HIIT workout on the stationary bike is ideal for effective fat loss. HIIT is a type of workout that significantly increases your metabolism and oxygen uptake, forcing your body to burn fat faster.
Learn the science behind HIIT workout with a stationary bike for fat loss below.
HIIT: Best Stationary Bike Workout for Effective Fat Loss
Consistent moderate biking results in weight and fat loss. However, it will take a long time to start burning fat with this fitness routine.
This is because, for the first 30-60 minutes of your workout, your body focuses on getting energy from glycogen in your muscles. This is aerobic training, where you can still breathe and take in oxygen for the muscles to convert glycogen stores into fuel.
As you exercise harder and longer, you’ll notice you start breathing heavier and need to stop to catch your breath. This stage means you’re entering the anaerobic mode.
During anaerobic training, your exercise intensity is so high that you can no longer take in oxygen fast enough. When this happens, your body looks for other energy sources (like fat) to power up your workout, even without the additional inhaled oxygen.
How HIIT Cycling Burns Fat
The discussion above emphasises the importance of workout intensity and duration to lose fat effectively.
Nevertheless, it is hard to sustain 60 minutes or more of exercise to enter the anaerobic mode and start burning fat. This is why high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is the best stationary bike workout for effective fat loss.
With HIIT, you can alternately do easy-to-moderate cycling with intense pedalling. That means pushing yourself quickly into the anaerobic mode to skip a long workout.
Another reason stationary bike HIIT workouts are effective for fat loss is the after-burn effect. HIIT sessions can significantly boost your metabolism and keep it that way even hours post-workout.
A study shows that this sustained high metabolic rate significantly contributes to total body fat reduction.
Other Benefits of HIIT Cycling
HIIT cycling is a higher form of training that beginners need to build up enough leg power and stamina before doing a high-intensity workout.
You might be wondering whether you to try it or take the long route with steady-state workouts. Once you are strong enough, HIIT training is worth doing.
Aside from shortening your workout time, HIIT also effectively balances aerobic and anaerobic training. It’s a feature unique to HIIT that lets you enjoy the benefits of both training modes.
That means you get enhanced muscle strength and overall speed on top of higher endurance and better heart health. Your workout performance also improves as HIIT pushes your body to its limits.
3 Sample HIIT Workouts for Stationary Bikes
Unlike moderate exercises you can safely do daily, you can only do HIIT sessions two to three times a week. Your body also needs enough (or longer) recovery time between sessions to avoid overtraining.
Burning calories and fat requires workout consistency. Pushing yourself too hard to the point of damaging your body will only slow down your progress.
So, ease into HIIT gradually and help your body get accustomed to this type of training.
Here are 3 fat-burning workouts to get you started.
The repetitions, resistance levels, and time per exercise bike interval are mere suggestions. You are free to adjust them based on your fitness level.
1. 20-Minute Beginner Stationary Bike HIIT
Perform stages 1 to 3 twice to complete your 20-minute workout.
| WORKOUT STAGE | TIME | INTENSITY | DESCRIPTION |
| Warm-up | 5 minutes | Easy | Flat-road cycling with low resistance; you can talk while pedalling |
| Stage 1 | 30 seconds | Hard | Medium-to-heavy resistance; breathing/talking is hard |
| 30 seconds | Moderate | Slight resistance that feels like pedalling up a small hill; you can still talk but breathing is a bit heavy | |
| 1 minute | Easy | ||
| Stage 2 | 1 minute | Hard | |
| 30 seconds | Moderate | ||
| 1 minute | Easy | ||
| Stage 3 | 45 seconds | Vigorous | Highest resistance your legs can take; talking is nearly impossible |
| 15 seconds | Easy | ||
| Cool-down | 5 minutes | Easy |
To help you gauge the intensity level, you can use a measuring tool called Rate of perceived exertion (RPE). RPE is a scale from 1 to 10 representing your personal perception of exercise difficulty, with 1 being the easiest and 10 the hardest.
As a beginner, you can simplify this RPE scale by describing your cycling workout as easy, moderate, hard and vigorous.
2. 30-60 Stationary Bike HIIT
Next, it is the 30-60 HIIT, or 30-second vigorous cycling, followed by 60-second pedalling at a comfortable pace.
You then perform ten repetitions of this cycle to complete the workout. I have laid out the plan in the following table.
| WORKOUT STAGE | TIME | INTENSITY | DESCRIPTION |
| Warm-up | 5 minutes | Easy | Flat-road cycling with low resistance; you can talk while pedalling |
| Stage 1 | 30 seconds | Vigorous | Highest resistance your legs can take; talking is nearly impossible |
| 60 seconds | Easy | ||
| Cool-down | 5 minutes | Easy |
3. Tabata Stationary Bike HIIT
Tabata training is an intense workout, it is also a shorter routine that is slightly more rigid and defined than HIIT. Both workouts are doable on stationary bikes and effective for fat loss.
A Tabata workout lasts for 4 minutes. You’ll spend this time with a vigorous 20-second exercise plus 10 seconds of active recovery. You’ll then have to repeat this interval for eight rounds.
Here’s a sample fat-burning Tabata plan for indoor cycling. Remember to repeat Stage 1 eight times to make 4 minutes.
| WORKOUT STAGE | TIME | INTENSITY | DESCRIPTION |
| Warm-up | 5 minutes | Moderate | Slight resistance that feels like pedalling up a small hill; you can still talk but breathing is a bit heavy |
| Stage 1 | 20 seconds | Vigorous | Highest resistance your legs can take; talking is nearly impossible |
| 10 seconds | Easy | Flat-road cycling with low resistance; you can talk while pedalling | |
| Cool-down | 5 minutes | Moderate |
Bottom Line
HIIT stationary bike workouts are the best if you are after effective fat loss. With these integrated into your weekly routine, you’ll burn fat and see results faster.
Just remember to start gradually, be patient and do not overdo it. Give your body enough recovery time in between HIIT workouts.
Lastly, use the proper exercise bike with adjustable resistance levels and quality construction to withstand heavy workouts.
Related Questions
1. Which indoor bike type should I use for HIIT?
Use an upright or spin bike among other types of indoor bikes to boost your heart rate faster during HIIT workouts. Spin bikes, in particular, can simulate outdoor cycling and engage your largest muscle groups for better calorie and fat burn. Also, choose an indoor exercise bike with built-in HIIT programs and a heart rate monitor. These features can make an exercise bike pricey, though. But these are 100% helpful if you plan to do regular HIIT.
2. How should beginners start with stationary bike HIIT?
Start slow when trying a HIIT workout with a stationary bike for the first time. Have your space and schedule ready, and stick to short sessions before trying other challenging HIIT workouts. It also helps to consult an expert for training suggestions, proper bike settings or progress tracking.
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