Older, frail people can get a free gym pass and still benefit from activities that are not as taxing as physical fitness, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Low-level activities, such as playing cards and shopping, can provide the life-lengthening benefits as exercise, according to a 13-year study of 2,800 people age 65 and older.
So you want to buy an exercise bike. One with as many bells and whistles as you can get. That's great! An exercise bike is a great cardiovascular training tool and works well as a cross-training piece of equipment for walkers and runners. Biking strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings, calf muscles, and gluteal muscles for stronger legs and increased lower body strength. An exercise bike is also a low impact piece of equipment that will save your joints from some of the impacts from running and walking. Many athletes use biking as an effective cross-training activity to maintain cardiovascular fitness. Chances are the exercise bikes you are used to riding have an LED screen that gives you some comparative rides, and monitors distance covered along with your heart rate and calories burned.
Newer on the market are the virtual reality bikes.
Virtual reality has become part of the exercise routine in gyms and homes in a relatively short time. People, from teenagers to seniors, have taken to their hearts the fun and excitement of virtual reality in games, exercise and home entertainment.
The idea of combining virtual reality with exercise equipment is to make fitness more compelling, more fun. People are more likely to stick with their routines, the theory goes, if they are immersed in digital versions of bike rides.
Virtual reality bikes have a video screen located just beyond the handlebars. By pressing a few buttons, the rider can create an animated world in which to pedal. There, for his or her enjoyment, are cities, woodlands, houses, mountains or seashore through which to pedal.
So-called exertainment isn't all that new. Companies have offered gym equipment with virtual-reality capability for a number of years. With few exceptions, the products failed to catch on because of the high cost of rudimentary imagery. Improved computer graphics and the increasing need to get Americans off the couch are, however, paving the way for a greater number of sales.
Companies are trying to appeal to home customers and not just the gyms.
Several digital exercise products are designed for the home market and more are on the way. The time seems ripe because practically nothing new has been done to improve the experience of riding an exercise bike for more than past 20 years.
Biking strengthens the quadriceps, hamstrings, calf muscles, and gluteal muscles for stronger legs and increased lower body strength. An exercise bike is also a low impact piece of equipment that will save your joints from some of the impacts from running and walking.
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