Gym Shorts: The Stationary Bike (How To)

How To Stationary Bike

Gym Shorts videos provide short video demonstrations of correct form for various exercises.

Stationary Bike Correct Form: Follow These Steps

• Seat at hip height
• Knee slightly bent in bottom position
• Knee just over toes at 3 o’clock position
• Handlebar height: set for comfort
• Slight bend in elbow when forward, without excessive load in shoulders
• Press down through balls of your feet
• Push and pull with arms

What is the Stationary Bike

Air bikes do not move, hence they are stationary. Duh.

More importantly, gyms abound with stationary bikes, and cheaper options exist to outfit your home gym as well.

These bikes serves as useful tools for metabolic conditioning or cardiovascular training. Many if not most can provide information such as distance traveled or time riding, allowing for time or distance intervals. Furthermore, most allow for adjustments in resistance.

Because of the prevalence and variety of price points, stationary bikes are good options for lifters for life looking to add conditioning, whether it be steady state aerobic or glycolytic intervals.

Programming the Stationary Bike

Air bikes offer a great way to perform a general warm up, especially if you’re lifting in a cold garage or feeling a little stiff. Simply jump on a bike at a comfortable pace for 5-10 minutes.

For most lifters will use these bikes for interval training after they have completed their primary and supplemental lifts, often on lower body day.

Novice lifters on a 3-day split may perform intervals on Wednesdays and Saturdays, or Mondays and Fridays, either at the end of their lifting or, if on Saturday, on a day of rest.

Intermediate lifters on a 4-day split typically perform intervals on lower body days at the end of their workouts.

Lifters who value conditioning or have specific cycling or conditioning goals, such as completing a triathlon or completing a certain distance under a certain time, may need to dedicate more time and effort to the stationary bike. Just as with advanced strength programming, greater volume and frequency and variety of intensities will be needed.

To begin, a lifter might perform 6 rounds of 15 seconds of hard effort with 45 seconds of rest or recovery. Rounds may increase to 10 over time. Intervals may also increase over time, to 30 seconds with 90 seconds of rest or recovery. The work-to-rest ratio may also increase over time, as the lifter’s metabolic conditioning approves.

If you want to add conditioning to your lifting or have a great way to warm up before your lifts, consider the stationary bike.

Click HERE for our video on high intensity interval training (HIIT) and HERE to read the first article in a series on coaching athletes with endurance training.