Fitness
The Best Recumbent Exercise Bikes To Get Your Heart Pumping
Recumbent exercise bikes might seem like the laid-back cousins of a typical exercise bike, but you can still get a serious workout on one of these machines. If an upright exercise bike isn’t your speed due to a health condition or simply personal preference, the best recumbent exercise bikes are good alternatives.
The Nordictrack R35 is the best recumbent exercise bike on the market.
John Gallucci Jr., doctor of physical therapy and CEO of Jag-One Physical Therapy, says that recumbent bikes are particularly well-suited for people with low back pain or herniations. “The recumbent bike puts less stress on the low back, which gives you the opportunity to do cardiovascular exercise, which is great for your heart,” he says. Not only are you getting a great lower body workout, he adds that they can improve your balance and strength.
The best recumbent exercise bikes have large touch screens with Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity to let you stream workouts—but the base cost for these models starts at over $1,000 and goes way up from there. However, if you’re looking to spend less than a grand on this piece of home workout equipment, there are also solid low-tech bikes at prices under $300. Read on to find the best options for a range of budgets and needs.
How We Chose The Best Recumbent Exercise Bikes
This list is intended for home gym users, so we did not evaluate bikes for their suitability in commercial spaces like physical therapy offices or commercial gyms.
To find the best recumbent bikes, I started by interviewing John Gallucci Jr., MS, ATC, PT, DPT and CEO of Jag-One Physical Therapy. I then visited an exercise equipment show room, where I used over a dozen different recumbent bikes and evaluated them by pedaling, adjusting the seat and tension, testing the controls and buttons, and noting any additional features. I interviewed the sales people about popular brands and standout models. I also read many user and professional reviews, and tracked my research in a spreadsheet. To make my final selections, I took into account the cost and value of each stationary recumbent bike.
What To Consider When Shopping For Recumbent Exercise Bikes
For people who are looking for a low-impact workout, a recumbent exercise bike can be a good option. However, these bikes are a major purchase if you’re considering bringing one home. Before you buy, you’ll want to consider the bike’s size, adjustment functions, tech and more.
Size
The top-of-the-line recumbent exercise bikes are big and heavy. They have a substantial footprint in your home, so if you’re short on space you may want to consider a folding option. Folding models tend to be less expensive, but they also don’t have many of the common features you’ll find in larger recumbent bikes, like touchscreens or water bottle holders.
Adjustments
Nearly all recumbent bikes let you adjust the distance from the seat to the pedals in some way. It’s the difficulty of this step that varies, and the number of possible seat positions. If you’re the only person using the bike, this may not matter, but if multiple people are working out on the bike, a seat that’s easy to adjust is important.
Most bikes also let you adjust the tightness of the foot strap, and some also let you change the incline of seat.
Tech
Like other kinds of workout machines, the consoles on recumbent exercise bikes run the gamut from simple LCD displays to fully Wi-Fi connected touchscreens. If you want the immersive experience of streaming a workout, prioritize a bike that has on-demand workouts via an app—just note that these services often require an ongoing subscription.
Can You Get A Good Workout With A Recumbent Bike?
In short, yes. “You could get a real workout on it,” Gallucci says. Recumbent exercise bikes are great for strengthening the lower body and getting a cardio workout, which is important for your heart and overall health.
But if you’re looking to strengthen your abs, this isn’t the way to do it. “When you’re on a recumbent bike, you don’t engage your core as well as you do on a normal bike,” he says.
Is It Okay To Exercise On A Recumbent Bike Every Day?
Yes, it’s generally safe to use a recumbent bike every day unless you have a specific health condition that limits your ability to exercise (if you’re not sure, check with a healthcare provider about your specific concerns). Also, be sure to read any user manuals or safety instructions that come with your bike.
Frequent use is possible because recumbent bikes offer low-impact exercise, which is typically easier on your joints. Gallucci says it’s “different than running and/or walking where you have that constant pounding on your ankles and your hips and your knees.”
