I picked up a recumbent exercycle at a second hand store the other day really cheap. It is in really great shape except for the data box.I like this so much better than a regular full upright exercycle. If anyone here uses these or has an opinion on the pros and cons of recumbent verse full upright exercycle i would like to hear them. I am trying to find a picture of the particular model of it.To post a picture of my new best friend.
Well, I don't use exercycles myself since I prefer the real thing, but I have tried a recumbent a couple of times and had great fun with it. Most of the drawbacks of using one on the roads won't apply to an exercycle (such as visibility by cars, I assume you're not worried about being run over?). On a recumbent cycle rather than exercycle the position is much more suited to pedalling than on an upright, so you'll record much higher speeds than you would otherwise. You also get a more complete and effective workout from the pedalling. Finally, as a little aside, the land speed record for a human powered vehicle was set on a recumbent, at somewhere just over 70mph.
Both put you into positions that you don't want to sustain for prolonged periods of time if you are conscious of your posture and hip mobility. So that means they're fantastic for intervals. 15min of hard intervals maybe 3x a week will keep your basal metabolism near permanently elevated every week, and your conditioning of course will improve dramatically. You'll also be off the bike fast enough not to have to worry about deforming your tissues. I'd still stretch my hip flexors afterward every time though.
