Let’s be honest; cardio isn’t exactly a favorite pastime for most people. Just the thought of jumping up and down can send whatever motivation you woke up with straight into the trash.
This is especially true for older adults, people with chronic joint or back pain, and those just starting off on their journey to a healthier lifestyle but, perhaps there’s another option?
Can You Do Cardio Sitting Down?
If you could do cardio sitting down, would it make it easier for you to start? If so, the good news is – yes, you can do cardio sitting down!
People immediately connect the term “cardio” with high-impact training like boot camp workouts, running, jumping, skipping, and the dreaded burpee.
However, cardio is just a word that indicates getting your heart rate up.
How high does your heart rate need to go? Well, it’s very dependent on your goals. If weight loss is your goal, ideally, your cardio workout would put your heart rate around 65%-85% of your maximum heart rate.
Your max heart rate is easily calculated by subtracting your age from 220. This would put a 36-year old’s ideal heart rate for weight loss between 119 and 156 beats per minute (bpm).
Suppose you’re using cardio as a form of activity on “off” days from strength training. In that case, LISS, also known as low-intensity steady-state cardio, is an excellent option that suggests you keep your target heart rate between 50%-65% of your maximum heart rate.
For that same 36-year-old person, that would put the ideal heart rate at 92-119bpm. The trick is that it requires a more extended period of work.
LISS has its own benefits, including its effectiveness in burning fat.
If you have a wearable device that tracks your heart rate, you can quickly gauge whether you’re in the ideal zone for your goals.
However, it’s not a requirement. You can get a reasonable estimate of your current heart rate by performing the talking test.
If you’re able to converse easily, as if you weren’t working out at all, then you’re below cardio zones.
If you’re able to speak, but it’s a bit breathy, you’re likely in the LISS zone.
If you’re able to get a couple of words out at a time but finding it difficult to have a long conversation, you’re in the weight loss zone, and if you’re not able to speak at all, you’re in high-intensity mode.
Is Seated Cardio Effective for Weight Loss and Fat Burn?
Now that you’ve got the rundown on what cardio is, can seated exercise still allow you to hit these target zones?
Any type of activity that gets your heart pumping can help you expend calories and contribute to weight loss.
Regardless of whether it’s high impact, like the examples above, or low impact, like seated workouts, you’ll contribute to your overall calorie burn.
High impact workouts gained popularity by achieving a significantly high-calorie burn in a short amount of time.
You can still burn the same calories with a lower-impact workout, although you may have to make some tweaks.
For example, you can focus on compound movements to amp up the calorie burn per minute.
Compound movements utilize multiple muscles in tandem, and the more muscles you’re moving at one time, the higher the calorie burn.
You could also increase the amount of time worked in order to hit the calorie burn you need.
Thankfully, a lower impact cardio workout, like seated exercises, doesn’t put as much stress on your body, making it much easier to work out longer.
If you’re choosing seated options for your cardio days, keep in mind that you will have to push yourself.
It’s easy to turn a seated workout into just another day in the park, so make sure you’re doing talk tests or keeping an eye on your heart rate if your goal is weight loss or fat burn.
Regardless of what type of cardio you choose, exercise is very rarely a one-stop shop for weight loss and fat burn.
In order to lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit, meaning that you burn more calories than you consume.
That said, it’s kind of like a three-legged stool.
If you picture sleep, exercise, and a healthy diet as three legs of a stool, you can imagine that without even just one of those legs, you’ll be hard-pressed to be able to use that stool.
So, while exercise is a critical component, it’s also necessary to ensure you’re sleeping enough and eating well if weight loss is your goal.
What Are the Benefits of Seated Cardio?
One of the most significant benefits of seated cardio is that its low impact. As we mentioned previously, low impact doesn’t necessarily mean low intensity; in fact, low-impact workouts can be low, moderate, or high-intensity.
Low impact workouts, including seated exercises, remove the jarring impact on your joints, ligaments, and tendons.
