are so many exercise bikes available that it’s easy to be overwhelmed. Spinning bikes, stationary bikes, dual action bikes, and recumbent bikes are probably some of the terms you’ve heard. It’s almost as though you have to be a fitness equipment engineer to understand the differences! Here’s a quick summary of these confusing terms.

o Spinning Bikes

You’ve probably heard about the spin craze that has become so popular in health clubs. Spinning bikes usually have at least a front wheel that spins (which is why they are so brilliantly named spinning bikes). These bikes might be the current fad, but they aren’t very comfortable. The seats are small and hard. The classes make these boring bikes more interesting, but as home exercise bikes, they quickly become tedious.

o Stationary Bikes

Stationary bikes (or upright bikes) are the exercise bikes that most people can identify. It’s the same basic model as in the 1980’s. Once again, it’s fairly uncomfortable. You can’t really do anything like read or watch TV because you’re leaning left and right and bouncing, so it, too, quickly gets boring.

o Dual Action Bikes

Dual action bikes are aptly named, as they give you both an upper and lower body workout. There are handles that move independently – much like an elliptical machine. It’s a good workout, but a bit tough for beginners, and as usual, the time on the bike will eventually get boring.

You can also get dual action bikes that allow you to adjust the machine to create an arm-pedaling workout. It’s usually fairly difficult to make the adjustments. It’s also two separate exercises, which create a longer workout. Most people aren’t as likely to keep up such a routine.

o Recumbent Bikes

Recumbent bikes are the exercise bikes with the comfortable bucket seats. You sit back and lower to the ground as you pedal. These exercise bikes are easy enough for even the most sedentary beginners, and they usually offer workout programs to keep the workouts from becoming mundane.

The Experts Recognize the Advantages of Recumbent Bikes

Most physicians and personal trainers recommend recumbent bikes. Recumbent bikes are better for people of all different fitness levels. You are more likely to keep up a recumbent bike routine over time, the bikes are safer, and there are different benefits for both men and women.

o Recumbent Bikes for All Fitness Levels

Even the most sedentary person will find a recumbent exercise bike easy to use. You can adjust the settings to offer little or no resistance as you pedal. People who are overweight will definitely find the seat much larger and more comfortable than other exercise bikes.

Athletes will find the recumbent exercise bike a challenge. The resistance can become incredibly difficult. The bike can simulate pedaling up hills. Most recumbent bikes offer various programs that will require you to sprint and tackle hills. If you want an upper body workout as you pedal, you can easily add weights and do repetitions as you sit back in the recumbent bike seat.

o Recumbent Bikes Offer a Sustainable Workout

The programs offered by most recumbent exercise bikes definitely keep the workout from becoming boring. You can simulate a course that is easy or difficult, flat or hilly. When shopping for exercise bikes, it’s better to get a bike with as many variations as possible.

The fact that a recumbent bike is suitable for all levels will keep you getting back on the bike. If you’re feeling particularly tired or lazy one day, you can have an easy workout where you can read a book or newspaper. If you really want to test your limits, you can crank up the music, set the machine to more difficult levels, and add some weights for an upper body workout.

o Recumbent Bikes are Safer

Because you sit back and lower to the ground in a recumbent bike, it is better for your body. Most exercise bikes force you to hunch over, causing a stiff back. Some dual action bikes are back injuries waiting to happen. Recumbent bikes require that you sit with good posture as you pedal.

Recumbent bikes also offer one of the few cardio workouts that put no pressure on your knees and other joints. You can’t “cheat” on a recumbent bike and stand up when you’re finding it more difficult to pedal. Standing like that on other types of exercise bikes puts unnecessary pressure on your knees and ankles. Recumbent bikes let your body exercise at an angle where your body weight is not stressing your joints. Even people with back and knee problems will find a recumbent bike easy to use.

o Why Men Should Choose Recumbent Exercise Bikes

So many men neglect their lower bodies when they workout, especially in strength training. It’s common to see buffed out men with giant biceps and tiny little bird legs. That’s because it’s easier to get an upper body workout at home. If you just invest in a recumbent bike, you can set the machine to high resistance. You will build leg muscle, and you can even do curls while you pedal.

