Recumbent Bike

I got a comment on my last post about stubborn fat that really made me think. The reader had mentioned how the recumbent bike had positive results in decreasing lower body fat. Naturally, I was curious, so I did a little checking.

I came across a blog that said pretty much the same thing. After an injury that left her no other choice but to use the recumbent bike, "Jill" had torched fat and sculpted her legs like she never dreamed.

Like many, I never associated the recumbent bike with a real workout. I thought it was generally reserved for people who couldn't handle much else. And this was the same way the writer felt.

However, this is what the blog had to say about it:

"Traditional fat-burning anaerobic exercise done via high-intensity interval training (HIIT) creates a hormonally and calorically favorable environment to lose inches. Ninety-five percent of exercisers want fat loss. And most females will point to various hip and thigh areas and want to get rid of localized fat in these places. Luckily, since the recumbent bike only works the lower body, the trainee can channel all exertion to the legs and glutes to create powerful pedal strokes through the fat-burning protocol. We know from recent studies that HIIT burns greater amounts of fat than low-to-moderate intensity aerobic exercise, as was shown via stationary bikes in an article published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism (Dec 2008). Fat burning increased 60% from baseline with interval programs such as those contained in My Gym Trainer. Even though the recumbent bike utilizes only the lower half of the body, the metabolic effect created by interval training on the bike generates a universal fat-burning ripple effect."

I know it sounds a little like they are telling us that you can "spot reduce" fat from the lower body using the recumbent bike. Although I know this isn't possible, it does make sense that the more you are using the muscles in the area you wish to burn fat, the more you are building muscle tone in that same area, thus creating a more sculpted look. Which is exactly what we want.

Another bonus, for me, it would seem, is that since I never use this type of equipment for more than just a warm up tool, it might be just the thing I need to shock my lower half into responding. We all know that when we reach a plateau the best thing we can do is switch up our game and give the body something it isn't expecting. Well, mine sure as hell won't be expecting this!

So I plan on doing HIIT for 20 minutes on the bike and then maybe another 20 afterward of just medium exertion pedaling for that extra fat burn in place of my regular running intervals. I might still do some sprints a couple of evenings a week just to make sure Hanna gets hers done.

I have a positive feeling about this!

Oh, and I went ahead and ordered some Yohimebine and L-Tyrosine too, for good measure. Look out alpha-2s.....I'm coming after you!!