How to Ride a Stationary Bike to Burn Belly Fat

People in search of belly fat reduction often look to situps and crunches. These exercises do serve a purpose, but weight loss is not it. They will build your abdominal muscles and make them tighter, but they won't do much for the fat layer that covers them up. To truly lose this weight, you need to do cardiovascular exercise. A stationary bike burns calories throughout your entire body, including your stomach. You also have to contract your abs to maintain good alignment.

Step 1
Stretch your body dynamically before getting on the bike. Dynamic stretches are performed in motion and they will get your connective tissue loosened up for the exercising movements ahead. Do stretches like leg swings, alternating toe touches, lateral lunges, knee highs, ankle bounces, side bends and trunk rotations.

Step 2
Adjust your seat to the proper height. Sit on the bike, place your feet on the pedals and slowly turn the cranks. Pay attention to your knees. Move the seat to a position where your knee is just short of being straight when you turn the cranks.

Step 3
Begin to pedal for a warm-up. Sit on the seat, place your hands on the handle bars and start pedaling. Go slow at first and gradually increase your speed for five minutes. This will slowly raise your core body temperature and further loosen up your muscles.

Step 4
Increase your speed to your exercising intensity. Pedal hard enough that your breathing becomes labored and you are sweating. Stay at this pace for the duration of your workout. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 60 to 90 minutes of cardio for weight loss. Split your sessions into two or three bouts during the day if you do not have time to do it all at once.

Step 5
Include interval training into your workout to increase your intensity. The more vigorously you exercise, the more calories you'll burn. Pedal for 30 seconds at a very fast pace, then pedal slowly for 60 seconds. Alternate back and forth for an entire workout or implement 10-minute interval sessions into your long workouts. If you do intervals for your whole workout, keep the total time to 30 to 45 minutes because of the intensity.

Step 6
Execute proper form when you are riding. Forcefully push the pedals down with your feet, maintain an erect posture and do not lean on the handle bars. Keep your core tight throughout your workouts and make sure to drink water to stay hydrated.

Step 7
Finish with a light cool-down. Do your cool-down the opposite of how you did your warm-up. Pedal gradually slower through a five-minute time frame.

Step 8
Ride your bike often to get the best results. Work out at least four days a week and continue to work out every week.