Are Mini Exercise Bikes Effective?

These tiny exercise bikes have been around for sometime now and one of the main questions asked is whether mini exercise bikes are any good. It is an understandable question as, on the face of it, these bikes look…..well….ineffective. If you haven’t come across one of these pieces of exercise equipment before you’ll find that they are essentially just the pedal section of an exercise bike. There is no seat, no handlebars and no discernible wheels. As you would expect from that description, with so many components missing, mini cycle exercise bike dimensions are very small. This leads a whole entourage of people looking for portable exercise equipment to investigate these bikes. Not withstanding how these bikes look they can benefit certain individuals, here is the inside track on the potential health and exercise benefits of these bikes and whether they might be a good choice for you.

Mini Exercise Bikes For Weight Loss

A large group of all the individuals looking for exercise equipment are primarily looking for a weight loss solution. Mini exercise bikes can be used to lose weight as part of a calorie controlled diet. Weight loss will usually involve an individual running a calorie deficit, essentially you can lose weight by eating less calories, burning excess calories via exercise or a combination of both exercise and diet. So the question of how much weight you can lose using a mini cycle will come down to how many calories you can burn using the bike.

How many calories an individual burns during exercise depends on a plethora of factors from age, weight, heart rate, gender etc. In fact getting an accurate calculation at home is impossible but using the following formulas can get you a rough probable calorie burn dependant on heart rate, age weight :

Men: C/min = ((-55.0969 + (0.6309 x HR) + (0.1988 x weight) + (0.2017 x age)) / 4.184

Women: C/min = ((-20.4022 + (0.4472 x HR) + (0.1263 x weight) + (0.074 x age) / 4.184

(weight is in kg)

So, for a male, 39 years of age, 188 pounds, at a heart rate of 90 beats per minute (not fast enough to be sweating or breathing any more heavily than normal) he would burn 6.3 calories per minute or 189 in a 30 minute pedal.

In terms of weight loss, the individual would need to burn about 3500 calories to lose one pound of body weight per week. This gives you an insight into how much diet and easy peddling would be required for weight loss and that a mini cycle exerciser could be used effectively under a desk to burn calories and lose weight through the day. Using a mini exercise cycle under a desk or in front of the TV could be as effective as a regular gentle stroll.

Mini Exercise Bike For Toning

Will a mini exercise bike improve your body tone? When you lose excess weight it generally comes off in a uniform manner until you get to the very last tough sections. Using a mini exercise bike will improve your tone through weight loss. It will also exercise muscle groups which should, through extra use, develop better tone and definition. In particular, the users leg muscles should show improvement over time. Calves, hamstrings, quadriceps and hip flexors should all show improved tone and definition through extra use.

The big difference between a standard stationary upright exercise bike and a mini exercise bike is the seating position. On an upright exercise bike the user is perched upright in the saddle so core muscles in the mid torso area used for balance are gently used in the workout. With a mini cycle you are less likely to get this benefit unless you choose a suitable chair to workout on.

It is possible to use a mini exercise bike to tone stomach muscles, but this requires the user to target the muscles by placing the pedals further away from the body than might be usual and adjusting the chair position for some incline.

You will also see these bikes described as table top exercise bikes inferring that you can place the unit on a table top and get an upper body, shoulder and arm workout from the unit. Whilst this is possible, you might be better off just doing a few standard push ups. You certainly shouldn’t consider buying one of these mini exercise bikes if toning and adding definition to your upper body is a main goal.

Cardiovascular And Aerobic Fitness

Depending on your current fitness levels you may get some cardio and aerobic improvements from a mini exercise bike workout. Bear in mind these bikes are not built for people like Lance Armstrong, rather they are best suited for individuals who want to simulate walking exercise. The reason you can’t use them for high intensity workouts is that they just aren’t stable enough. Having said that, if you have done no meaningful fitness work they can gently bring you to an improved level of fitness over time but unlike a machine like a treadmill or exercise bike you couldn’t train to be an Olympic athlete on them.

What these bikes are good for is low intensity work that helps most users burn calories, helps moderate blood sugar levels, helps combat cholesterol, provides gentle toning, keeps joints mobile through gentle use and improves general circulation.

Motorised Mini Exercise Bikes For The Elderly

A special note should be made with reference to elderly users. As you peruse the stores for the perfect mini exercise bike you will come across electric mini exercise bikes. These models actually turn the pedals on behalf of the user. These are not magnetic mini cycle exercise bikes where the bike is plugged in and the power feeds a magnet that creates resistance. The purpose of the electric mini cycle with turning pedals is to therapeutically encourage gentle leg movement to help joints remain supple in older age. By gently moving the legs, muscles are also stimulated and encouraging better circulation.

