Like hip extension, knee extension occurs when you increase the angle of the joint, in this case moving the lower leg away from the back of your thigh. When you perform a knee extension on your bicycle machine, you're targeting the quadriceps femoris. Also known as the quads , this muscle resides at the front of the thigh and is made up of these four heads:. Fun fact: These four heads are responsible for the name "quadriceps , " which translates as "four headed.
Read more: Bad Knees? Try These 14 Knee-Strengthening Exercises. While dynamic engagement ultimately results in movement, isometric muscle engagement — more commonly called static tension — happens when your muscles contract without significant movement. In stationary bike exercise, this type of static engagement occurs at the ankles , making for some particularly ankle-friendly cardio.
Specifically, the type of static muscle extension that your ankles experience as you pedal a bike is called plantar flexion , the movement of the forefoot away from the body. During plantar flexion, plenty of small muscles of the lower legs are engaged:.
While the standard variety of stationary bike puts your body in an upright position just like the normal, outdoorsy kind of bike, recumbent cycles place your body in a more reclined position. Cycling on a recumbent bike often makes for a more comfy experience, but it works the muscles in much the same way as an upright stationary bike, encouraging dynamic hip extension, dynamic knee extension and static ankle engagement, and engaging all the accompanying muscle groups.
So are there any differences? None too great, as it turns out. In an April study published in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy , researchers compared trunk and lower extremity muscle activity across upright bikes, recumbent bikes, treadmills and other devices. While activity in the lateral head of the gastrocnemius was higher during upright cycling, muscle activation in the lumbar erector spinae, rectus abdominus, gluteus maximus, gluteus medius and biceps femoris remained low to moderate across all equipment tested including a treadmill and an elliptical-bike hybrid device.
Just as powering your way up a steep incline on a moving bike can affect the way your muscles engage, modifying the crank resistance on a stationary bike also impacts muscle activity. It's easy to guess that more resistance leads to more intense muscle engagement, but December research from the Hungarian journal Acta Physiologica Hungarica conveniently confirms that guess.
The Acta Physiologica study has found that electromyography EMG amplitudes — muscle activity measured by assessing the electrical pulses that nerves in the muscles send out to communicate movement — were higher in both the quads and the hamstrings when resistance is increased.
This remains true across various pedaling speeds, of course. That's not all that the study found out, either. As two different pedaling speeds fast and slow were investigated across the varying resistance conditions, the researchers made a somewhat surprising discovery: Hamstring activation was increased at higher speeds more so than quadriceps activation.
If you're targeting the hams, the cadence of your pedaling might just come into play. It's not uncommon for stationary bikes to be used in rehabilitation-oriented physical therapy, given their low-impact, joint-friendly benefits.
A November study from the Journal of Physical Therapy Science explores this application of bicycle machines and finds some interesting results about how they strengthen muscles along the way. However, hamstrings do not get the full potential workout when you bike normally.
Believing they do is a relatively common mistake. To get the best stationary workout for your hamstrings, you need to use bikes that require cycling shoes.
When you do, you're not just lifting your leg - you're pulling the pedals upward. You will work them harder, but too much resistance puts you at risk of damaging your knees. It's better to stick with a gear that requires a little effort, but not too much. As you continue biking, you'll naturally develop the muscles to work on higher gears. Glutes get a workout regardless of the type of bike you're riding, but the actual impact depends on the sort of bike you're using. In general, bikes where you lean forward such as spin bikes provide the greatest workout for glutes, while bikes where you're sitting up including upright and recumbent exercise bikes have a lesser impact.
This does not mean you should always lean forward to get a better workout - exercise bikes are designed for specific postures, and deviating from these could put you at risk of injuring yourself.
Calf muscles will get a good workout regardless of the type of exercise bike you're using since they come into play for both the upstroke and the downstroke. To get the best workout, you'll need to flex your feet throughout your ride and point your toes down when you're pulling the pedal up. Fortunately, most cycling shoes encourage this by pushing your body towards the correct cycling motion. Your back muscles will get used at about the same rate as your glutes - the more forward your posture is, the better your workout will be.
This is one reason that spin bikes which require you to support your upper body while riding have been growing in popularity over the last few years. Your abdominal muscles will get the best workout if you're sitting up straight or reclining. On indoor cycling bikes , this means using an upright or recumbent bike, where you'll be able to emphasize toning your abs at the same time you're working on your leg muscles.
Even when you aren't explicitly working them, they're used to help keep the rest of your body in the correct position. In other words, exercising them is something of a bonus for using other parts of your body.
Your upper body won't get a full workout while you're biking, but if you have to support your body, you can still get some benefits. On the other hand, if you're on an upright or recumbent bike, you may be able to add upper body exercises to your routine. Common choices here include using weights, doing curls, or pulling down on elastic straps hooked to the ceiling. Safety Warning: Only add upper body workouts if you are capable of maintaining proper posture on your bike.
Failure to do so could put you at risk. Working on an exercise bike is interesting because in most cases, your leg muscles will see little to no actual growth, even as they're getting stronger. This is entirely unlike mass-building exercises, where it won't be long before you can visibly see the difference in the amount of muscle you have. Fortunately, even if you can't see the difference in your muscles, it won't be long before you can feel the difference. A dual-action bike is the least like a regular road bicycle.
It has handlebars that move back and forth to target your upper body muscles. The indoor cycle bike, which is the most popular option in indoor cycling classes, is similar to an upright bike. However, it has an elevated seat. Another difference is that resistance is created with a weighted flywheel on the front, which is typically about 40 pounds.
The resistance can be adjusted to simulate hills or riding into the wind. A less common type of stationary bike is a fan or air bike. Instead, you create resistance by pedaling. The faster you pedal, the faster the wheel blades rotate and the more resistance you generate.
These bikes are generally less expensive than other types of stationary bicycles. Stationary bikes are safer than riding a bike out on the road, but there are still safety concerns to consider:.
Cycling indoors can help you meet your fitness goals in rain, shine, or whatever the weather throws at you. In addition to its many cardiovascular benefits, the stationary bike can help you boost your muscle strength, lose weight, and burn body fat while being kind to your joints. Use an app or journal to track your progress over time so you can see your results and stay motivated. Email us at PROwellness pennstatehealth. Cycling is an excellent way to get your heart pumping.
This, in turn, can benefit your health in a number of ways, including: improved memory and brain functioning lower blood pressure better sleep improved blood sugar levels a stronger immune system better mood lower stress levels more energy. Burning more calories than you consume is the key to weight loss. Switch to medium intensity for 5 minutes, followed by: high intensity for minutes medium intensity for 5 minutes high intensity for minutes medium intensity for 5 minutes Finish by pedaling at a low intensity for 5 minutes.
Switch to medium intensity for minutes. Alternate between high intensity minutes and medium intensity minutes for the next 20 to 30 minutes.
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