All About Exerbents

As you should know by now if you've been paying attention to this site, an ExerBent is a piece of indoor stationary exercise equipment. It is similar to what we've all come to know as an exercise bicycle, but it differs in that instead of perching on a smallish triangular bike seat, you instead sit down and recline, resting your back against a back rest just like you're sitting in a chair.

There is a small picture of my exerbent in the upper right corner of this web page.

Here are some exerbent advantages and the benefits you'll experience if you purchase one for your home:

• ExerBents are indoors exercise equipment which you can purchase for your home so you can exercise in private instead of in front of other people like in a public fitness center.
  
  
• Having your exerbent in your own home is convenient. You don't have to prepare for and drive to a fitness center.
  
  
• More in-home convenience includes not having to deal with weather. In fact, I tend to use my exerbent exclusively in the winter when it's too cold for outdoor activities, but my outdoor recumbent trike when the weather is warmer. There are too many excuses you can give yourself for not going outside to walk or do some other exercising: it's too cold, it's too hot, it's too windy, it's raining or too wet and so on. I think this is one main reason that lots of folks' exercise programs fail.
  
  
• Exerbents are different from other exercise bicycles in that you sit down and lean against a back rest instead of balancing on an often-uncomfortable bike seat and having to lean forward and hunch over a bit.
  
  
• Most exerbent bike seats will also include lumbar support on the back rest, so the reclining nature of an exerbent is not only comfortable, but also supports your back where it's needed most.
  
  
• Using an exerbent is low-impact. So, unlike other exercise equipment like treadmills or ellipticals, since your back and butt are supported in the sitting position, there is less impact on your leg joints like in your hip and knees. In fact, even folks with occasional knee pain can probably use an exerbent effectively.
  
  
• While exercising on an exerbent, you can still multitask some other activities. The most common thing I do is watch TV and exerbents and TVs are a match made in heaven. But there are tons of other things you can do while exercising on an exerbent. See this list for ideas.
  
  
• Most exerbents have built in-computer controls which allow you to vary your workout with easy, medium, and harder workouts, use different resistance levels, and track statistics like your exerbent "distance", and how many calories you've burned. Some exerbents even allow you to program your own workout entirely and track your heart rate.
  
  
• Despite all these cool advantages, many fitness experts still claim that spinning (exercising on a regular or recumbent exercise bicycle) is one of the higher calorie-burning activities you can do. I sweat a lot, and I find that after a one-hour exerbent workout--even on easier levels--the bandana I wear on my head is 100% soaked with sweat and even my hair and shirt are mostly soaked.

Of course, life is rarely perfect, and there are disadvantages to owning an exerbent as well, including: (a) you gotta shell out the $$ to buy one. I've seen exerbents advertised for as cheap as $150 and as much as a couple thousand. The one I bought was around $400, and I don't particularly recommend a cheap one as you want it to last. (b) Assembly required. Usually, an exerbent will ship to you unassembled and you'll have to assemble it yourself or get someone to do it for you. I assembled mine myself and it took about 3 hours. (c) Maintenance: over time, especially with daily use, your exerbent may experience some annoying problems like a squeak or thud with every pedal revolution, etc. You'll either need to fix problems yourself or get someone to do it for you.

The exerbent I own is a Schwinn 213R, which I picked up in 2006 for around $400. For much more detailed information about this particular exerbent, see the Schwinn 213R page on this site.

If you're now convinced that an exerbent sounds like the right exercise equipment for you, please read over our page on getting started!