While the still ongoing economic and financial turmoil keeps its grip, or at least influence, on all our budgets, most people find themselves devoting bigger and bigger fractions of their income to health and healthy living. You yourself might find that a chunk of your expenditure is directed to the consistent purchasing of one or many of the numerous food supplements out there for your consideration. Don’t worry; this isn’t just a passing fad that you’ve gotten swept into. Health and a healthy lifestyle have been predicted to be one of the major industries to grow and expand exponentially in the coming years.

Busy Lifestyle = No Time for Health

When it comes to health, food supplements or dieting regimens alone won’t be able to do the trick. To maintain optimum health, one needs exercise. Not just sporadic, killing-the-time exercise every once in a while, but actual workout regimes to keep fit. Of course they need not be as robust as a body builder’s, but consistency in both schedule and workout line up is essential. This is one problem for many of us who, like it or not, don’t have the time to spend on working out and keeping fit. Our busy schedules simply can’t accommodate more appointments than it already has—not without sacrificing time for ourselves or our families. This is where home exercise equipment comes into play.

There are gamuts of exercise equipment out there that you can use at home while reading, watching the TV, or simply enjoying your personal time. Or if you want to combine your workout line ups for both upper and lower extremities, there are equipment and workout models that you can take advantage of.

Bicycles = Good for Your Health

One of the better exercise equipment you should consider is an exercise bike. Usual bicycle riding has been used for exercise probably ever since the early days of the machine’s conception. Events like bicycle races and triathlons attest to bicycle riding’s usefulness as a workout that it’s been accepted as sport. But then again you can’t exactly ride around in your living room in a bicycle, can you?

Fortunately, bicycles are good for exercise both ways—moving or stationary. This is where an exercise bike comes in. Usually called stationary or upright exercise bikes, you’re sure to have seen one in a club or gym before. Even in a neighbor’s living room or workout space. And as you probably noticed, these devices can be described as bikes with no wheels. On one of these, you get similar levels of exercise as you would in a real moving bike, without going anywhere.

But then a variation of the upright bikes has sprung up: recumbent exercise bikes. Real, moving recumbent bikes also exist of course, and illustrating its advantages over the usual bicycle would reflect the exercise counterpart’s advantages too. A recumbent bike places the rider in a reclining, laid-back position mostly for ergonomic reasons. For the rider, this means his weight doesn’t rest on a few square inches of a usual bike seat (straining the feet, hands, and sit bones), but on several square feet of a larger, bucket-type seat (weight is well distributed and supported by the back and buttocks).

What You Need to Know About Recumbent Exercise Bikes

There are a bunch of other exercise bikes you can consider, but most personal trainers and even physicians would recommend recumbent exercise bikes. One main reason is because a recumbent exercise bike can be used by people of virtually all fitness levels, and all workout regimes. From the most active, workout-oriented person to the workout sedentary sort of individual, recumbent exercise bikes can offer safer workout routines that you are most likely to keep up with over time. Most of the recumbent exercise bike’s advantages can be summed up like so:

Accommodates all fitness levels. You can adjust the settings on the exercise bike to offer strong or very little resistance as you pedal, so it’s completely up to you how the workout with the bike turns out. Whether you’ve been on a strict, rugged workout regimen for sometime or you’re just starting out doesn’t matter; just tweak the settings to your liking. And for those who need an upper body workout at the same time, you can add weights and do lifting repetitions as you pedal. While you can also do these in other stationary bike variants, in most of them you’re bound to stress out body parts not even targeted in your workout, like your wrists, your back, and joints of your legs. Upright positioned bikes have the tendency to make your posture lean forward, hunching your back somewhat while lifting your away from the ground—in prolonged workout line ups, such a posture could be detrimental and may cause the opposite of your desired effects.

Recumbent bikes are generally safer. Pedaling away in a very relaxed comfortable position sitting back and lower to the ground, you’re safe from any ill side effects of crude posture caused by prolonged uses of other exercise machines. Furthermore, you can’t stand up and pedal using your weight on a recumbent bike. Doing so puts unnecessary stress on your knees and ankles. Your position on a recumbent bike is at an angle where your weight does not strain any joints—even if you had back and knee problems, you’d probably find recumbent exercise bikes easy to use.

Men and women have different benefits from using recumbent bikes. Men often neglect their lower extremities when working out. With recumbent exercise bikes, they can do their usual lifting routines while pedaling with the bike set to high resistance; this would lead to a full body workout at half the time it would normally take. Cardio workouts in such a relaxed position also mean less pain and discomfort. And you can target your lower abs in the process by lifting the bucket seat a bit to bring your legs higher. For women, the most obvious benefit is for their legs and bottoms—without doing hours on a stair-stepper. Different programs and settings will enable you to target different muscles and parts of your legs to tone out. And of course, as most women have similar complaints of not having enough time to exercise due to responsibilities at home, the recumbent bike is easily a dovetailing machine that gives you full use of your arms and body while your legs and feet do the exercise. You can catch the news, read, use the phone, or any other handheld device you need to update.

Popular Recumbent Exercise Bikes

All that said, it’s time to know what products are out there and what they can offer you. Most recumbent bikes sell anywhere from $200 to $3000, sometimes even lower. Remember that the abovementioned advantages of a recumbent exercise bike are of course all reflected in these known products, so look for things that you need and can afford. Here are a rundown of some of the more popular ones you can view on Amazon.com: Schwinn 230 and 231, Spirit XBR25, Nautilus NR2000, and (for an interesting twist on working out) Proform 5.0 R.

