Recumbent or Upright Bike? Reclining the Trunk Costs About 7 Percent of the Energy per Minute and 2.6 mL/kg/min of Peak Oxygen Uptake - and Leaves the Lactate Threshold Untouched
3 days ago
4 min read
The recumbent bike is where gyms park anyone with a bad back, a bad knee or a first day, and the upright bike is where they put everyone else. The two machines drive the same pedals with the same legs; what changes is the angle of the trunk and the way body weight sits on the saddle. Whether that change costs fitness, power or calories has been measured in three ways: across seven machines, across three cycling postures, and in a meta-analysis of upright against lying down.
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