouts on your bike, you’ll know that being out in the winter cold is worsened on a bike. Not only is the road surface hazardous, but the windchill that you’re generating by your own forward movement can chill you to the bone.
On a bike trainer, the weather’s as temperate as your living room.
There are some types of exercise that are easy on the ankles, knees, and hips. And then there are others that are horrendous on joint health. Riding a bike is easy on the joints, which can be particularly applicable when you’re dealing with any excess body weight or beyond-middle-aged joints.
While swimming is also an excellent non-jarring exercise, it does necessitate having access to a body of water.
Most people have a bike. But many of those bikes only get usage during the spring, summer, and fall. When you attach your bike to an indoor bike trainer, you’re forcing it to perform all year.
This keeps you from having to purchase and store a bulky exercise bike, elliptical, or treadmill for use during the winter.
The world of fitness is recognizing the benefits of ‘interval-style’ workouts. These are workouts of mixing very hard, short bursts with recovery time periods. This type of workout raises the metabolism many times more than if the workout is performed at a steady, easy to moderate level of intensity.
And an added benefit is that the increased metabolism remains high for hours after the workout …meaning more fat burning.
Let’s face it, it’s not likely that you’ll be doing much in the way of interval workouts walking down the street. Your neighbors would probably call the EMT’s if they saw you alternating your easy walking stride with sessions of sprinting.
But on a bike trainer, you can pedal for all you’re worth for 10 to 15 seconds every 2 minutes and benefit from this ‘cutting-edge’ style of exercise. Of course, you’d better consult with your doctor if you’re on the low end of the physically-fit spectrum.
If you’re going to do interval workouts on a bike trainer, you’d probably benefit from getting a high end bike trainer like the Cycleops Fluid 2 or the Kinetics Road Machine. This is the style of indoor trainer that can supply more than enough resistance to make intervals possible.
Conquer The Weight Battle With A Bike Trainer
There’s no time of the year when the ‘perfect storm’ for weight gain comes together more often than during the cold winter holidays. Not only is there too much rich food everywhere you turn, but getting outside to exercise can be a daunting task.
With an indoor bike trainer, solving the exercise part of the problem is a bit easier. You’re on your own about the food.
Like This Post? Give me the thumbs up 
