Stationary bike
Muscles worked : Cardio, thighs · Glutes
How to do it
- Set the saddle so the knee keeps a slight bend when the pedal is at its lowest.
- Sit with the hands resting without gripping, back neither collapsed nor arched.
- Settle into a steady cadence, then adjust the resistance to find your working effort.
- Hold cadence and resistance for the whole duration, then finish with a few easy minutes.
Common mistakes
- Saddle too low: the knee stays too bent at the bottom, which loads the joint for nothing.
- Hips rocking side to side, a sign the saddle is too high.
- Near-zero resistance with a very high cadence, which gives the illusion of effort without producing it.
Where you should feel it
Moderate breathlessness and a gradual warmth in the thighs. Unlike walking or the treadmill, bodyweight never rests on the legs.
Range of motion
No range to set, but a saddle setting: the knee keeps a slight bend at the bottom of the stroke, without the hips having to rock to reach the pedal.
Tempo and breathing
A steady cadence held for the whole duration. Resistance is the real intensity dial, not pedalling speed.
What works, precisely
The quadriceps and gluteus maximus produce knee and hip extension on every push; the hamstrings and calves contribute on the upstroke when the feet are fixed. The seated position fully unloads the spine and the weight-bearing joints.
Movement mechanics
Cyclic closed-chain pedalling with no weight-bearing: that is the axis that separates the bike from every other cardio option in the library — the body is carried by the saddle, so the knees, hips and back take no impact and no bodyweight compression.
Benefits
- The only cardio in the library that puts no weight through the legs, so it stays practical when walking or running bothers a joint.
- Resistance adjusts finely, which makes intensity reproducible from session to session.
- Allows long durations with no accumulated joint strain.
Adapt and progress
- Easier : Lower the resistance before cutting the duration, and keep a comfortable cadence.
- Harder : Increase the resistance at a constant cadence, extend the duration, or alternate harder blocks.
- Move on when : When twenty minutes go by without the cadence dropping at the end, increase the resistance.
Precautions
A painful knee almost always comes from the saddle setting, not from the effort: check the height before reducing the intensity.