You don’t have to set world records to get the positive effects of moving more. Discover some of the benefits of pedal exercisers.
Before going into the positive points, it is worth quickly mentioning that pedal exercisers are not always the top choice either. There are other good exercise equipment options too.
1. Pedal exercisers can benefit weight loss
Many people are trying to lose weight for health and visual reasons but making this happen can be challenging.
One way to approach this fitness goal is to move more intensely than usual. For example, by implementing more pedal exerciser workouts.
This makes it easier to get into a situation where you are using up more energy than is coming in which would lead to weight loss.
While your actual results can vary, there are ways to roughly estimate how many calories pedal exercisers burn.
More specifically, the average person will burn around 103 to 178+ calories while using a pedal exerciser at a moderate pace for 30 minutes.
If you are more familiar with calorie-burning amounts, you will realize that pedal exercisers are not the most impressive weight loss tool out there.
At the same time, some of the other benefits could make it worth using pedal exercisers for this purpose in some situations.
2. Pedal exercisers engage a few muscles
The next benefit definitely does not mean you are getting the biggest arms in the gym from using a pedal exerciser. This tool is often not challenging enough to cause muscle growth.
At the same time, muscle growth is not the only muscle-related benefit that is worth paying attention to.
Working your muscles with pedal exercisers can also just improve endurance, keep the muscles flexible, and slow down degradation.
Some of the main muscles worked with pedal exercisers are your quadriceps (front thigh muscles), hamstrings (back thigh muscles), glutes (butt muscles), and calves.
If you want to get the muscle-related benefits to a larger extent, you can consider turning up the resistance setting a bit.
3. Pedal exercisers offer low-impact workouts
Many people know about the great benefits of activities like running and jumping rope but that does not mean these exercises are a better choice than pedal exercisers for everyone.
More specifically, the shocks and jumps in these can lead to injuries or just discomfort if your body is not strong enough to deal with them.
These issues will mostly show up in people who are new to exercise and/or individuals who have some weight to lose.
Instead, it can be smarter to choose low-impact workout tools like pedal exercisers in certain situations.
These can help you get stronger and already offer nice benefits on their own.
Over time, you can then still consider more intense alternatives over pedal exercisers to get certain positive effects to a larger extent.
4. You can often use pedal exercisers with your arms
As their name implies, pedal exercisers are typically aimed toward leg workouts.
That being said, many models also make it easy to use the devices with your hands. Some brands even include two pairs of “pedals”, one for each purpose.
The leg workouts on pedal exercisers will typically be better for purposes like improving cardiovascular health.
However, if you are not able to do these due to injuries or want to focus on arm muscle endurance, this arm-friendly usage can be a nice benefit of pedal exercisers.
5. You can use pedal exercisers at home
Some of the reasons people find it challenging to fit exercise into their routines are related to having to go outside or to certain locations.
More specifically, people who regularly walk or run outside likely know that suboptimal weather conditions make it harder to stay consistent with an exercise routine.
Additionally, going to a gym or sports field requires extra transport time. After a few workouts, this extra time on the road can really add up.
By now, you likely understand why the at-home-friendly aspect of pedal exercisers can be a nice benefit.
6. Pedal exercisers are relatively budget-friendly
Pricier fitness equipment options and sports can still be worth the fun and health benefits but not everyone wants to use their budget on these things.
On top of that, you can often get a lot of benefits from more budget-friendly alternatives too.
While pedal exercisers are not the number one piece of cardio equipment out there, they can still offer positive effects for a relatively budget-friendly price.
You do also want to keep in mind that bodyweight workouts exist too.
If your body can deal with these and you find them at least somewhat enjoyable, they are even better than pedal exercisers in this area.
7. Pedal exercisers can maintain or improve cardiovascular health
When using a pedal exerciser, especially at high intensities, you will start breathing faster and notice your heart starts beating faster.
This happens because your heart, lungs, and blood vessels have to make a bigger effort to extract oxygen from the air and move this oxygen, nutrients, and waste products to the right places.
Working your cardiovascular system with pedal exercisers tends to be a good thing since it can increase, preserve, or at least slow down the degradation of this system.
In turn, this tends to reduce your risk of a variety of negative conditions.
At the same time, it is fair to say that pedal exercises are also not the most challenging piece of cardiovascular exercise equipment out there. You could consider alternatives for this benefit too.
8. Pedal exercisers are light and compact
Big cardio machines may offer more health benefits but one of their potential downsides is their size and weight.
On the other hand, pedal exercisers tend to be relatively small. They are typically under 21″ (53.34 cm) long, 20″ (50.8 cm) wide, and 14″ (35.56 cm) high.
This can make it relatively easy to find a spot where you can store your pedal exerciser at home or in your car.
Besides that, pedal exercisers are also relatively light. They typically weigh less than 22 pounds (10 kg).
This also makes it easy to carry the pedal exerciser around from place to place. Inside of your house or on the road.
Especially because many models even have carry handles to make this easier.
9. You can combine pedal exercisers with other things
Another reason people find it challenging to stick to their workout plan is that they don’t really enjoy it. This is not helpful when you are trying to overcome your built-in energy preservation instincts.
One way to overcome this is to choose a form of exercise that you can combine with other activities you do like.
For example, it is relatively easy to watch a movie, listen to music, or even read a book while pedaling away on your pedal exerciser.
While it is not always possible, you could potentially even use a pedal exerciser while working at a desk.
You will likely not be able to reach the highest intensities without losing focus but the extra movement during these activities can add up nicely over time.
And when you have the extra time, you could also consider more intense workouts that you also enjoy doing on top of these pedaling sessions during daily activities.
10. Pedal exercisers often have adjustable resistance
You can describe exercise as challenging your body enough but not too much so that you start a variety of internal processes that can make you stronger over time.
Part of this process is finding an activity that allows you to stay within these ranges.
This makes the fact that pedal exercisers often have adjustable resistance a nice benefit.
It can also be very satisfying to see that the resistance levels that used to give you a hard time are now easy because you got fitter.
The adjustable resistance also makes it easier for different people to use the same piece of exercise equipment.
One thing fitter people do want to keep in mind is that pedal exercisers may feel a bit lacking even if you turn up the resistance.
If this applies to you, you want to look into more challenging alternatives too.
