When you use an exercise bike, both the amount of resistance the bike offers and the amount of time you ride affect the quality of your workout. Pedaling against resistance means you have to pedal harder, which increases the amount of energy you expend. Pedaling for longer also increases the amount of energy you spend. Both play important roles in an effective exercise program.
Changing Resistance
The harder you have to push, the more calories you burn and the better workout your muscles get. On newer exercise bikes, changing the resistance is usually as simple as changing a setting on the console. If you bike in a certain program, the resistance will change automatically. On older bikes, you may need to move a lever to change the resistance. On less expensive models, a tension belt changes the resistance; newer and more expensive models use magnetic resistance. Higher-end bikes have programs that adjust the resistance to your heart rate, which the bike monitors either through a pulse grip point on the handlebars or wirelessly.
Changing the Duration
It doesn't take any special equipment to pedal longer, but you can also program duration into the console of the exercise bike. If you have a bike that monitors your calorie expenditure based on your speed, resistance and duration, you can stop your workout once you burn a certain number of calories.
Adjusting Resistance and Timing
The good thing about resistance and timing is that when you don't have enough time, you can still get a good workout by increasing the resistance for a shorter amount of time. When you have plenty of time but feel low on energy, you can pedal longer but at a lower intensity. Resistance and duration aren't an either-or proposition; the two work together to give you more flexibility in your exercise program. Vary the resistance and speed to give you bursts of higher intensity speed interspersed with longer periods of higher resistance, coach Joe English suggests on Running-Advice.com.
Considerations
If your goal is strength-training, increasing resistance will help you achieve your goal. To increase endurance, increase your duration at a speed that's approximately five revolutions per minute below your maximum sustainable cadence, trainer Matt Russ recommends. Increase your duration as your endurance builds. If you just want to burn calories, increasing duration, resistance or both can achieve your goal.
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