Recumbent bikes can also allow men to get a great cardio workout without the discomfort that only a man knows on regular bikes or other types of exercise bikes. With the large, comfortable seats of recumbent bikes, you are much more likely to enjoy your workout pain-free.

If you move the seat of a recumbent bike up a bit to bring your legs higher, you can even target the lower abs and have to do less crunches to get the bottom of your six-pack!

o Things Women Should Know About Recumbent Bikes

Two words, ladies: legs and bottoms. Recumbent exercise bikes are so comfortable and easy to use that eventually you can do workouts giving you results like you’ve spent hours a day on a stair-stepper.

Recumbent bikes can give you a fat burning cardio workout with enough resistance to help you build long, lean muscle. Picture Tina Turner legs. Recumbent bikes also are great for your inner thighs. Using different programs and settings, you will be able to target different muscle areas in your legs for longer looking, leaner legs.

According to most polls, women claim in higher numbers to not have time for exercise because of more responsibilities in the home. With the positioning of a recumbent bike, you can multi-task to more easily fit in a workout. You are able to read, catch the news, and even use a phone or your handheld organizer.

Finding a Recumbent Exercise Bike

With prices between $200 and $3000, there is quite a variety of recumbent bikes available. Use the Internet to find great deals (including free shipping most of the time). Because the bikes are great for any level and help you to finally be able to stick with a safe and effective workout routine, you can splurge a little. This is definitely one of the best investments you can make for your health.

This is designed to put you in a semi-reclined position so your workout focuses on all the major muscles in your hips, thighs, and buttocks. Stationary cycling is the most effective low-impact aerobic exercises for increasing your metabolism for more efficient calorie and fat burning without the impact on your joints.

Because it is an impact-free activity, stationery cycling can be a lifelong form of exercise. For effective aerobic exercise, work within your target heart rate zone (70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate). They feature the adjustable heavy-weighted flywheel resistance and belt drive train, so your bike pedals smoothly at any resistance level. The magnetic resistance is easily adjusted with a grip-edged, 8-position dial knob that can be easily reached and adjusted without interrupting your workout.

The oversized foot pedals and adjustable foot straps hold your feet securely to improve pulling motion while pedaling. Exercise bikes without this feature have the pushing motion only and not the more advantageous pushing/pulling motion.

Recumbent Exercise Bike takes up much less space than other recumbent exercise bikes with a footprint of just 45″ x 24″. You’ll find that they are well designed and constructed bikes so you can sit back and get a smooth, quiet, low-impact, yet full-body workout. You are the most important person there is and your health should not be forgotten. As with everything exercise takes commitment, it is not something you can just jump into. You have you be dedicated and willing to accept hard work.

decided you want to exercise at home. There are hundreds of pieces of home cardio equipment available. The most popular are treadmills and exercise bikes. In deciding between the two, you should compare long-term sustainability, the effectiveness of the workouts, and safety.

Overcoming Boredom

The biggest obstacle to a home exercise routine is sticking with it. You don’t have to drive to a gym, so your home fitness equipment is more convenient. The problem is that other distractions are just as convenient at home. The key is to make your routine fun. You want to look forward to your daily workout. You have to be realistic. Playing with the heart rate monitor or watching the calorie counter go up will only be fun the first couple of times you exercise.

o Treadmill vs. Boredom

On a treadmill, you walk. Walking isn’t that fun. You can walk at different speeds, but that isn’t really much more fun. If you get a treadmill that offers an incline, that keeps it a bit more interesting. Walking uphill isn’t exactly fun, but it’s different. It presents a challenge.

You can’t really read on a treadmill because you are bouncing up and down. You can’t keep your eyes on the same sentence, and you usually end up with a headache. Basically, the only thing fun to do on a treadmill is watch television or movies. If you are really into TV or movies and are able to put your treadmill in front of a television, you can probably keep your treadmill workout from becoming too boring. Problems consist of commercials, the noise coming from the machine, and again, the bouncing.

o Exercise Bikes vs. Boredom

Exercise bikes are unique in that many of them come programmed with various biking routines. You simulate different courses that require you to sprint, pedal uphill, and perform at different levels within one workout without having to keep pressing buttons and changing everything. You can even select random programs so you don’t know what’s coming, which really keeps you on your toes. Some exercise bikes can even be plugged into televisions and video games to let you interactively pedal through visual courses.

