Can’t stop hearing about all the great benefits from HIIT fitness? The term, which stands for High Intensity Interval Training, is all the rage in the world of working out. The HIIT exercise bike workouts are equally as popular!
If you’ve got an exercise bike and a desire to get some serious exercising in, then you’re in the right place. We’ll give you the full rundown on how to reap the HIIT benefits from an exercise bike.
What You’ll Need
Contents
- An exercise bike
- A Bluetooth speaker
Your Complete HIIT Exercise Bike Guide
- Set up your space
- Warm up for 5 minutes
- Speed up for 60 seconds
- Complete a 120-second recovery ride
- Repeat!
- Cool down
- Questions and Answers
1. Set up your space
Time is everything when it comes to a HIIT workout. You don’t want to have to pause halfway through your workout to readjust your bike or bring your water bottle closer to you!
You’ll want to check that your exercise bike is in a perfect position. This means that it should be at the right height and angle for your preferences.
Make sure that you have a bottle of water and a sweat cloth for any excess sweat in case you need to cool-off mid-workout.
Are you wondering why we included a Bluetooth speaker on our list of required supplies? Well, the louder the music, the easier it is to get in the zone! Crank your music up and use it as a way to feel the need for speed.
2. Warm up for 5 minutes
You don’t want to jump right into a high-intensity sweat session. Building up to your fast-paced workout should always include a warm-up routine.
Bike at a low-to-medium level of resistance that works with your comfort level. You should go at a comfortable pace. This will typically allow you to hold a conversation, so use this as a measure of whether you’re going too fast or not.
The exact speed and resistance level will depend on your fitness. This may be faster for some, while significantly slower for others. It’s all about where you are in your fitness journey, so don’t fret if you feel like a warm-up is slower than the warm-up of someone else!
An important note on this section is that if you feel out of breath or that you’re going to fast, SLOW DOWN. This portion is designed to warm up your muscles, not tire you out. You need to save your stamina for the next step!
Don’t skip out on your warm-up, even if you feel too eager to get started. Warming up comes with various benefits, and can help you reduce your risk of injury and walk out of your HIIT exercise bike routine feeling less sore than if you miss the warm-up.
3. Speed up for 60 seconds
Ramp up that speed! After you’ve completed your warm-up, you’ll need to bump the speed up significantly. This pace should be to a point where you could not hold a conversation and can feel your heart rate rising.
You should also bump the resistance up. Bring it up enough that you can still go fast, but don’t feel like you’re going to fly off of the exercise bike.
Keep this pace for a full minute.
4. Complete a 120-second recovery ride
As soon as you complete your 60 seconds of high intensity, drop the speed and resistance back down. This should not be as slow as your warm-up but should give you an opportunity to bring your heart rate back down.
The recovery period should be twice as long as your high-intensity section. So, if you end up going over or under the recommended 60 seconds during step #3, make sure that this step is exactly twice as long.
5. Repeat!
You will continue to bounce back and forth between the third and fourth step (the warm-up is a one-time thing during this HIIT exercise bike routine).
It’s recommended to repeat both steps 5 to 10 times, depending on your fitness level. Try aiming for a warm-up and 5 sets of the high-intensity and recovery periods. You should then listen to your body and decide if you want to keep going or move to your cool-down portion.
The best part about HIIT exercise bike routines is that you will continue to progress! If you feel like it’s a struggle to get to 5 rounds during your first time doing the workout, you’ll be able to watch as you fly past that number and get to 10 within a few months (or longer, which is okay, too!).
6. Cool down for 5 minutes
End your workout by going at a slow pace with a moderate resistance for 5 minutes. This will help make sure that your heart rate has slowed down to a comfortable pace by the time you’re done your workout and ready to move on for the day.
You can also take this as an opportunity to stretch. Your body will find more benefits if you stretch after a workout, instead of before. When you’re done cooling down on your bike, continue the cool down off the bike with a few simple stretches or some quick yoga.
HIIT Exercise Bike Questions and Answers
By this point, you’ll have a good grasp on your workout plan! Though, you may still have questions on why you’re doing it. Here are a few answers to common questions about the HIIT exercise bike routine.
What are HIIT workouts?
The High Intensity Interval Training workouts are periods of exercise that combine high-intensity movements with lower-intensity ones. The purpose of this is to increase your heart rate during your exercise.
So, why not spend the whole time at a high intensity? Well, that’s a good way to get tired easily. Combining periods of rest allow you to jump back up to high intensity, fast-paced heart rates while sustaining your activity for longer.
You can do a HIIT workout with almost any kind of exercise. Many runners may choose to do HIIT workouts by running as fast as they can before slowing down to a jog and then starting back up again.
Weight lifters will also utilise HIIT benefits by pumping the iron before moving to something easier on their body, and then grabbing the weights again.
What are the benefits of HIIT workouts?
Your heart health is the core of HIIT routines. This allows you to work on your endurance, improving how your body uses oxygen.
VO2 Max, also known as the maximal oxygen consumption, is the rate of oxygen consumption that goes on in your body while exercising. Essentially, it judges how easily you find yourself out of breath while working out.
People who can exercise for longer without feeling out of breath have more health benefits and will live longer, on average. While this may not directly contribute to weight loss, it will help you feel more comfortable with exercising for longer, which will allow for an easier time losing weight through exercise.
Other benefits of HIIT include:
- You burn calories faster
- You’ll burn more fat
- It raises your metabolic rate for longer after the workout ends
- Your oxygen consumption is improved
- It can lower your blood pressure and blood sugar
A more practical benefit of HIIT exercise bike workouts is that it saves time. You’re able to burn as many, if not more, calories from a shorter workout than you would with a longer workout at a slower pace.
What kind of exercise bike should you use for a HIIT workout?
Doing a HIIT exercise bike routine like the one we’ve explained for you? You may be wondering what bike is best.
Any bike is better than no bike, and this guide can be used for any kind of exercise bike. It doesn’t matter if you have a spin bike, a recumbent bike, an upright bike, or any other type of machine.
While it is true that you can do this routine on any kind of bike, there are some that will be easier. The recumbent bike makes it harder to get a faster speed going, as you’re at a more relaxed position. So, spin bikes and upright bikes may make it easier for you to get your heart rate pumping.
Related:
- A Comprehensive Guide to Different Kinds of Exercise Bikes
- Exercise Bike Benefits – Why You Should Be Riding One Today
- What Is Better A Rowing Machine or Exercise Bike – Our Complete Review
Are you feeling tired already? Starting to do HIIT exercise bike routines can be exhausting, but it’s a great thing to do for your heart health. You will feel better, lighter, and more energised in no time!
