You can be fit and not be healthy. But you can't truly be healthy without being fit.  Is there such a thing as exercise bike cardio fitness?

For your heart and blood vessels to operate properly, you need some movement to get your heart pumping strong and the blood flowing. Get up out of that chair and get moving. That's the key.

Any kind of movement is a plus. Climbing the stairs at work, gardening, walking the dog, just any physical activity is helpful. But to get a good regular workout for most people means focused exercise. What that is for you depends on what you like to do and the tools you have to work with. It could be jogging, biking, walking, exercise bike, treadmill, aerobics, or a host of other things. But you must choose something or some combination of things that you can do. Cross-country skiing is a great exercise. But if I live in Alabama, which I do, skiing isn't going to happen very often. Pick something you can actually do. An exercise bike workout is just one suggestion.

You want your heart and breathing rate to go up into what's called a target zone. The target zone is based on your maximum heart rate. You maximum heart rate is about equal to 220 minus your age. So if you're 40 years old, your maximum heart rate is about 180 beats per minute. If you're just starting to exercise, your target zone might be in the 50 percent range. That's very low since for our 40-year-old example that would only be 90 beats per minute. For a more experienced person, the target zone might be 70 percent for a heart rate for a 40-year-old of 126. And you might go even higher if you are highly fit.

If you're walking and just starting, you may be able to be right in the right target zone for you with a brisk walk. A fit person may never get in the training zone by walking. That person will choose a more vigorous exercise. The Schwinn Airdyne bike is the one for me...

Exercise bike cardio fitness is very practical since you can vary the exercise pace to fit your fitness level. You can pedal as easy or as hard as you need to for your fitness level. And you can use the bike any time of day or night no matter what the weather as long as you have access to a machine. If you have a bike at home where you can see it, it is constantly reminding you that you need to get on the thing and pedal.

Combine an exercise bike workout with a sensible diet, some weight lifting exercises and stretching and you have a plan for good fitness to make you feel better and be healthier.  Exercise bike cardio fitness is something you can do and you can start today!