On upright exercise bikes, you run into some of the same problems as treadmills as far as reading is concerned. Recumbent bikes, however, allow your hands to be free to hold a book or magazine, video game controller, or phone. Multi-tasking during an exercise bike workout keeps it from becoming boring and allows your workout to more easily fit into a busy schedule.

Defeating boredom to successfully keep up a long-term exercise routine is much easier with an exercise bike than a treadmill.

The Calorie Factor

In a study conducted by Nordic Track, young, healthy people used various exercise machines and did cardio workouts. Although they felt they used the same intensity on all machines, they burned the most calories on treadmills and ski machines.

On average, most people burn about 750 calories per hour on a treadmill. The same people are likely to burn about 550 calories per hour on an exercise bike. So it’s a no-brainer, right? You should get a treadmill because they burn more calories.

Well, not exactly. You can’t get so caught up in which machine burns the most calories. You have to take a lot of other factors into consideration. How likely are you to sustain a treadmill routine as opposed to an exercise bike routine?

Because exercise bikes are usually more fun than treadmills, you are much more likely to stick with it long-term. This means that even though you can burn more calories on a treadmill, you are also more likely to stop using it altogether.

You might also find it difficult to use it long enough per workout session to get the full benefits. Most people find it easier to workout for 20 minutes on an exercise bike than 20 minutes on a treadmill. You have to think about that. If you are likely to only do 10 minutes on a treadmill but can easily do 20 minutes on an exercise bike, you will burn more calories per session on an exercise bike.

So just going strictly by the numbers, treadmills burn more calories. If you easily get bored or have tried and failed to stick with exercise routines in the past, you might want to consider burning less calories per hour in favor of a sustainable long-term exercise bike regimen.

Your Safety

The biggest difference between exercise bikes and treadmills is overall safety to your body.

The first case of safety is the most basic. You can fall off of a treadmill. It’s very difficult, however, to fall off of an exercise bike. In fact, you would probably have to try to fall when riding an exercise bike. While you might be thinking you’d have to be pretty clumsy to fall while walking, it happens more than you’d think. People get involved with watching television or the beat of music. One wrong step and you can seriously injure yourself. It’s also possible to spill water or sweat on the treadmill track, causing a safety hazard you might not notice until after you’ve slipped.

Another safety hazard is injury from the activity itself. A treadmill puts quite a bit of stress on your joints, especially your knees and ankles. Even if you invest in a treadmill with some degree of shock absorption, when you eventually get to a jogging or running point, you can put severe orthopedic stress on your body, even up to three times your body weight. People with existing conditions such as arthritis will find a treadmill painful at times due to this stress. Otherwise healthy individuals can sustain injury and possible long-term damage over time.

Exercise bikes put much less stress on your joints. A properly positioned exercise bike supports your weight and still allows you to receive the benefits of a higher impact cardio workout. Upright bikes can sometimes stress your back in the way you have to bend to reach the handlebars. Recumbent exercise bikes, however, can actually improve existing back pain by forcing proper posture and giving support as you exercise. On any exercise bike properly used, your knees and ankles are not stressed as they are on a treadmill.

The less you stress joints, the less likely you are to sustain an injury during your workout. You are also less likely to be sore afterwards. Most importantly, a non-workout injury doesn’t always have to halt your exercise routine on an exercise bike. If you hurt your back or neck, you will find the support of a recumbent exercise bike will keep you from having to stop your exercise regimen altogether. Let’s face it – if you have to stop, you are less likely to start again.

An Exercise Bike is Better for Your Health than a Treadmill

As you can see, both pieces of home fitness equipment have advantages. While the treadmill continues to be the most popular piece of home gym equipment, most people are more likely to faithfully use an exercise bike. This means you’re more likely to have to dust a treadmill until it gets the garage sale sticker.

One of the most popular pieces of fitness equipment is the recumbent exercise bike. They are generating a lot of buzz, but what are their benefits? Why choose one of these bikes? Here’s a look at the answers to these questions and several others.

Standard exercise bikes are stationary bicycles are uncomfortable to ride for any length of time. Not only is the seat too small, but also being hunched over is hard on the back and legs.

