How Long Should You Spend On An Exercise Bike

Exercise bikes are pretty fashionable right now. Many people are using them to get in shape because they’re so convenient and compact.

However, you should use them wisely. Too little exercise won’t help you meet your goals, while too much can lead to injuries.

Read the article below to find out how much exercise bike per day leads to achieving those goals. We’ll offer lots of examples and break down all the most critical factors.

Table of Contents

How Long On Exercise Bike Per Day?

As a rule of thumb, you should spend about 3-5 weekly 30-minute sessions on your exercise bike to get some good results.

Of course, that’s just a general rule, so you should adapt it to your:

Current fitness level
Metabolic rate
Goals
Training intensity
And so forth

Let’s explain these factors:

Current Fitness Level

If you’ve been leading a sedentary life, recovering from surgery, post-pregnancy etc., your current fitness level might be low. In this case, it’s wisest to start with just a few minutes per day – even five minutes may do the trick.

The key is to know how to be objective about your strength and how to push yourself without hurting yourself. Remember that you’re asking your body; you’re not demanding it to overstrain itself.

Otherwise, you might over-train and thus hurt yourself, or you might lose motivation.

Metabolic Rate

You can have a low metabolic rate because you have an endocrine problem like hypothyroidism, you’re sedentary or past a certain age. Your metabolism also slows down if you’re trying to lose weight by doing hours of cardio every day.

How can you tell if your metabolic rate is low?

One way most people realise this is when they’re barely eating but still gaining weight rapidly. You can also tell by looking at your pulse; if it’s below 60 bpm, you’re feeling sleepy and have brain fog all day, chances are your metabolic rate is low.

At this point, you can confirm this with a specialist and try to see the cause.

If your metabolic rate is low because of a non-clinical condition, such as age, sedentariness, or over-training, here’s what you do:

Don’t abuse your spin bike to burn more calories.

That will be your first impulse as you try to compensate for your slow metabolism with exercise.

Instead:

Limit your sessions to 30 minutes/ day.
Alternate between intervals of high intensity and ones of low intensity to keep your brain and body guessing. You can find plenty of spinning bike HIIT workouts on YouTube that accelerate your metabolism in just 30 minutes.
Incorporate strength training on your days off to increase your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) so that your body burns calories faster even when you’re not exercising.

Goals And Training Intensity

Vary the time you spend on your exercise bike according to your goals:

If you need to increase your mobility and range of motion, you can spend more time on your spinning bike because you’ll be going at a slower speed. However, if you’re in pain or recovering from surgery, it’s best to ask your doctor precisely how much time you can spend exercising.
If you want to lose just a few pounds quickly, it’s ok to push yourself with longer sessions – as long as you’re not in pain. For example, you want to fit in your dream pair of shorts, but you need to lose 5-10 pounds for that. In this case, you can maybe lower your calories a bit and exercise for 1-1.5 hours/ day, 5 times/ week, to achieve your weight goal fast. Don’t push yourself like this for longer than 2 weeks because you risk slowing down your metabolism and gaining weight.
You want steady weight loss. Exercise 30 minutes per day, maximum, and always combined with strength training – even bodyweight strength training – to sculpt your muscles and accelerate your metabolism.
You want to train for a marathon. In this case, exercise steadily, up to an hour per day and slightly more the week before your competition.
You want to improve your overall fitness levels. Pace yourself and start with just a few minutes daily, remembering not to overdo it.

Is 20 Minutes On An Exercise Bike Enough?