This is especially important if you’re recovering from an injury, if you’re a senior citizen, or if you have chronic joint issues.
However, it also helps to prevent injury in people who are generally healthy otherwise.
These types of workouts also build muscle, which supports your metabolism, and increase endurance. This will help to improve your overall fitness level.
For those who are new to working out or who have a significant amount of weight to lose, low-impact cardio gives them an accessible and safe way to start their fitness journey.
As with all exercise, the activity helps to release endorphins that help to alleviate stress and anxiety.
Not to mention, seated exercises are much less intimidating, which means you’re more likely to work out consistently and reap the benefits.
Is It Okay to Do Seated Cardio Every Day?
While we’re on the subject of consistency, it’s natural to question whether seated exercises are something you can do daily or whether there’s a specific schedule you should keep.
Unlike strength training or high-impact workouts, where it’s necessary to skip days between hitting the same muscles, you can do seated cardio daily.
However, the key is to listen to your body. If you’re feeling particularly sore, you should give yourself a day to rest before hitting the machines again.
The Center for Disease Control suggests that adults get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week.
You can break this down into two one-hour sessions and a thirty-minute session, five thirty-minute sessions, or even micro workouts of 20 minutes each.
Of course, it’s important to keep your goals in mind when you’re determining your workout schedule.
Another thing to keep in the back of your head while you’re creating your workout schedule for the week is that your body will adapt to whatever you consistently put in front of it.
So, alternating seated exercise days with strength training, high-intensity interval training, or even a different machine will help increase muscle mass and weight loss.
What Type of Seated Cardio Equipment is Best?
There are quite a few options that will allow you to get a great seated cardio workout, choosing which is best will depend on your capabilities, and what you have the most fun doing!
Upright Bikes
Cycling is an excellent, low-impact way of getting your cardio in. There are two types of cycling, traditional outdoor cycling and indoor cycling.
Indoor cycling is what is commonly associated with spin classes. These classes are known for their high-intensity and high-calorie burn.
Upright bikes work more than your legs. They also require the use of your stabilizer muscles like the back and core.
This is especially true if you’re getting out of the seat. It doesn’t provide much of an arm and shoulder workout.
However, many classes also incorporate light weights and arm work. If you’re choosing an upright bike for home use, various apps allow you to select workouts that will guide you through training.
Alternatively, you can also increase and decrease resistance and speed manually.
Recommended Upright Bikes
| Nautilus U616 Upright Bike | Exerpeutic Folding Magnetic Upright Exercise Bike | Schwinn 170 Upright Bike |
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| The one feature we love on the Nautilus U616 Upright Bike is the Explore the World™ App, which makes your cardio workout less monotonous. | The Exerpeutic Folding Magnetic Upright Exercise Bike is a budget friendly upright bike that delivers the cardio workout you need without breaking the bank. | The most notable thing about the Schwinn 170 Upright Bike is the adjustable angled padded handlebars that make for a more comfortable workout session. |
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Recumbent Bikes
A recumbent bike is different from an upright bike in that it provides a backrest for additional support and is lower to the ground.
This horizontal pedaling motion makes the distribution of work more evenly balanced between your leg muscles.
The supportive backrest also makes it a more accessible option for people who have back issues. Its design also makes it easier to get on and off the machine.
It’s an even lower impact than an upright bike and is becoming more and more popular in rehabilitation establishments.
Similar to the upright bike, there is minimal focus on the upper body.
Recommended Recumbent Bikes
| Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike | XTERRA Fitness SB500 Recumbent Bike | Marcy Recumbent Exercise Bike with Resistance ME-709 |
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| The Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike was built for cyclists in mind and is great for those who want to simulate a similar experience. | The thing we like most about the XTERRA Fitness SB500 Recumbent Bike is the cushioned pedals you just don’t see on most other recumbent bikes currently available. | The Marcy Recumbent Exercise Bike with Resistance ME-709 delivers on the recumbent bike experience you’re looking for at a budget price. |
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Recumbent Cross Trainers
A recumbent cross trainer, also known as a recumbent stepper or a recumbent elliptical, is the child of an elliptical and recumbent bike.
