How to Bike Indoors for Fitness and Health

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By bellerose
User-Submitted Article

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Biking is great exercise for conditioning and toning, especially for hard to reach areas like lower abs. It's also great for building up muscles around your knees if you have ever let your knees get weak after an injury, or are starting to suffer from conditions like osteoarthritis. While it's great to get outdoors on your bike to do this, you can't always do this. Weather may keep you in. Or like me, you may have anxieties about riding your bike in traffic. An inexpensive stationary bike can be just what you need in this case. Or use a regular bike indoors with a parking stand. You basically need to raise the rear wheel just enough so it will spin without touching the ground. Biking indoors also has the advantage that it allows you to do other things, such as reading your mail or studying, while your lower body is working out.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Stationary bike, or
Regular bike and universal parking stand

Step 1

Stationary bikes (especially used) need not be expensive and often have cool features such a rowing mechanisms built in. They usually have adjustment dials that let you set the pressure you have to exert on pedals from easy to difficult. Unless you have been biking before, set the pressure on the easiest setting to start with. You can always adjust it up if it's too easy.
Step 2

Bike stands can be adjusted to get the back wheel off the ground.

If you have brought your regular bike indoors, you probably want to clean up the tires so you don't get dirt on your floors or walls as the back wheel turns. Next, get a stand to raise the back wheel just enough so it doesn't touch the ground when it turns. A wheel stand is ideal.
Step 3

Especially if you are trying to improve the muscles around an injury, it's important to know when to quit working out or when to just put off doing it. If your injury is flaring up, it may be better to simply rest or take anti-inflammatory medicine that to bike at all.
Step 4

If you're feeling fine, try to lengthen the time you bike each day. With a stationary bike, increasing the tension on the pedals will work your abs harder. With the regular bike, lowering the gear has the same effect.