Schwinn 230

Schwinn has been a famous name in bicycles ever since the company started in 1895. That much at least tells you you’re getting quality material from a company more than a century old. Today Schwinn’s reputation is carried over to their line of exercise bikes (they make upright bikes and elliptical trainers too), and we’re interested in taking a look at their recumbent bikes.

There are four main recumbent exercise bike models from Schwinn: the 20, 203, 230, and 231. Let’s first take a look at the Schwinn 230.

Price: est. $450 normally, check Amazon.com for updates.

Features: handgrip heart rate sensor to check your pulse; adjustable seat; electromagnetic induction Eddy Current Brake (ECB) resistance mechanism offers 16 levels of resistance; 12 workout programs; 300 pound user weight limit.

Warranty: ten year frame warranty, one year mechanical warranty, six months wear items warranty, 90 days labor warranty.

The Schwinn 230 has been user-reviewed to be a good all around bike. And from the looks of it and its features, it’s a good everyday exercise bike. People like it the most for its sturdy build—though there have been complaints of shaking parts, positive reviews counter that by claiming simply tightening the screws nullifies that. Many owners also like that it’s easy to put together. One of the small things greatly appreciated is that the machine is quiet, so you don’t have to increase the volume of your TV just to hear the news while exercising.

But the Schwinn 230 inherits the dim LCD display of the older models 20 and 203. The 90 days labor warranty isn’t good news too, and for families or people who want to share the same exercise bike, the seat adjustment has been said to be somewhat an issue to change for multiple users. And lastly, the heart rate monitor doesn’t automatically vary the resistance to keep the rider in his target heart rate zone—meaning to say if discomfort from exercise arises, you’ll have to adjust resistance manually.

All in all, its price and overall good build, the Schwinn 230 gets a ton more positive reviews than negative ones (and mostly for minute complaints).

Schwinn 231

Price: est. $500-$549 normally, check Amazon.com for updates.

Features: handgrip heart rate sensor to check your pulse; adjustable seat; electromagnetic induction Eddy Current Brake (ECB) resistance mechanism offers 16 levels of resistance; 23 workout programs; backlit LCD screen (shows time, distance, RPM, watts, pulse, resistance, calories, and speed).

Warranty: ten year frame warranty, one year mechanical warranty, six months wear items warranty, 90 days labor warranty.

The Schwinn 231 costs about $50 to $100 dollars more than the 230 but with good reason: one being it all but annihilates complaints about the dim LCD’s of older models, not to mention the screen is adjustable. The 231 also boasts a myriad of smaller things that can be appreciated a big way when doing repetitive exercise routines: 20 lb steel flywheel helps you feel your workout, while your comfort seat is lumbar supported to help your back and buttocks feel more comfortable even in intense programs; transport wheel for easily moving the machine around; and adjustable fan that you can turn on and off when you need to.

The Schwinn 231 has mostly the same negative aspects to it like the 230 (except the LCD), and of course an extra $100 didn’t change the warranty coverage at all. But for the extra cash the 231 is a top pick of most reviews and consumers.

Spirit XBR25

Features: 16 different seat adjustments; 20 levels of resistance; eight programmed workouts; Polar heart rate monitor; mesh seat back; 350 pound user weight limit.

Warranty: lifetime frame and brake warranty; five year parts warranty; one year labor warranty.

The hefty price tag comes less as a surprise when you find out that the XBR25 is a club quality machine that comes with other gym level aspects. ConsumerReports.org identifies the Spirit XBR25 as a Best Buy, meanwhile professional reviews endorses the product. But the thing is there are quite a few user reviews out there, probably because most people don’t have that much of a budget to allocate to an exercise bike.

Aside from the 350 pound user weight limit and great warranty, the XBR25 is easy and cool on the back with its mesh seat back. You could grind out great workout programs from this machine but if you’re only looking to exercise every so often at home, the XBR25 might be bit overkill. Also, previous models of Spirit bikes have some good features that were not carried over to the XBR25.

Nautilus NR2000

Price: est. $1000 normally, check Amazon.com for updates.

Features: six programmed workouts; 16 levels of electromagnetic resistance; extra-wide pedals; no electric power needed (runs on kinetic energy from user).

Warranty: lifetime frame warranty; ten years parts warranty.

Obviously, the NR200 wins out being a gym level machine with a good overall reputation for being sturdy, durable exercise machines that last for a long time, not to mention you don’t need to plug it in. The extra wide pedals also add an effortless touch to keeping contact with them while pedaling. The normal amenities such as book rack and bottle holder are there too.

Overall a good all around bike with club quality aspects, but may be a bit too hefty on the pocket. Generally, people who can afford it would tend to favor the Nautilus NR2000 over lesser priced Schwinns, but then again the bottom line is the budget, isn’t it?

Proform 5.0 R Recumbent Exercise Bike

Price: est. $399 normally, check Amazon.com for updates.

Features: GameFit built in video games; handgrip heart rate monitors; Silent Magnetic Resistance (SMR); adjustable seats.

The main reason Proform has made it to being reviewed—aside from being another popular manufacturer of recumbent exercise bikes—is GameFit. It’s a positive development to working out: play a few card games while working out and finish your work out schedule before you know it.

The adjustable seats are controlled by pulling up a knob and sliding the seat to accommodate you leg length. SMR does for a quiet, smooth ride while playing or watching TV or listening to music.

Amazon.com will probably be the best place to scout for reviews about these recumbent bike products, as well as to note their current prices. Again, all the machines mentioned here reflect the main advantages of using recumbent exercise bikes, so whichever model or brand you may fancy among the few mentioned here would depend on your personal inklings and your budget.