20 minutes on an exercise bike is enough for some needs/ goals (but obviously not all of your needs and goals):

You’re a beginner
You’re recovering from surgery
You’re pregnant or post-pregnancy
That’s what your doctor advised
You’re feeling intense discomfort if you’re trying to exercise more
You’re doing a 15-20 minute warm-up on your spin bike before a lower body strength workout
You want to maximise your overall exercise time per day with a quick session
You want to give your metabolism a boost after a heavy meal
You want to unwind or reduce your stress

Here’s what you need to remember, though:

The recommended amount of exercise is 30 minutes/ day, so you should not limit your overall active time to just 20 minutes on the spin bike. Go for a walk, swim, dance or play with your kids to stay active.
Twenty minutes on your spin bike won’t burn a lot of calories. Here’s why: if you’re doing a stand-alone 20-minute routine, you’ll need to include a warm-up and cool-down. If the central part of your workout is intense, your warm-up and cool-down should be longer, which leaves you less time for the calorie-burning part.

Is It Ok To Use An Exercise Bike Every Day?

It’s ok to use an exercise bike every day, but only if you’re not over-exerting yourself. For example, if you’re pedalling slowly, you can do 15-20 minutes of spinning daily. That can be the case if you’re doing physical therapy or trying to lower your stress levels before sleep.

However, if you’re doing a moderate-intense activity on the spin bike, you can’t exercise every day for more than 5 minutes.

Remember that muscles need time to repair themselves and if you’re not sculpting your body when you’re hurtingyour body. In this case, you should allow at least 48 hours in between your workouts.

If you’re not doing that:

Your metabolism will slow down, so you won’t be losing any weight
Your muscles will become too exhausted, so your legs will look flabby instead of toning up

How Many Minutes On Exercise Bike To Lose Weight?

This depends on multiple factors:

Your goal weight
Your timeline
Your metabolic rate
Your current weight and height
Additional workouts you’re doing
Your diet

Let’s see how long you need on an exercise bike to lose weight if you’re this person:

You want to lose five pounds
In two weeks
Your metabolism is fast
You’re a 180-pound 6’ male
You’re also swimming
You won’t cut back on your calories or start eating healthily

In this case, 30-minute sessions three times per week are more than enough.

However, if:

You want to lose 20 pounds
In one month
Your metabolism is average
You’re a 150 pound 5’5” female
You’re not doing additional workouts
You plan on cutting back unhealthy meals and cut your calories by 20%

In this case, you should plan 45-minute HIIT sessions three-four times per week to accelerate your metabolism and help you lose weight faster. Even if you’re not planning to do additional workouts, you should probably consider some strength training, at least for your upper body to sculpt your muscles.

Here’s a plan to get you started:

Warm-up: 5-10 minutes low-intensity
Workout: 1-minute high-intensity followed by 30 seconds low intensity for 30 minutes
Cool-down: 5 minutes low intensity and some quick stretches

How Long On Exercise Bike To Burn 1000 Calories?

You’ll need about two hours on an exercise bike to burn 100 calories.

According to Healthline, one hour on a stationary bike burns:

420 calories if you’re 125 pounds
520 calories if you’re 155 pounds
622 calories if you’re 185 pounds

If you want to find out how long it takes to burn 500 calories, that’s your answer: somewhere in the ballpark of an hour.

These numbers depend on the factors we discussed above: your weight, metabolic rate, biological sex, speed, and so forth.

The type of bike you’re getting is also essential. For example, spinning bikes require more effort than recumbent bikes, so obviously, you’d need less time on them to burn 1000 calories.

In Conclusion

Your goals and preexisting conditions dictate how much time you spend on your exercise bike. You can work out for 5-10 minutes every day if you’re doing it at low intensity to improve flexibility.

But if you’re doing medium-high intensity, don’t overdo it. The rule of thumb is 30 minutes a few times per week, though you can push this limit to 45-60 minutes if you’re trying to lose weight in the short term.

Always listen to your body and remember that exercising is a question you ask of your body, not coercion.

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Vic

Victoria's an ex-PT but still an avid fitness enthusiast. Over the years, she's been both fit and chubby and she chooses the fit version of her any day.

She had to trade the gym for home fitness equipment when her two little angels were born. But she successfully managed to make the transition, and sharing her vast fitness experience online is the engine that keeps this website going.