Are There Alternatives to the Stamina Exercise Bike?

The stamina exercise bike is widely recommended by fitness experts as an integral part of any exercise program. It is not my first choice for the following reasons:

My knees get stiff

My butt hurts

I get very bored cycling to nowhere

At one stage I did interval training on the stamina exercise bike, and admittedly that was less boring and helped for aerobic fitness, but did not give me the results I wanted in weight loss and toning.

One alternative I can suggest

In Ellington Darden’s book “Living Longer Stronger” he refers to scientific studies in which they tested Strength training only v Strength training and aerobic training combined v Aerobic training only. You may be surprised to learn that subjects doing strength training only reported the highest level of aerobic fitness.

What do you want to achieve?

Depending on your goals, the stamina exercise bike may be the right tool for you. Personally I would only use it as a warm up machine, but I can imagine that if you are training for a cycle race it would be a more important part of your routine.

What were my goals?

Primarily I wanted weight loss and muscle toning. However my favorite sport is body boarding, which requires quite a bit of aerobic fitness and stamina, especially in big surf.

When I started the strength training program I really only expected an improvement in my paddling ability due to increased arm muscle. It was therefore a pleasant surprise to discover that my aerobic fitness had improved dramatically at the same time, almost as a by-product.

It is not my intention to knock the stamina exercise bike, I just found that strength training gave me the results I wanted in a much shorter period of time. The time required for exercise was much less and the option of exercising at home was another major advantage for me.