In the summer, I love riding my mountain bike up and down mountains. But I want to have that feeling year-round so I'm keeping fit on an exercise bike instead to see how indoor cycling compares.
I'm expecting increased fitness and more body confidence. In addition, I would like to find out whether this type of training is a way to integrate sports more easily into my every day life in the long run as it would solve my constant problem with lack of time as a working mum.
In general, I imagine it will be easy, since the exercise bike is actually right in front of me. But I wonder if it's the same in reality.
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The preparation: First, set everything up correctly
When my rental bike is delivered, I'm shocked. Where is this huge contraption supposed to fit in our apartment? But when I remove the packaging material, it reveals a super-slim, stylish exercise bike that I can even push to a suitable place with small wheels.
Another plus of Kettler's Hoi Frame+ is that it can be plugged in, allowing me to choose countless settings on the integrated screen.
First, I adjust the bike to my height and weight and then feel my way through the various settings, from interval training to hill. The only catch is that my heart rate monitor can't be connected to the bike as it would require a compatible chest strap.
So I track the activity and my pulse via the cardio function on my watch and also save all other settings on the bike. I can still see how my pulse and my oxygen saturation changes during the training time on the bike.
This is what working out with the exercise bike looks like
My first time on the bike makes me realise that I've borrowed a machine that's similar to a high-performance spinning bike at the gym.
I choose a program that sounds very gentle at first with "Rolling Hills" but I start to sweat right away on the first climb. As with spinning, I have to lift myself out of the saddle at increased intensity. I can feel how I'm running out of oxygen during the intense pedalling.
But after just 20 minutes, I'm much more balanced and have a satisfying "I did something today" feeling.
The next few days I continue to work out diligently on the exercise bike. Sometimes I cycle with a meditative view of the landscape outside my window, sometimes I hardly notice the workout because I'm streaming a Netflix series.
The best thing for me, however, is that I can use the Kettler bike to train in the morning when my child is out of the house. If I work out during a work meeting, I can combine two things that usually eat into my time. Pedalling on the bike, I communicate with my colleagues via Zoom - after all, they don't care whether I'm joining in from the couch or the bike.
For anyone who wants to try this experiment, though, I would recommend getting a pair of padded cycling shorts. After just two days, it becomes clear that daily cycle training also causes pressure and pain on the buttocks, as well as sore thighs on the inside due to the constant friction.
The various sore muscles should also not go unmentioned at this point. However, I personally see them as a sign that something (positive) is happening to my body.
Exercise bike test: The changes I notice after daily training
Apart from sore muscles I definitely notice an increase in fitness towards the end of my test phase. This is also confirmed by my fitness tracker, which shows, for example, a better pulse rate during the same workout or increased oxygen saturation. In addition, my legs and buttocks are already significantly more muscular after four weeks.
But for me, one of the biggest gains is that I feel much more balanced because I'm working out every day again. That's definitely a game changer and happiness booster. When I do a morning workout, I also feel like I'm much more efficient and more present during meetings afterwards.
What I also notice, however, is that I need a little more upper-body strength training to compensate, because the bike training is very leg-heavy.
My verdict after one month on the exercise bike
I noticed how easy it is to integrate daily training into the chaos of everyday life when you have the right exercise bike at home. That said, in the summer months I'll probably stick to riding my mountain bike outside. But I'll be back on the exercise bike in the colder months as it's an investment in my health.
This article first appeared on GLAMOUR Germany.
