Recumbent bikes are one of the best training methods that can train both your cardio and leg muscles at the same time. It allows you to exercise your quads, hamstrings, calves, shins, and glutes with less strain on your joints as opposed to a normal spin bike. In addition to that, it is so much easier to sit comfortably on them and find a balance. With that being said, I know that you can’t wait to try them out for yourself and reap their benefits, but does your gym even have them? In other words, does Planet Fitness have recumbent bikes?
Most Planet Fitness locations have multiple recumbent bikes accessible for their members. However, it’s always a good idea to contact your local gym directly to find out their availability.
In this article, we’ll talk about if Planet Fitness has recumbent bikes as well as how you can use them.
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Does Planet Fitness Have Recumbent Bikes?
Do you know why Planet Fitness is one of the most successful gyms in the United States? That’s because it thrives on bringing the best training experience to its users.
Since their target audience is beginners that are new to training, they have a pretty big responsibility of making them enjoy working out as much as possible and staying motivated for months and months in order to be profitable as a business.
One of the best ways to make members appreciate their time spent in the gym is by offering all kinds of services and fitness equipment.
If you just want to have a basic workout, you can just use dumbbells and other free weights. If you want to change it up a little bit and be more creative, you can have a fantastic leg workout using their Stairmasters. And, as you may have guessed, if you want to use a recumbent bike, you can do just that.
The majority of Planet Fitness locations have several recumbent bikes available for their members to enjoy. However, there is a chance that you’ll have to wait for one of them to be free, especially if you train during busy hours.
Depending on where you live, there is a slight chance that your local Planet Fitness won’t have them available. That’s why the best way to verify that information is by contacting them either directly or through their website. Here’s how you can do the latter one:
- Go to Planet Fitness’ official website and click on “contact us” (or just click this link)
- Select the gym that’s closest to you
- Fill in your personal information as well as your query (which, in this case, should be “Do you have recumbent bikes?”
How to Use the Recumbent Bikes at Planet Fitness?
Follow this guide if you’ve never used a recumbent bike before since it’ll probably be confusing for you during your first try with all the different buttons that make you feel like you’re driving a plane.
1. Warming Up
As we all know, before doing any kind of exercise, it’s better to warm up beforehand in order to avoid or decrease the chance of injury. Some basic jumping jacks and light stretches should do the trick.
2. Correctly Position the Recumbent Bike
There’s nothing worse than using a recumbent bike while setting it up incorrectly and feeling uncomfortable. Always make sure to position your handlebar, seat, and foot position until you feel a good balance. Here is a thorough guide on how to position a recumbent bike correctly.
3. Turn On the Recumbent Bike
This is the part that gets everyone confused. Why would you turn on the bike if you can just pedal manually? Well turning it on is crucial since it allows you to control the difficulty, check out some amazing stats (heartbeat, distance, calories, and so on), and try different workouts.
Ignore all the buttons at the top, press either “start” or “quick-start”, and begin pedaling.
4. Control the Difficulty
In order to control the difficulty, you can either do it manually or through the different workouts available in the recumbent bike itself.
I highly recommend starting with manual control until you get a feel of all the different levels. To do that, just press the “up” arrow which will increase the difficulty by adding more resistance to the pedaling. Keep adjusting the level until you find a sweet spot that isn’t too easy or too difficult.
If you want to get more creative and let the machine do the work for you, you can try out different workouts like cardio, fat burn, hill, and so on. Each one of them will have a different time, a different variation in levels, and a different difficulty.
The rectangular digital screen that’s located at the center of the console will give you a preview of the variation of the levels that are about to come so you can anticipate them. Here is what a “HILL” workout will look like:
5. Stopping the Recumbent Bike
If you’re finished with your workout, just stop pedaling and the bike will stop automatically. If you feel like you’re getting tired during a workout but don’t want to stop, press the “cool-down” button which will lower the difficulty until you’re ready again.
Conclusion:
Planet Fitness also has several trainers available to answer all kinds of queries about fitness equipment and training in general. If you’ve never used a recumbent bike before, it’s always a good idea to ask one of them for guidance, they’ll be so glad to help you.