Exercise Bike at Home: Getting Started
The exercise bike is a complete piece of equipment for low-impact cardio training and building muscle while taking care of your joints. To get started at home and take advantage of all the benefits of home training, I’m getting equipped and developing my own training programme with the support of the #ProFormTeam!
Say Yes to Home Training!
I’m tempted to ride my bike, but apart from mild summer days and a few family outings during my holidays, I find it hard to make it into a real workout. By equipping myself with an exercise bike, I can finally take a step forward and combine the pleasure of cycling with my fitness and health goals:
- Cycling is a low-impact sport and an ideal cardio activity as an alternative to running to protect joints, build muscle and improve fitness.
- Having an exercise bike at home is the perfect complement to my outdoor activities: Don’t give up cycling trips; on the contrary; prepare for them in the comfort of home and ensure consistent progress, whatever the season.
- With a ProForm exercise bike compatible with iFit® solutions, quickly acquire the skills and get away from it all by pedalling to the 4 corners of the world or testing any route, using the integration with Google Maps™, to reproduce the terrain of the chosen route.
Getting Equipped with an Exercise Bike
To get started on the exercise bike, you just need to choose an outfit, accessories, and, of course, a home trainer! Here’s my list of essential things to remember.
An Indoor Cycling Outfit
When pedalling, it’s likely to be hot! And this is welcome. To feel comfortable and to be able to pedal for a long time without getting tired, opt for a comfortable outfit:
- A light jersey, made of a breathable technical material.
- A pair of shorts (with braces) or a close-fitting cycling suit with a reinforced seat that allows a good range of movement.
- Technical socks, which absorb sweat and help wick away moisture.
- Cycling shoes that fit the shape and size of the pedals.
- Cycling gloves to keep hold of the handlebars despite the sweat.
My Exercise Bike
There are two main types of exercise bikes:
- The classic upright bike, which reproduces the natural position of a road bike and allows you to pedal with your toes. This is the most versatile, and the CSX series from ProForm is excellent for beginners and suitable for all purposes.
- The seated bike, such as the 325 CSX+ and 310 CSX models, has a seat that supports the lumbar region and slightly alters the pedalling position to protect the back and joints.
Some upright bikes are designed for high-intensity cycling, such as ProForm’s Biking series, for example, the Smart Power 10.0 Pro.
My Programme for Starting with an Exercise Bike
As soon as you get a new exercise bike home, adjust it to your body shape by following the advice given in the instructions. Put on the new outfit and go. After the first pedal strokes, what next? The #ProFormTeam helps set up workouts on the CSX or Smart Power 10.0 Pro:
- Keep it restrained for the first session, sticking to 10 minutes at low resistance if you’re just getting back into exercise or never did any before. There will always be time to extend the sessions later.
- Test the training programmes integrated into the device according to your objectives.
- Access dozens of additional workouts for beginners by browsing the iFit® library. For example:
- Explore Chicago with an iFit® coach over 6 beginner sessions of about 30 minutes
- Follow an intensive fast calorie burning program with John Peel
- Test out routes of less than 5 km in Bali or Indonesia with the Island Hopping programme
- Diversify training by combining exercise bike and bodyweight work with the Studio Bike Classes programme
- Test the 20 most popular routes on Google Maps™
- Various other cycling workouts
