“ What is a recumbent exercise bike? ” You’ve probably asked yourself this question before. You’ve probably seen them in the gym, in the store or maybe at a friend’s place. A recumbent exercise is actually pretty similar to a regular exercise bike. With one big difference. Its pedals are situated in front of your seat instead of underneath.
This makes working out on a recumbent exercise bike something completely different than on a regular exercise bike. Which one is better will depend on your personal preferences. However, I can point out all the benefits that recumbent exercise bikes have over regular exercises bicycles.
So you can check and see if any of them resonate with you. But it mainly boils down to this:
“If you find regular exercise bikes uncomfortable but you still want to work out on a bike, then getting a recumbent exercise bike might be the best decision you’ll ever make for your fitness and health.”
But before we dive into all the benefits, let’s first get a clear idea of what exactly a recumbent exercise bike is.
What is a recumbent exercise bike
As you already read in the introduction, a recumbent bike is one where the seat is behind the pedals. Here’s a picture of what this looks like. As you can see a recumbent exercise bike has more than just a seating. It also has back support and many even offer easy bars next to your body so you can keep yourself balanced.
Many people experience back problems when biking on regular exercise bikes. But this doesn’t have to be the norm. With a recumbent exercise bike your back gets a lot more support and it’s also a more natural posture for your body.
Now that you know the answer to the question “ what is a recumbent exercise bike ” and saw an example of one, let’s find out all the other benefits that exercising on a recumbent bicycle can offer you…
5 benefits of recumbent exercise bikes
#1 Your back is supported while biking
We’ve said it before. But it bears repeating as this is the main benefit of recumbent exercise bikes. Your back gets more support. If you find that your back hurts when working out on regular bikes, it might be it is because it doesn’t have any support at all.
After all, you need strong core muscle and a healthy spine in order to comfortably sue regular bikes. So if you’re still working on those, it might be smarter to start with a recumbent one. Or if because of other health issues you need extra back support while working out, exercising on a recumbent bicycle might be the best thing you do for your health.
#2 More comfortable then regular exercise bikes
The back seat isn’t only for more back support. It also makes sure that you are more comfortable seated than on a regular bike. It will feel more like a relaxing chair instead of a hard saddle.
This has the automatic effect that you’re more likely to spend more time exercising. After all, it’s like sitting on a regular chair, only your feet are pedalling. And as you know, the more your exercise, the fitter you get and the more weight you’ll lose!
#3 Easier to watch TV/listen to music
Because you’re more comfortable and it’s basically only your legs moving (depending on how intensive you’re biking of course!), it will be very easy to watch television or watch music while exercising. After a couple of minutes, you won’t even notice that you’re working out anymore!
#4 Or read a book!
Watching TV and listening to music is something that can be done on regular exercise bikes as well. It might not be as comfortable, but it’s possible. One of the things that’s almost impossible to do well without getting distracted on a regular bike is reading a book.
But on a recumbent bike you’ll find that it’s no problem at all to read a good book. Get lost in your favorite book AND get fit at the same time! How’s that for a workout?
#5 Great for a good workout or warm up in the comfort of your own home
The final benefit is that you get to decide how your workout will look like. Do you want a gruelling morning session so you’re charged up to kick some ass at work? You can do that. Or do you want a light workout after work while watching your favorite series to get out of work mode. Also possible on a recumbent bike.
You can set the pace yourself, and the added comfortability ensures that you can create your own intensity workout. From a slow warm up to a long intense cardio session that will leave you dripping sweat. It’s up to you!
Recumbent exercise bike recommendation
By now, after having read this “ what is a recumbent exercise bike ” article, you’re probably curious for some good recommendations. As you know, we review all sorts of exercise bikes here, so we have had our fair share of recumbent bikes as well!
There are thousands of different models out there, but one that I particularly enjoyed was the Exerpeutic recumbent bike. It’s an affordable bike with 8 different intensity levels. On top of that it also has a clear LCD display that shows you all the data you need from the distance covered to your heartrate at specific intervals.
It’s designed in such a way that it offers complete back support and comfort. So if you suffer from back aches on regular bikes, you’re going to love exercising on the Exerpeutic recumbent bike.
Click here to read my full review of the Exerpeutic recumbent bike and find out if it suits you!