A recumbent bike sports a large, wide, comfortable seat that supports your body and takes the stress off joints. You are sitting back and not stressing your back, allowing you to ride for extended lengths of time.

Recumbent exercise bikes are good for beginners as well as experts. They work well for all fitness levels because you can set your registration level. Beginners can pedal without any resistance, while experts can set up as difficult a workout as they want.

You will also find doctors and trainers recommending these types of exercise bikes because of the safety benefits. Since they are low impact they work well in physical therapy and gaining endurance and muscle strength following an injury.

The cardio benefits are another area that these bikes excel in. Because of the programmed workouts built-in to these machines, as well as being able to increase the resistance levels, you can get your heart rate to whatever level you desire.

Women also love the way they can shape their hips, thighs and buttocks from recumbent bikes. They work to help your body lose fat and gain muscle strength unlike any other type of exercise equipment.

You can also watch your favorite TV show while exercising, or read a book or magazine. Something anyone who has a busy schedule can appreciate.

As you can see, a recumbent exercise bike offers the features and benefits to getting a good low impact workout and getting in better shape, without the hassles of going to the gym or trying to find time to fit in your schedule.

Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise has many benefits to your health and is something that most people should consider making a regular part of their lifestyle. Aerobic exercise has been shown to help increase energy levels, boost the metabolism and contribute to weight loss when combined with a balanced diet.

Unfortunately most people do not do enough aerobic exercise and this is due to many reasons. For some it is because they have certain medical conditions that prevent them from running or even jogging however even a light 30 to 60 minute walk indoors or outside if the weather permits can be just as beneficial.

Lack of time is often the number one reason people fail to do aerobic exercise regularly. The best way to deal with this is to get something like a stair climber or treadmill in your house. This way you can exercise any time and it is the most convenient. There are many different models and types of aerobic exercise equipment. The recumbent exercise bikes can be great as they are the most comfortable to use but they can be rather expensive. If you look around you are sure to find something good that is within your budget.

The ideal time to do aerobic exercise is first thing in the morning on an empty stomach as this will help to also burn the maximum amount of calories helping you to lose weight too if that is a problem. Aerobic exercise in a gym type environment can be great as it can also provide the added benefit of being around other health conscious people and who knows you may even make a lot of great friendships by socializing with the people at the gyms.

Also consider implementing some sort of weight training program also in addition to the aerobics. This will help to build and maintain your muscles which are important for strength and also for the purpose of burning more calories. Remember that muscles burn calories all the time even when you are not working out so they are really necessary to help you to maintain a healthy weight.

Aerobic exercise should be done around 4 to 5 times a week and depending on whether you are running, jogging or just walking the amount of time spent should be between 20 to 60 minutes. There is no need to overdo it as this can have negative effects such as fatigue and you can even get sick. Also make sure you take a day or two off every week to give your body a chance to fully recover from any previous workouts. The combination of aerobics and weight training is the ideal way to lose weight and stay strong.

There has been a lot of talk about recumbent bikes lately, but what are their benefits? Is it more hype than help? Here’s a closer look at the facts.

There is no denying that a recumbent bike is easy on the body and especially your joints. The seat is wide and comfortable, and they work well for all age groups and fitness levels.

For a beginner the big advantage is that the resistance level can be set to zero resistance or whatever you are comfortable starting out with. Even the most obese can maintain a level of comfort on these bikes without it being a struggle.

On the flip side, those in good physical condition can get a strength building workout for many muscle groups. There are programs built-in on recumbent exercise bikes to challenge even the best of athletes.

Doctors and fitness trainers recommend recumbent bikes to get in better shape and become healthier overall. This is due in part to the low impact workout you get with a recumbent. There is no stress on major joints in the knees or back. Compare this to jogging or weightlifting.

You also are sitting down and lying back, rather than hunching over the handlebars of a regular bike or stationary bike. You will find your back will not stiffen up.

Another healthy benefit of these bikes is the cardiovascular effect. Not only will you build up your endurance, but also you will be burning fat and losing weight quickly.

