Exercise bikes provide a low-impact, effective way of building fitness and burning calories. But even the hardest-core exercise programs advocate taking at least one rest a day a week. The harder and more frequently you work out, the more important those rest days become. If you're not willing to skip exercise completely one day a week, at least get off the bike and do something different, to reduce your risk of overtraining.
Watch Out for Overuse Injuries
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Not only is overtraining in general a potential hazard -- especially if you're working out every day -- you can also develop overuse injuries by doing the same activity over and over again. So instead of riding your exercise bike every single day, take at least a day or two a week to cross-train with different activities. Similarly low-impact, cardio-intensive options include inline skating, swimming, rowing and pedaling an elliptical trainer.
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Signs of Overtraining
There is such a thing as too much exercise -- even on something as simple and gentle as an exercise bike. Signs that it's time to give the bike a rest for a while -- or even seek professional help -- include decreased performance, excessive fatigue, chronic aches and pains, insomnia and an elevated heart rate.