So do mini exercise bikes work? Are they effective and are there any benefits using a mini exercise bike? Absolutely, these bikes are great at simulating a level of exercise similar to walking which can improve overall fitness, burn calories, improve tone, maintain healthy joints and improve circulation. They can be used under a desk or in front of the TV so are convenient.

Disadvantages Of An Elliptical Machine

We already looked at some of the major benefits of an elliptical trainer workout so it is only right we look at some of the potential disadvantages of elliptical machines. Many people enjoy using an elliptical successfully but there are a few issues you should be aware of before deciding the machine is definitely for you.

Are Elliptical Machines Easy To Use?

Most of the time ellipticals are easy to use, the actual action takes some time getting right and if you learn bad posture habits you may develop niggling injuries and have a less effective workout. However, the main problem with ellipticals is that they are made for the average individual.

Not everyone is average. Before you buy, or commit to a regular workout on a gym elliptical you need to make sure the machine is comfortable for you. Check the stride length of the machine, a short stride length may give you a choppy unsatisfactory workout if you are long legged. A long stride length machine may leave you overreaching and lead to muscle strains if you are shorter.

Be sure the hip width is a natural fit for you. The hip width is the distance between the two footplates. They are set up to average hip width sizes, but if you are narrow or wide in the hip the resulting stance whilst exercising may lead to knees and hip problems.

Elliptical Machine Foot Numbness

An often cited problem with elliptical users is foot numbness. Typically this problem sets in at about 30 minutes into the workout. The basic cause of the issue is that the user has planted feet throughout the exercise so the circulation in the feet slows down. You could expect the same type of issue standing on the spot for to long.

Often users do not use the correct technique on an elliptical. Many lead with the toes instead of planting the ankle initially and then rolling over the ball of the feet onto the toes as you should do and as you would do walking naturally. If you suffer from or are concerned about elliptical machine numb feet or numb toes make sure you use the correct technique, try to avoid wearing running shoes, use a decent cross trainer shoe, try wiggling the toes during the exercise action or lift the foot slightly at the end of the action and intersperse the routine with backward intervals to mix up muscle groups and shift weight off your toes.

You Won’t Get Ripped

If you are looking for a machine that will build muscle this is not it. An elliptical will tone muscle groups, especially lower torso muscles but it will not develop or increase muscle mass. As with treadmills the muscles provide momentum on an elliptical rather than lift so there is little resistance with which to develop muscle size. If you check our article on stair stepper workout benefits you can see the difference. On a stair stepper each leg lifts your entire bodyweight vertically each time a step is taken. This resistance builds muscle. This inability to develop muscle mass may mean the machine is not the right choice for you or it could be an advantage depending on your workout goals.

Low Impact Is Not Always Good

Low impact exercise is often viewed as a good thing especially to individuals with weak or damaged joints, but low impact is not always good. Some impact may be beneficial.

Recent studies have shown that weight bearing exercise can improve bone density and help reduce the incidence of osteoporosis in later life (Arthritis Foundation). Essentially as you stress your skeletal structure it reacts by strengthening bone density. As well as strengthening the bones the surrounding muscles are exercised and strengthen leading to improved support for joints which may reduce the wear of cartilage in joints.

Other studies have shown that cartilage, under moderate amounts of impact, actually repairs and rejuvenates quicker (American College Of Rheumatology, 2005).

Limited Upper Body Workout

We already touched on the limitations of muscle building with an elliptical but we should also touch on the aspect, often quoted, that you get a upper body workout from an elliptical.

To a degree you do get an upper body workout from an elliptical but only to the degree it contributes to the cardio workout and limited tone. Again, the issue is that there is no significant resistance. There is enough to contribute to toning but you are not going to get an increase in shoulder or chest sizes. If you are looking to develop these areas of the body use weights or a pull up bar. An elliptical will help with weight loss resulting in the muscle you already have becoming more defined but any increase in muscle size will be small.

Elliptical Machine Pros and Cons

Elliptical machine pros and cons are varied, but on balance with the correct machine for your body type and technique, this machine is great for a cardio workout that will help you lose weight. The disadvantages are minor and in some cases actually advantageous to some users. The worst elliptical machine negatives are dependant on choosing the correct machine. Pick a machine you are comfortable with and you can avoid injury.

 

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