Most all recumbent bikes come with several pre-set workout programs, resistance levels and more. The fact that you can tailor your routine to your own individual fitness level makes this an excellent choice for getting in better shape.

ants are a bit tight, you can’t seem to stop eating junk, and you’re tired all of the time. It’s time to get healthy and lose weight. Combined with a more sensible diet, an exercise bike can help you achieve the results you want.

Ugh, the Diet.

So many people go wrong here. Forget fad diets, forget starvation. Slow and steady wins the race. Try changing one thing about your diet. Limit yourself to one soda a day. Stop skipping meals. If you always clean your plate, start leaving one or two bites. A total change in diet is work. If you go for a radical change, you are setting yourself up for failure. You’ll be surprised how well small changes work.

The Right Bike Determines Your Success

This is a critically important part. There are literally hundreds of exercise bikes available. You have to be honest with yourself to discover the one that will work best for you. If you talk yourself into some fantasy world where your exercise plan is going to work this time even though there’s nothing different, you’re going to be disappointed. If you think ahead, you will buy the right bike for your needs. You will end up with a successful long-term exercise routine.

Think back to your last exercise routine attempt. Why did you stop? Did you suffer an injury? Did you get bored? Was it just too hard to do every day? Was it hard to find the time? Answer these questions truthfully. If you don’t figure out where you went wrong, you won’t be able to come up with a solution.

Avoiding and Working Through Injuries

If an injury caused you to stop working out, how did you sustain your injury? Becoming physically fit is supposed to help you prevent injuries, not cause them. There is an exercise bike for someone who has been injured working out. It’s called a recumbent exercise bike. It’s the kind found in a lot of health clubs. It has a large, bucket seat, and you sit back and low to the ground. It is perfect for people beginning a new exercise routine. It’s also very good for back problems as it forces you to keep good posture. It puts no pressure on your joints, and you can keep working out even if you have minor injuries.

Overcoming Boredom

Did you get bored the last time you tried to workout on a regular basis? If you did, you are likely to get bored again. With exercise bikes, the solution is usually a bike with several different levels and riding programs. You can get bikes with different difficulty levels. This means that when it becomes too easy for you to pedal, you simply move up to the next level instead of having to ride longer (which just isn’t likely to happen for the person who is easily bored). You can also get different programs. Programs give you variety and goals. They make you pedal harder, simulate conquering hills, and even sprinting for short periods.

Riding programs might not be enough for you. You might need a bike that you can hook up to your television that simulates riding through different courses. You can take a leisurely ride through a park or compete with other computer riders on a difficult obstacle course. These bikes might cost more up front, but if you don’t invest in a bike that will let you sustain your workout, you’re wasting money on anything less.

The coolest thing for game addicts who get bored is an interactive bike that plugs into a Sony Playstation or Playstation 2. It makes over 50 games interactive. Whatever is happening on your bike happens on the screen in bike, car, and similar games. There are all types of similar bikes available.

If you plan on listening to music or watching TV while you cycle, be sure to pay attention to features that will make the exercise bike quieter. It’s also a good idea to get a quieter bike if you live with other people. For all you know, your workout time is going to be 5AM or midnight. A quieter bike won’t disturb other people in your home.

Don’t Try to Be Lance Armstrong Yet…

People beginning exercise programs are sometimes too ambitious. It’s good to be excited, but you have to remain realistic. If your last exercise program failed because it was just too much work, don’t make the same mistake again. Fight the urge to overdo your first workouts. It is critical to your long-term success that you start out slow. If you go from no exercise at all to 5 to 10 minute exercise bike workouts with little resistance, you are much more likely to avoid injury, soreness, and most of all, early feelings of defeat. If you aim too high – expecting to go from a sedentary lifestyle to 45 minute workouts immediately, for example – you are setting yourself up for failure. When you don’t reach your unattainable goal, it is more likely you’ll quit altogether to alleviate the feeling of failure that much sooner.

The perfect bikes for people who get a bit over-excited are exercise bikes with built in riding programs. You simply start out at the lowest level, and the bike determines your workout. You program in a small goal (10 minutes, 50 calories, or .25 mile) and when you reach that goal, your workout is over.

Finding the Time

You do have time to burn fat and calories on an exercise bike. No matter how intense your schedule is, there are people busier than you who find time to make an exercise routine work. They are not better than you. They don’t have more than 24 hours in a day. They simply figured out how to make it work. You can, too.

