When I go to the gym at the workplace, which I’m constantly thanking my lucky stars to have, otherwise my eleven hour days 4 days a week may end up driving me crazy without a nice little workout in the middle of the day to help me through, I sometimes will split my time between the recumbent exercise bike and the elliptical machines there, just so that I can get a little reading time in without the jostling and movement of the elliptical.

The elliptical is ok to read on, but even though your head movement is limited on it, your head does still move, so your head is bobbing up and down as you’re reading, and the light also tends to shine in different places depending on where your head is at that particular second on an elliptical or a treadmill, so it can be kind of hard to read in the areas where the glare is at those times.

Recumbent bikes (see recumbent reviews for the best bikes) are great machines to work out on, as I do believe that they help to tone the buttocks a lot because of the downward movement of the back of the legs and the buttocks muscles, however, I do think that they have to be split between that and a standup workout machine, because of the fact that you are, after all, still sitting in the end, even if your butt is getting a bit of a workout from the strain of pushing down.

If you want to do some heavy reading, the recumbent bike is way better than other cardio exercise machines though, because you are at a steady stance, and you can read in depth without being jerked around because of the movement of the pedals or of your own feet. That’s my opinion, and actually I just brought it up because a friend of mine asked me the other day how in the world I could read on an elliptical, to which I responded, well I do read on it, but it’s not as easy or user friendly as it is when you’re on the recumbent bike!

I’m thinking that I want to add another piece of exercise equipment to our downstairs home gym, and I was thinking the perfect complement to what we already have would be a recumbent bike, since we don’t really have any other cardio equipment that would work the legs and buttocks quite the same way, and allow you to sit there and read a book all at the same time!

I love recumbent bikes for a couple of reasons. The first is that while they may seem “easier” because you are sitting down while using them, you are in fact getting an excellent cardiovascular workout on the recumbent bike. You can usually adjust the resistence on the better models of recumbent bikes (see recumbent bike reviews for more information on different recommended models), so that if you don’t want to bulk up your quads too much, which is the front of your upper thighs, you won’t.

I only mention that because the is a concern that I have personally, since my quads tend to build up and bulk out very quickly, especially for a woman, and I like to keep them more long and stretched out rather than bulky looking, as I think for me it takes away the feminine look of my legs since I don’t have the longest legs in the world to begin with.

You can expect a great cardio workout on the recumbent bike, and you can still read a book, paper or magazine comfortably while using a recumbent bike, which makes it a popular choice amongst gym patrons since it offers an excellent endurance workout and you can still sit on your rear while doing it. Many times when I’m working out at the work gym though, I purposefully skip the recumbent bike because I know that I need to stretch my back out during the day (I have a desk job), so I instead will usually opt for the elliptical machine or the treadmill.

Well, it may not have been a recumbent bike, as I think there are different style exercise bikes that are used for spinning classes in gyms (I’ve never been to a spinning class personally, can you tell?), but a man claims that he was assaulted while he was on his spinning bike in a spinning class in a gym in Manhattan by another gym patron.

He claims that the other patron, another male, picked him up on his bike, and threw him against a wall, injuring his back and causing a minor concussion. He also claims that no one, including gym personnel called 911 for the man, nor did they come to his assistance when the other customer allegedly assailed him. These kinds of stories do make you wonder, did this person do something that horrendous that no one would help them, or were people just not privy to the situation?

I would think that with a spinning class, there would have been several onlookers to the incident, so the fact that no one called an ambulance or came to this man’s aid is disturbing, at best. I just read another story today in the paper about how a woman in Minnesota was assaulted (sexually) in a hallway of an apartment complex, with security footage clearly showing several witnesses who did nothing.

No one called the police or an ambulance. This is really humanity at it’s worst, or a terrible, terrible misunderstanding. I don’t know how you could not do something or come to someone’s aid who was so clearly being hurt, but it happens a lot more than we care to acknowledge I guess. This is also another good reason to invest in some home exercise equipment, so you can exercise in the safety and comfort of your own home. Plus, if you’re a private person like me, you can enjoy working out in the privacy of your own home.

We’ve all used regular stationary bikes and are familiar with them. There’a now a lot of attention about recumbent exercise bikes. The way they are different from the traditional exercise bike is that the rider is situated against a backrest with their legs in front of them. The advantage of this position is that many people find this to be more comfortable for a longer workout than the upright position.

Features to assess when selecting a model to suit your needs and expectations are weight capacity, stability, a variety of settings for levels of resistance, pre-programmed workouts and heart rate monitor. When shopping for a recumbent exercise bike, try it out, get on it and actually do some of your fitness routine. Make sure it is comfortable for you and nothing impedes the pedalling motion of your legs and feet.

When looking to purchase, price, as always, is a factor. However, it is true that you will get what you pay for. The higher the price tag, generally, the heavier the construction and stability of the recumbent exercise bike.

People who have problems with their backs often find the recumbent bike more comfortable than the upright style. Consumer Reports are a good source for reviews of recumbent bikes and other home exercise equipment reviews as they test items such as exercise bikes for ease of use, ergonomics of design, exercise range and safety of use.

The Nautilus NR2000 features 10 pre-programmed workouts, a heart rate monitor and a 300 lb. capacity. It comes with a lifetime warranty on the frame and10 years for labor and 1 year for parts. Approximate cost on this model is $1300. A weight lifter, Blake Bissailon has recommended the Cardio Trainer55 as one of the best for his use because it converts into a weightlifting bench and you can download workouts from the internet on this model.

Think of which options are of importance to you and what you’ll really use on a regular basis to decide what style you want to choose.