Exercise Bike Interval Training – Lose Weight in Just 10-20 Minutes a Day

Just 20 minutes of exercise bike interval training three times a week will help you build endurance and get in the best shape of your life.

Not only are doing intervals a big calorie blaster — burning somewhere between 300 to 400 calories in a half hour — doing high intensity interval training (HIIT) on a stationary bike is the perfect cardio exercise that also strengths muscles in the legs, glutes, lower back and hips.

Interval Basics

To do these exercises, you have several periods (intervals) of intense, vigorous pedaling, alternating with short rest (recovery) periods. You can either increase resistance (tension) at the same pace, or pick up the pace (cadence) of pedaling but leave the resistance at the same level.

For example, this would be a beginning exercise bike training interval using either higher resistance or higher cadence:

1. 1. Start with a five-minute warm-up at moderate speed with low tension.
2. 2. Add tension or pick up cadence for one minute.
3. 3. Reduce tension or cadence and pedal during recovery for at least 30 seconds, or as long as one minute if you need it.
4. 4. Keep alternating the spring and recovery intervals for 5 minutes if you are a beginner and up to 20 minutes if you are in good condition.
5. 5. To finish, use low or no resistance for a five-minute cool down.

If you do more advanced HIIT with cadence, the sprints are done for about 15 or 20 seconds. The rider should attempt to get into the upper 85% to 90% target heart rate zone, and will need the full 30 seconds of recovery to catch his breath before he can set up for the next interval sprint.

With this kind of intensity, it is important to perform the pedal strokes with even rotations so that you don’t injure yourself.

Add Intervals to Keep Your Workouts Interesting

You can do exercise bike interval training on uprights and recumbents in many ways, but they are most effective on indoor spinning-type bikes.

With the spin bike, you have the benefit of variable handlebar hand placements for the seated flat, standing flat, seated climb, and standing climb positions, and can keep the cadence between 80 and 110 RPMs (revolutions per minute).

Doing intervals is a great way to lose excess fat on your body since it burns a ton of calories in just 10 to 20 minutes a day.

If you don’t have a lot of time to workout, exercise bike interval training is the best way to get aerobic conditioning, lose weight, and strengthen the muscles of the leg and trunk.

There are many variations you can try, which is also a plus to keep things interesting, so don’t be hesitant to incorporate HIIT routines into your workout schedule.