Cycling is a versatile activity that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways, such as a fun family hobby, an emotional release after a work day, or for serious training. While cycling outdoors is a great way to connect with nature and friends, purchasing a stationary bike at home will make it easier to follow your training routine and pursue your fitness goals. From burning calories and reducing the risk of significant diseases, to improving your overall mood and sleep, this easily accessible training option has a lot to offer to your physical and mental health.
These are the 12 benefits that you may expect after diving into a few weeks of outdoor or stationary cycling.
1. Improved cardiovascular fitness
Cycling is a fantastic way of training your heart muscle, increasing your lung capacity, and improving blood circulation. It reduces blood pressure, fats, and bad cholesterol (blood increasing HDL). All together, this will help keep your cardiovascular system healthy and make you more resilient to heart disease.
In 2017, researchers at the University of Glasgow observed over 250,000 participants across the UK to find an association between their preferred way of commuting and the incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality. Those participants who cycled to work had a 46% lower risk of having a heart disease compared to those driving. In contrast, walking did also reduce the risk, but by only 27%.
High-intensity interval training is the most effective way to push the limits of your heart and increase your blood oxygen in the shortest period. A 2017 meta-analysis found that exercise intensity is associated with greater improvement in cardio fitness.
Developed with leading exercise researchers, CAROL Bike offers the shortest, most effective workouts. Their signature Reduced Exertion HIIT (REHIT) workout can be done in as little as 5 minutes, and you only need to work hard for 2×20-second sprints. It’s scientifically proven to deliver superior benefits compared to regular cardio in 90% less time. After just 8 weeks of training on CAROL Bike, participants demonstrated a 12% increase in VO2max—an indicator that shows how much oxygen your cardiovascular system can transport across your body during exercise. This increase can reduce the risk of mortality and morbidity by more than 15%, and turn your body clock back 10 years.
2. Weight loss
Any aerobic exercise can be the foundation of a weight loss plan but the number of calories you burn with different activities varies. How many calories does cycling burn on average? This depends on the intensity of your training: an easy or medium-intensity ride on a stationary bike can burn 300 calories per hour but you can massively increase this number by opting for a HIIT workout.
Some evidence suggests that a HIIT protocol burns body fat more effectively than regular training because of the prolonged afterburn effect and hormonal changes induced by high intensity.
CAROL Bike offers a unique Fat Burn program based on HIIT, which maximizes calorie burn post-exercise and helps you lose weight in the shortest time frame. According to the study that compared the afterburn effects of the Fat Burn Ride, REHIT, and a treadmill exercise, the Fat Burn Ride had the longest afterburn duration of 2 hours 47 minutes. The participants of this program got almost twice as many calories burned after their training.
Regular cycling will increase your metabolic rate helping you burn body fat in between training. People with less muscle mass and a sedentary lifestyle burn fewer calories at rest.
3. Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
Indoor cycling effectively keeps your glucose levels under control, increases insulin sensitivity, and reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes in the long term. A cohort study of Danish men and women found that commuter cycling of 30 minutes per day is associated with a significantly lower risk of diabetes.
HIIT stationary bike workouts can sometimes even be a viable alternative to traditional medical treatments for preventing diabetes. After 8 weeks of performing a REHIT workout on CAROL Bike, participants had a 62% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes—similar to the effects of taking the medication Metformin.
CAROL burns over twice as many calories, minute-per-minute vs. traditional exercise, largely thanks to afterburn.
4. Stronger immune system
After you start regularly riding a bike, your immunity will improve and you may notice that you have fewer seasonal colds and inflammations. A stationary bike workout increases the circulation of immunity cells in the body, temporarily increases your temperature to help fight viruses, and reduces potential risk factors like high cholesterol and cortisol (stress hormone) levels.
A low-intensity workout at a steady pace is the most effective to boost your immunity system and reduce the risks of serious illnesses in the long term. Try one of CAROL Bike’s Zone 2 workouts to reap the benefits of longevity.
5. Reduced stress
Exercise bike training is a great investment in your mental wellbeing.
Aerobic physical activity increases the release of endorphins in your body, which naturally improve your mood, calm anxiety, and reduce chronic pains. An examination of 10 volunteers before and after a 2-hour running session showed an increased release of endorphins in certain areas of the athletes’ brains involved in emotional processing and stress.