According to Miten Kakaiya, fitness and wellness coach at Miten Says Fitness. “The bench press is a staple in most muscle-building routines, and it’s easy to see why. This exercise primarily targets the chest muscles but also works the shoulder, joints, and triceps. The bench press is excellent for building upper body strength and muscle mass, particularly in the chest area.
“One of the key benefits of the bench press is its versatility. By adjusting the angle of the bench (incline, decline, or flat), you can target different parts of the chest, leading to more balanced muscle development, ” he adds.
It’s been two years since Serena Williams announced she was retiring from tennis, but the athletic legend isn’t exactly sitting still these days.
“As a mom, I’m actually way more active than what I was during tennis,” the 42-year-old said on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna earlier this year. “Obviously, (with) tennis, I was playing Wimbledons and stuff. But, as a mom, I’m gone all day.”
When she was competing as a professional athlete, Williams maintained an ultra intense training schedule. She even told MasterClass she used to “almost break my body down” so she was “ready for anything.”
Williams doesn’t need such a hardcore workout routine anymore, but she’s hardly resting on her laurels.
Curious about her commitment to fitness? Here are some of the many ways Williams stays in fighting shape.
She enjoys multiple forms of cardio
When she’s exercising at home, Williams keeps up her energy levels by prioritizing her cardio routine.
“I do HIIT workouts (high-intensity interval training), a little stretching, a little strength training, but mostly cardio training,” she told Vogue in 2022.
She’s a fan of the Tonal home gym system
The athlete is also a fan of Tonal, a smart gym company she has invested in.
“I do the cardio exercises on Tonal, which is really helpful for me just to get my body back and used to calisthenics. I don’t necessarily want a trainer in my room or in the gym with me, so just having the Tonal trainers is a relief. It’s just something different from what I’ve been doing for the past 20-plus years, and it’s refreshing,” she told Vogue.
She loves riding her Peloton bike
If you’ve ever owned a Peloton or took one for a spin, you know the endorphins are addictive, and it turns out that Williams agrees.
“Those Peloton people are so inspirational!” she told Self in 2021. “They’ll be like ‘If you can get through this, you can get through your day, so you gotta do it!’ I’m like ‘I got you! I’m here!’”
She knows when to take breaks
Williams goes hard at the gym, but she isn’t afraid to press pause when her body tells her it needs a break. In 2022, she told Vogue she “definitely listen(s)” to her body.
“My favorite type of cardio is running, but my body has to be fit to be able to run or else my knees will hurt. After playing tennis for so many years, you just wear and tear down your knees, so the elliptical has been growing on me, too,” she said.
“I’m basically trying to do cardio every single day–even if it’s, like walking a few miles, it still counts. I had a tough last week, so this week has been a little bit lighter–I took two days off. Next week, I’ll be back to seven.”
She loves dancing
Off the tennis courts, Williams likes to bust a move to stay active. In 2016, the athlete told People she dances “a lot.”
“It’s a fun way to get a workout in instead of going to the gym and jumping on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I really enjoy that,” she said.
She doesn’t ‘live to eat’
Williams enjoys eating, but she tends to approach food with a more practical outlook.
“My philosophy is eat to live. Don’t live to eat,” she told Women’s Health in 2021.
Of course, the athlete has treats herself, but she looks at food as something that enables her to function first and foremost.
“You need it to survive. And (that’s) very hard to live by, cause I definitely love to snack, but this is what I want. These are my goals,” she said.
She’s tried going vegan and enjoyed it
Williams’ sister Venus Williams was diagnosed with an immune system disorder called Sjogren’s (SHOW-grins) syndrome in 2011. The disorder typically causes dry eyes and dry mouth, per the Mayo Clinic, but it can also impact joints, the thyroid, kidneys and liver.
After learning about her sister’s diagnosis, Williams decided to add more plant-based foods to her diet since the sisters were living together at the time.
“I remember thinking, ‘I can’t bring all this bad food into the house,’ so I changed my diet as well. I realized that I didn’t feel weaker, I didn’t feel like (my body) was missing something, and I actually had a lot of energy,” she told Essence in 2022.