It can be as simple as the time of day you chose to workout in the past. There is scientific evidence that people who are “morning people” or “night owls” are physically different. Different people have energy at different times. Think about when you work best. If you wake up without an alarm clock ready to go, you should exercise first thing in the morning. If you are a night owl, you should consider working out at night. You might find that you are one of the people who tire yourself out enough with a night workout to sleep like a baby.

You Can Do This!

Losing weight is not a punishment. You are smart enough to know how to eat a little better and become more active. If you are honest with yourself, you will choose the proper bike. You want to look forward to the workout itself. Don’t get caught up in which bike burns more calories. Find an exercise bike you will enjoy riding. Figure out the time of day that’s best for you to exercise. Make it like getting dressed or bathing – it’s just something you do every day. You don’t have to train for the Tour de France. You just have to get on and do something every day. Ten minutes a day will yield results. Bookmark this article for future motivation, find your exercise bike, and get busy!

Exercise bikes are a very popular feature of many fitness gyms, and they are quickly becoming a staple of the home exercise machine industry too. They offer the advantages of a good, solid cardio workout combined with a very low impact technique. They are perfect for folks who have injuries or sensitive joints that don’t take well to higher impact machines like treadmills. So what do you look for when you shop for exercise bikes?

The first thing you are going to find is that there are two different styles of exercise bikes available. One is the upright bike and the other is the recumbent bike. You’re probably very familiar with the former, although you may have seen the latter and did not realize it. The upright bike looks very much like a regular bicycle, only it seems to be missing one or both wheels. The recumbent bike on the other hand has a strange appearance, as if the petals had been taken from their position on the bottom and moved out in front of the machine instead. And most of the time an exerciser actually lays down into the recumbent bike in order to exercise on it.

When you consult the independent exercise bike reviews and ratings both online and off-line, you find that it really doesn’t matter much which type of bike you choose. Either an upright or recumbent exercise bike will give you the exercise that you need. Which you choose depends more on your own personal preference and comfort level.

Some things that you need to look for on the best exercise bikes are easy and extensive height adjustments that will fit almost anyone. Any exercise machine will not be used very often if it is not comfortable enough to be used regularly. So make sure that the seat fits you, or that you can get a seat that will fit you without too much trouble. Pedals should be easy to operate and have a method of strapping your feet in place so they don’t fall off.

For safety sake, make sure that all moving parts are covered with some sort of shroud, eliminating the possibility that small children or others can get caught in the machine and suffer injury.

The bike that you choose should also match your weight level. Each machine comes with its own weight rating that you should observe very carefully. The very best exercise bikes have high weight ratings, on up to 300 to 400 lbs. So if your purpose of buying the exercise bike is to lose weight, be sure that the model you choose will support your current weight level.

A heart rate monitor is a very important piece of equipment for almost any exercise machine to have available. It will help you monitor your workouts more closely, and make sure that you are getting the most calorie burning exercise for the time that you are investing. The best exercise bikes even include an interactive heart rate monitor that will adjust your workout intensity for you as needed to make sure that you are burning the most calories possible in the time allotted for your exercise session.

Also consider the warranty when you buy, looking for a warranty that provides for at least the first full year of use including labor. To get most of these features that we have discussed as being common on the best exercise bikes, you can expect to pay anywhere from $600 – $1500 for a high quality bike. So do your homework and test drive each model you are interested in beforehand to find the exercise bike that will work best for you.

Walk into any sporting goods store today and you’ll there’s a wealth of options when it comes to exercise bicycles, and a wide range of price and features as well.  While you want to invest wisely in this type of equipment you also want to be sure that you’re getting your money’s worth and aren’t paying for things you don’t need or just plain old overpaying for even a basic model.  So what should you look for when it comes to exercise bicycles and how can you make your decision?

First keep in mind that there are recumbent bikes and upright exercise bicycles; the recumbent mean that you lean back in the seat of the bike and these usually even have a back that you can rest against.  Your legs are in front of you while you pedal.  Upright exercise bicycles are taller and the pedals are below your body; you typically lean forward on the handles while you pedal, or sit upright.  Men should be especially careful about using a standard upright bike because the narrow seat puts a lot of pressure on the prostate gland. 