Cycling combats another symptom of stress—lack of oxygen. In stress, our breathing becomes shallow and brain cells don’t receive enough of oxygen. Cycling improves the circulation of oxygenated blood which maintains brain activity, and even helps to delay Alzheimer’s disease.
6. Improved sleep quality
Sleep quality has a large impact on your overall health—from risks of obesity and heart disease to life expectancy. A stationary bike is a proven means of getting a deep restorative sleep at night.
Moderate training on an exercise bike reduces stress and causes the release of endorphins and natural physical fatigue which people with a sedentary lifestyle may often lack at the end of the work day. As a result, your slow wave sleep duration—the most important phase of sleep for recovery—will be longer on your workout days.
7. You will feel more energy
If you feel that a morning session on an exercise bike gives you a positive attitude for the whole day, this has biochemical reasons.
Physical exercise boosts your oxygen circulation and activates the production of mitochondria, which produce energy for chemical reactions in cells. Together with an increase in hormone levels, this helps your body produce more energy and use it more effectively.
An active lifestyle isn’t just a way to burn calories—it will improve your overall energy levels and help you better cope with everyday challenges.
8. Improves joint mobility
The continuous motion that’s part of cycling is beneficial for joints. According to Arthritis Foundation, it may prevent arthritis and help manage the symptoms of the disease.
This low-impact workout strengthens lower body muscles that provide extra support to joints and helps lubricate joints more evenly, lessening stiffness and pain, particularly in the hips, knees, and ankles. Additionally, cycling indoors helps you lose weight, decreasing the pressure on joints when walking.
Research published in the Journal of Rheumatology has shown that regular cycling can significantly reduce joint pain and stiffness, while also improving muscle strength in middle-aged and older adults with osteoarthritis.
Cycling strengthens lower body muscles that provide extra support to joints and helps lessen joint stiffness and pain.
9. Improved posture and stronger core
You probably expect that cycling will strengthen your lower body. In addition to that, a stationary bike will work the muscles of your core and back improving your posture and gait.
Core muscles (abdominals and erector spinae) and lower back take over the major work of stabilizing your body during the ride. The same muscles are engaged when we balance during walking or running.
Exercise bike workouts will keep your core strong and improve your posture and gait off the saddle. They will also prevent the natural decline in balance which happens with age and leads to an increased risk of falls and injuries.
According to the research, stationary bike cycling turned out to be more effective in the rehabilitation of elderly women than a treadmill. All patients showed greater improvements in gait and balance.
10. Saves time on training
Regular aerobic training usually takes from 30 minutes to 1 hour. What if you struggle to fit several hours of training into your schedule but would still like to get all the health benefits of cycling? With CAROL Bike, you can build a workout plan that will take just 15 minutes per week.
CAROL Bike’s signature REHIT workout can be done in as little as 5 minutes, where you only work hard for 2×20-second sprints. This is the shortest, most effective workout which is scientifically proven to deliver superior health and fitness benefits compared to regular cardio exercise—in 90% less time. Just 2×20-second sprints creates the most potent training stimulus that puts your body in a ‘fight or flight’ situation, triggering adaptations that make your body fitter and stronger.
In 8 weeks, this short workout will improve your VO2max by up to 12%, strengthen your heart, and increase overall fitness.
11. Reverses age-related changes
Moderate physical activity slows down several age-related processes in our body and keeps us younger on a cellular level.
Stationary bike cycling increases the number of mitochondria, also known as cell’s powerhouses. Our metabolism and energy depend on mitochondrial function and it slowly declines with age. Cycling is also beneficial for lengthening the telomeres—a part of DNA responsible for cell division which naturally shortens with time.
Moderate-intensity endurance cycling is the most effective for longevity purposes.
12. Lowers the risk of cancer
The relationship between cycling and cancer, particularly breast, colon, and bowel cancer, has been studied by many researchers. In 2011 research, regular commuter cycling was linked with reduced cancer mortality and cancer morbidity.
By keeping body weight under control, cycling also decreases the risks of certain obesity-related types of cancer like breast cancer.
Conclusion
A regular stationary bike workout is not just an effective way of getting more calories burned. Your body and mind will benefit from this training on many levels. As soon as you start to feel the difference after a few weeks of cycling, you will no longer imagine your life without regular exercise.
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