Describing herself as an “on-and-off vegan,” Williams told Vogue she was dedicated to veganism for around six years and the experience was “great.”
“Now, I’m trying it out again because I really want to be healthy. And to be healthy, I need to eat healthy. When I don’t eat healthy, I just feel terrible–to be honest, I feel like I almost have pain,” she said. “So now, I eat vegan about six days out of the week. And then if I want, like, some eggs or something, I do that on the seventh day.”
She used to adjust her diet while training
Athletes’ bodies need more fuel to stay energized, so Williams used to make a habit of loading up on carbs when she was in her tennis heyday.
“The only time I eat pasta is when I’m playing/training. Usually, you’ll never see me eating pasta otherwise. Cause I feel like I’ve had to eat it so much in my career. It’s just like, I never want to see pasta again,” she told Women’s Health in 2021.
She likes to stay hydrated
Williams aims to drink a gallon of water or more each day to stay hydrated.
“That is one thing that I make sure that I always do,” she told CNBC in 2020.
While chatting with Glamour in 2021, Williams elaborated on the importance of drinking plenty of fluids.
“Hydration is super important for everything from skin to muscle recovery, so I try to make sure I always have water next to my bed. I also avoid snacking, especially sugar, as that tends to keep me awake longer,” she said.
The tennis star also swears by Gatorade to perk her up when she wakes up feeling dehydrated or tired.
Pregnancy didn’t stop her from working out
Pregnancy can feel like a workout in and of itself, but Williams still hit her fitness goals during her two pregnancies.
In 2023, she took to YouTube to share one of her pregnancy workouts and admitted that it’s “very difficult” to stay in shape while you’re expecting a child.
“I learned that when you’re pregnant, you burn so many calories as much as a triathlon athlete. So I’m trying to take advantage of that and continue to burn those calories,” she said.
Williams noted that her hips are especially tight during pregnancy and started her workout with warmup stretches.
After using the elliptical machine (and adding some arm exercises with a weighted ball), the athlete uses the treadmill while doing arm exercises with dumbbells.
While focusing on her legs and glutes, Williams did some squats and also added in some more arm exercises, all while her daughter Olympia watched.
She gave herself time to get back to the gym after giving birth
Staying in shape is a priority for Williams, but she also has a practical attitude when it comes to post-baby weight loss. After giving birth to her second daughter Adira in 2023, the athlete took her time building up her strength.
Two months after she welcomed her baby girl, Williams posted a photo of herself in the gym with her eldest daughter.
“Olympia watching me try to get my ab muscles working again. Here comes fitness!” she captioned the post.
In January 2024, Williams took to Instagram to post a video of herself lifting weights.
“Alright, I’m getting back into the swing of things,” she said in the brief clip. “This is not my usual weight, but it’ll do until I get back to where I need to be.”
A month later, the mother of two posted a relatable reflection about body image on her Instagram post.
“Loving yourself is essential. I find that I have to remind myself of that self-love through all different stages in my life. Right now I love that my body is not picture perfect. I love that I smell like milk — that milk sustains @adiraohanian I love getting to know a new version of my body. It is a change, but it’s a change that has been well worth it. So start this week, knowing that you are loved, and that starts with you,” she wrote. “Ok, now I’m about to go to the gym 🤪.”
In May 2024, Williams updated her Instagram followers on her postpartum weight loss journey. The star shared she’s been working hard to fit into a denim skirt she bought to wear after giving birth. While she’s not quite there yet, she promised to keep working toward it — something her followers applauded her for.
She’s raising confident daughters
Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes, and Williams wants to teach her daughters that they’re beautiful.
“What I’ve learned about embracing my power and strength and what I would like to pass on to my daughter is to love who you are,” Williams said during an interview with Tonal home gym in 2022 before second daughter, Adira, was born.
“And that’s really the message that I’ve always passed on. I definitely want her to embrace herself and love herself and understand that it’s important to have self-confidence.”