The recumbent bikes are much easier on the back while the upright models actually typically give you a better workout in your legs.  If you’re just starting out or are still very overweight, or have any type of back problems, you may want to opt for something by way of one of these recumbent exercise bicycles so that you’re not putting undue stress on your legs or back.

Both of the upright and recumbent bicycles have one thing in common.  They are considered low impact devices.  Unlike treadmills machines the exercise bicycles produces a smooth motion without the jarring, joint damaging action of walking or running.  For someone with any type of joint or back problem this low impact motions will mean the difference between using the exercise machine and not using it.  What good is any exercise machine if you will not use it.

Other features and options that you’re going to find with most exercise bicycles have to do with the level of resistance you can program and how smoothly the operation is.  Many of the better or more expensive models of bikes will allow you to program in various levels of resistance, whereas less expensive models don’t have so many options.

It is usually better to have more options than less when it comes to resistance as many people are surprised by how much of a workout exercise bicycles actually are.  Some may also have programs, meaning the bike will automatically adjust resistance while you work according to preset programming.  This is great for those looking for a challenge when it comes to biking, as you don’t need to worry about making adjustments while you pedal.

When you’re shopping for exercise bicycles, be sure to try out a few models and see which feel smooth while you pedal.  Most are made up of a few simple wheels and gears and aren’t that complicated when it comes to their design and engineering.  Unfortunately this simplicity can mean that the gears just don’t mesh well and the bike becomes uncomfortable when used.  So think of your budget, your level of fitness right now, and try out a few different exercise bicycles and you’re sure to make the right choice.

If you’re looking for an exercise machine that will give you a good cardio workout without stressing your joints, then maybe an exercise bike is just what you need. Treadmills are still the most popular exercise machine out there, but not everyone can use a treadmill safely, because of the high impact exercise that it asks you to do. If you have very sensitive joints for any reason, you’ll have to try a different means of getting a daily workout.

Elliptical trainers can work well for this purpose, but an exercise bike is also a very fine choice. A lot of people seem to gravitate to exercise bikes, probably because they are familiar with the overall design. And everyone knows that riding a bicycle is good exercise, so it only makes sense that if you can perform the same motions indoors you should be able to get similar health benefits.

So what should you look for when you are shopping for exercise bikes? The first thing to decide is whether you wish to have an upright bike or a recumbent bike. The upright exercise bike looks very similar to a real bicycle, with handlebars, a seat, and pedals underneath. The recumbent exercise bike on the other hand, can be a sort of strange looking contraption, that you actually lay in and pedal with your feet straight out in front of you. Most fitness experts seem to agree that either type of exercise bike will work well for you, it just depends on your personal preference and comfort level as to which bike you should buy. For instance, those with chronic back problems may find the recumbent exercise bike much easier to work with.

When looking over the exercise bike candidates, the same general rule of thumb applies here as it does in other exercise machines. You generally get what you pay for. In other words, most of the really cheap exercise bikes will not hold up well over the long haul. So expect to pay at least $600 to $1000 for a good piece of equipment, and $1500 or more for a really heavy-duty gym quality machine.

It’s always a good idea to try out any exercise bike model that interests you in advance in person. See how comfortable it is for you to use as you exercise. Does this seat fit you as it should? Can you adjust the seat level to give you a comfortable travel distance to the pedals?

Other considerations include whether or not that particular model has a heart rate monitor. This is a good piece of equipment to have for almost any exercise machine that you want to use. In fact, some machines are even coming with interactive heart rate monitors that keep an eye on your heart rate level and adjust your workout automatically to help you burn the most calories per session. If you can get an exercise bike with this feature, it can be well worth it.

Also make sure that the display on each model gives you the information that you would really like to have as you workout. Does it keep track of the time that you have been on the machine? Does it show the calories you have burned? Does it display your heart rate level? Does it allow you to adjust the resistance of the machine as you workout?

As you test out each machine, take notes on each model, both its strengths and its weaknesses, and then compile the information after you have looked at a good representation of all exercise bike models available. By keeping the suggestions listed above in mind and doing your homework you should be able to make the best exercise bike choice possible for your needs.