12-Week Stationary Bike Workout Plan for Endurance
Stationary bikes are a great way to get an effective workout in the comfort of your own home. With a variety of settings and features, you can customise your stationary bike workout to meet your fitness goals. Whether you are looking to burn more calories, increase your endurance or just have fun, there are some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your stationary bike workout.
So let’s get to the details, shall we?
How to increase your stamina through indoor cycling
Know your limits and listen to your body
Before you even start doing a whole new routine, you need to understand what your limits are. We all start somewhere, so don’t be discouraged if you can only do three to five minutes at a time and you’re out of breath already. The goal here is to know what your body can handle. You will improve the more you do this, so that’s the perfect time to adjust that three to five minutes to seven to 10 minutes. It doesn’t matter if it takes you a while to get there, either. You’ll want to listen to your body if you want to build up endurance with indoor cycling.
Start slow
You might be wondering, how are you going to reach your fitness goal if you’re starting slow?
Assuming you’re pretty new to indoor cycling — do you think it’s a good idea to do a full high-intensity workout on your first day? Technically yes, if you want to burn more calories.
However, do you think your body would want to do it again the next day? The answer is most likely no. This isn’t a punishment, so don’t do something that you know you will dread the next day. If you’re going to skip today just because you’re sore from pushing yourself too hard yesterday, chances are, all the efforts that you did yesterday will all go to waste right after you had your next meal for the day. It’s better to do things slowly because you want to enjoy your routine. The more you enjoy it, the more you’d want to do it again.
Be prepared and stay comfortable
Sometimes it’s a good idea to expect the worst. Indoor cycling may mean that you’re safe from heat from the outside, but just know that even if you are, expect to sweat and overheat when cycling, especially if you’re overtraining. Wear comfortable workout clothes — something you know that you can move really easily in — and get a clean towel ready for when you need to wipe the sweat off. You can even turn the AC on or switch your fans to full blast, just to make sure that the heat won’t slow you down. We can’t emphasise enough how important it is that you’re comfortable and you’re enjoying what you’re doing, so you’ll look forward to doing it again the next day.
Be consistent and set aside time to cycle every day
The tips above all boil down to this: consistency. If you can do tips 1 to 3 successfully, consistency is not going to be a problem. But when we say consistency, we don’t mean you need to do this 7 days a week. You can do at least 5 days a week of the same routine, or better — that’s if you think you can handle more than you did the day before. Building your stamina heavily relies on how often you do that specific routine. So, let’s say you only did indoor cycling on Monday and you skipped Tuesday to Friday, once you're back at it again on Saturday, it’s possible you’ll be back to square one and there will be no improvement at all. Like we said, you will improve the more you do this. So be consistent and jump on your stationary bike whenever you’re able.
Challenge yourself and adjust your goals when necessary
If you’ve been indoor cycling for quite a while now and have stayed consistent with your routine, there’s a huge possibility that your normal routine will be a piece of cake for you at this point in time. Well, hats off to you! That’s a clear sign that your stamina is improving and you’re ready to amp it up. If you started with 3 to 5 minutes of indoor cycling at a time, try to adjust that to 7 to 10 minutes of the same intensity on your bike, or adjust the intensity of the bike but keep the same workout duration. Any adjustment, as long as you’re moving away from your comfort zone, is considered a challenge already. Just don’t overdo it! If you feel like you’re doing too much, turn it down a notch and aim for that once you’re over this one. Small wins are still wins!
Rest and recover
New routines — it doesn’t matter if it’s low intensity — add stress to our body. So make sure that you’re getting enough rest after each set. Enough sleep (around 8 hours a day) and proper nutrition are very important as well. You need to ensure that you’re not neglecting this side of this training.
Don’t be afraid to reward yourself
Yes, it’s okay to reward yourself after small victories. It doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to scarf down on every single food you’ve been craving in the past week, though. Instead, track your routine and jot down goals. For example, one of your goals is to do indoor cycling for a week straight. If you’re able to conquer that, go choose one out of possibly dozens of foods you’ve been craving all week and enjoy that. It doesn’t have to be food, too. You can even buy yourself something new as a reward for your hard work. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but it has to be something you really like, so you have something to look forward to that will encourage you to reach every goal you have.
12-week sample indoor cycling routine
These recommendations can absolutely be adjusted according to your schedule and what your body is telling you.
Weeks 1, 2 and 3
Total Workouts Per Week: 4
The Warmup:
- Warmup stretch for 3 minutes
- Cycle at light intensity for 5 minutes
- Rest for 1 minute
The Workout:
- Cycle at moderate intensity for 3 minutes
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Cycle at high intensity for 2 minutes
- Rest for 1 minute
- Repeat the workout two or three times
The Cooldown:
- Cooldown stretch for 5 minutes
Weeks 4, 5 and 6
Total Workouts Per Week: 4
The Warmup:
- Warmup stretch for 3 minutes
- Cycle at light intensity for 5 minutes
- Rest for 1 minute
The Workout:
- Cycle at moderate intensity for 4 minutes
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Cycle at high intensity for 3 minutes
- Rest for 1 minute
- Repeat the workout two or three times
The Cooldown:
- Cooldown stretch for 5 minutes
Weeks 7, 8 and 9
Total Workouts Per Week: 5
The Warmup:
- Warmup stretch for 3 minutes
- Cycle at light intensity for 5 minutes
- Rest for 1 minute
The Workout:
- Cycle at moderate intensity for 3 minutes
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Cycle at high intensity for 3 minutes
- Rest for 1 minute
- Repeat the workout four to six times
The Cooldown:
- Cooldown stretch for 5 minutes
Weeks 10, 11 and 12
Total Workouts Per Week: 5
The Warmup:
- Warmup stretch for 3 minutes
- Cycle at light intensity for 5 minutes
- Rest for 1 minute
The Workout:
- Cycle at moderate intensity for 3 minutes
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Cycle at high intensity for 3 minutes
- Rest for 30 seconds
- Repeat the workout four to six times
The Cooldown:
- Cooldown stretch for 5 minutes
There you have it! It may be hard at first, but with dedication and perseverance, you’ll build up the endurance to become a consistent cyclist. And soon enough, you’ll end up striving for more, especially once you see the results you want. So don’t be discouraged. Take a breath and enjoy every second of this new lifestyle. And keep celebrating your fitness victories!
If you don’t have your own exercise bike yet, Powertrain has a wide range of options that you can choose from that will fit any fitness goal you may have. Among other things, our high-quality exercise bikes are built with anti-slip pedals, a device holder and shock absorption system, ensuring a smooth and safe ride at all times. Our team is available 7 days a week if you have any enquiries, so shop now!