The machine was initially developed by an engineer at Michigan State and has been a mainstay in rehab facilities for a long time.
Since then, home models have become increasingly popular, and you’ll usually see a line forming at the gym for the opportunity to hop on.
It offers the benefits of a recumbent bike in terms of design and its low impact nature but has the added benefit of arm handles similar to an elliptical, which provides an upper-body workout.
Additionally, instead of a circular pedaling motion, the recumbent cross trainer uses a push and pull movement.
By incorporating more muscle groups, you’ll increase your calorie expenditure per minute.
Better yet, you can easily switch things up, using more of your arms as your legs fatigue or vice versa.
Recommended Recumbent Cross Trainers
| XTERRA Fitness RSX1500 | Teeter FreeStep LT3 Recumbent Cross Trainer | HCI Fitness Physio Step HXT |
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| The full-body, dual-action design with articulating hand grips makes the XTERRA Fitness RSX1500 a great workout experience for low impact exercise. | The Teeter FreeStep LT3 Recumbent Cross Trainer delivers a PT session from the comforts of home. | The HCI Fitness Physio Step HXT is perfect for those looking to take their physical therapy sessions home with them – probably the most authentic PT equipment for home you can find. |
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Rowers
One favorite amongst seated exercise equipment is the rower. While it is low-impact in nature, it’s most popular due to its unique ability to provide a full-body workout, so much so that many Olympic and professional athletes incorporate rowing into their workout regimes.
When it comes to rowing, the technique is everything, but it’s relatively easy to get the hang of.
It uses the majority of the muscles, including the back, chest, arms, core, and legs. Generally, a single stroke will work 25-35% upper body and the 65%-75% lower body.
Some models have pre-built workouts that can help motivate you to push through a challenging workout.
Most rowers are very close to the floor. However, certain models have leg extensions that make them much more accessible for those with joint problems.
Like the other pieces of equipment we’ve discussed, rowing is low impact and can provide various intensities.
You can easily increase or decrease the intensity by adjusting your pace or resistance.
Keep in mind that the types of rowers are pretty varied, so it’s essential to invest some time researching the benefits of each.
Recommended Rowers
| Hydrow | Teeter Power10 Elliptical Rower | Bluefin Fitness Blade 2.0 Magnetic Rowing Machine |
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| The Hydrow is a premium water rowing machine that simulates best an actual rowing experience. | The Teeter Power10 Elliptical Rower is one of the more unique rowing machines we’ve seen that comes with bi-directional resistance. | One of the things we like the most about the Bluefin Fitness Blade 2.0 Magnetic Rowing Machine is the additional incline you can add to your rowing workout. |
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Final Thoughts
Not only can you do cardio sitting down, but there are also a plethora of reasons why you should.
It’s much easier on your joints while still providing all of the benefits of aerobic activity, including cardiovascular health, metabolism-boosting muscle building, and anxiety-crushing endorphins.
They say that the best exercise is the one you’re actually willing to do, and that goes double for your mindset.
It’s easy to find yourself procrastinating exercise because you feel intimidated, that you’re not “strong enough yet,” or feeling like there’s no way you’ll be able to make it through a fraction of a workout.
Regardless of your situation, whether you’re just starting working out, back from an injury, significantly overweight, or a fitness pro, seated cardio works well for all fitness levels.
A healthy body requires more than just exercise, however, and so it’s vital to incorporate nutritious eating to maximize the benefits of seated cardio.
For many, this is the hardest part of living their healthiest life. This is particularly true if you have a food addiction.
Not sure what’s food addiction and what is simply a bad habit? Check out our article on How to Curb Food Addiction.