She had an easier time losing pregnancy weight after she stopped breastfeeding
After giving birth to her first daughter, Williams was surprised that she had a hard time losing her pregnancy weight while breastfeeding.
“What I’ve learned through the experience — everybody is different, every person is different, every physical body is different,” she said in 2018 at a news conference. “For my body, it didn’t work, no matter how much I worked out, no matter how much I did, it didn’t work for me.”
After she stopped breastfeeding, the athlete said she lost 10 pounds in one week.
“It was crazy. I just kept dropping. That’s when I learned that everything was different,” she said. “Sorry to go on about that, but I wanted to say that so women out there know that’s not true. Everyone takes things different. I think it’s important for us to share that message.”
By Benjamin Raziel
Four years into the 2020s, the fitness industry has undergone two rapid transformations.
The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow to big-box gyms filled with exercise machines, treadmills, free weights, and cardio stations. For nearly two years, these facilities were largely empty while at-home fitness alternatives, like the cycling giant Peloton, skyrocketed in popularity.
Now, the fitness world is shifting again. People are no longer interested in working out alone in their spare rooms or garages, longing instead for a sense of community and direction. But this desire for camaraderie and specificity hasn’t spurred a return to pre-pandemic exercise norms.
“Big-box gyms have re-opened, but many people no longer find them appealing,” said fitness entrepreneur Anthony Geisler. “People like the specialized, guided nature of at-home workout products like Peloton, but they want to conduct those workouts with other like-minded folks. They want to meld specificity with community.”
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA – 2016/05/13: La Fitness establishment entrance with company’s logo on the … [+]
The fitness industry has rushed to embrace this new demand, Geisler explained. Elements of the pre-pandemic in-person fitness model have been infused with a focus on personalization that consumers have come to expect. People want to exercise together in specialized classes, but the emphasis on health demanded by the pandemic has led to smaller class sizes. From cycling to Pilates, workout programs that once accommodated 50 students per class have decreased to just 18 to 20.
“The future of fitness will be centered around curated experiences. People want to exercise together while still getting a personalized workout,” Geisler said.
Smaller class sizes aren’t just a response to wider health concerns. Fitness enthusiasts want to share their workouts with familiar faces while undertaking expert-guided sessions. Studies show that group exercise is more enjoyable than isolated exercise and promotes accountability and consistency.
Boutique gyms have flourished within this new paradigm. These facilities offer a curated alternative to traditional gyms while still creating a sense of community that was missing from the fitness world. They are also differentiating themselves by offering, in many cases, exclusively group classes, as well as incentives to consistently attend and engage with fellow participants.
“While we’ve entered a new period of innovation within the fitness industry in which brands are experimenting to make group exercise more meaningful and enjoyable than ever, one thing is clear: the boutique fitness experience is here to stay,” said Geisler.
In just ten years, fitness brands like Orangetheory and Barry’s Bootcamp, which offer specialized classes that blend different training structures, have helped communities across the country reach their fitness goals. These brands combine high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with strength and mobility training to offer subscribers a more acute and considered workout.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 28: Hannah Berner attends the Orangetheory Fitness Event: “WTF is … [+]
These brands have built communities of avid subscribers whose willingness to recruit new members has become an invaluable marketing tool.
“Our community is a huge driver for bringing in new customers,” said Barry’s Bootcamp CEO Joey Gonzalez in a recent Forbes article. “Our clients become brand evangelists and want to share their experience with their own networks. Even celebrities willingly share by word-of-mouth and on social media.”
The resurgence of group workouts may signal that consumers have grown tired of exercising in isolation or receiving their workout routines from a screen. Geisler said this mass rejection of at-home exercise presents the fitness industry with an opportunity to innovate on the old models that have long dominated the industry.
“We’ve all experienced the limits of technology in facilitating an online fitness community,” Geisler said. “While technology has led to some important innovation within the industry, consumers have made it clear that they want social fitness experiences that are tailored to them. It is up to the brands and entrepreneurs to facilitate these experiences in new, innovative ways.”
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