Recumbent excercise bike, good for weight loss?

[DieselRobert1]

I am looking into purchasing one of those as running causes significant lower back pain, making anything longer than 15 minutes of running impossible.

Do recumbent exercise bikes provide the same amount of weight loss similar to that of running, swimming etc.

[STFUandTRAIN]

Any type of cardio will lead to fat loss if you do enough of it with enough intensity.

[evojames88]

I use one everyday for the same reason. I got hit by a drunk driver a few years back and I cannot run without killing my back. I feel that running on a treadmill (especially uphill) is hard work and you burn a ton of calories doing it, but the bike can do the same you just have to bust ass. I usually do 45 minutes on the bike. The first 15 of which I keep the rpms low and my heart rate at 120ish. For the remaining time I do HITT style training going from 90-150 in 1 minute increments.

In the past 2 months I've gone from 200lbs to 183 [current]. My diet is also very cleaned and disciplined, but I feel that you can create a good caloric deficit on the bike. And it doesn't hurt your back at all!

[DieselRobert1]

I use one everyday for the same reason. I got hit by a drunk driver a few years back and I cannot run without killing my back. I feel that running on a treadmill (especially uphill) is hard work and you burn a ton of calories doing it, but the bike can do the same you just have to bust ass. I usually do 45 minutes on the bike. The first 15 of which I keep the rpms low and my heart rate at 120ish. For the remaining time I do HITT style training going from 90-150 in 1 minute increments.

In the past 2 months I've gone from 200lbs to 183 [current]. My diet is also very cleaned and disciplined, but I feel that you can create a good caloric deficit on the bike. And it doesn't hurt your back at all!

Reps too you both, brought you out of the red too Thanks for the input.

[evojames88]

Reps too you both, brought you out of the red too Thanks for the input.

You're welcome and good luck!! Repped back!

[DiamondDelt]

They're great for cardio, and thus for weight loss. One of my favorite machines.

The main thing is to get active, so find something you like, and do it. A lot. haha

I've lost 15 pounds since October with one, doing 48 minutes every second day (with weights inbetween)~

[martina92685]

My only problem with the bike is that you really need to amp up the intensity significantly to get your heart rate up. I used it for a while when I had a stress fracture on one of my feet. But lower back support is priceless. Maybe you can try bicep curls or tricep extensions while you pedal to get your heart going.

[meanmeanstride]

I don't like doing cardio on the recumbent bike. I find it hard to elevate my heartrate and maintain it at the high rate compared to doing exercises on the elliptical. The key would be to elevate your heart rate and do a sort of HIIT routine. It will stress your body a little bit more to get it to burn more fat.

[MarinaMilitare]

I am looking into purchasing one of those as running causes significant lower back pain, making anything longer than 15 minutes of running impossible.

Do recumbent exercise bikes provide the same amount of weight loss similar to that of running, swimming etc.

I think everyone has their special likes and dislikes, and way of using cardio machines. Personally i use a heart rate monitor watch religiously on all cardio machines. I used to hate upright bikes because i used to overdo it I think (far too high heart rate and i gave up after 10/15 mins)... but quite like them now if I keep max heart rate around 75% of max (for me around 137bpm)

Maybe you could get a day pass to a gym and try out the recumbant for a bit ?

Also, most important thing for weight loss is calorie deficit. If you get that right first, then do cardio on top - you really start to lose in a good way (ie keep muscle, lose fat)

[GettingfitAgain]

Might want to look into an elliptical too. Zero impact on the knees/lower back.

[TheTFo]

I use one 5-6 days a week, 45 minutes, you can adjust the intensity. I love it, have dropped a decent amount of fat.

[zkyte13]

Bikes are great because of the low impact on the legs and back, but I would say you would be better off getting an elliptical because it gives the same motion as running without the impact. You work your upperbody and it is easier to get your heartrate up and have a more intense workout. I fractured my back three years ago and for a while I couldn't run, the elliptical was a great alternative because I felt that bikes were too easy and didn't allow for an intense workout as compared to the elliptical.