Last Updated on December 2, 2022 by Jeff
While recumbent bikes can be an extremely good form of exercise, the last thing many people want to do is stare into a blank wall for 30 minutes while they sit and pedal.
Luckily, a special device has been designed to ensure that you don’t fall victim to “boredom by recumbent bike”.
This nifty device is a recumbent bike book holder that allows you to get engulfed in your favorite stories whilst you pedal away and still meet your fitness goals.
Do Recumbent Bikes Come With Built In Book Holders?
Some do, but not all that many.
Examples of recumbent bikes that have book holders (or tablet holders that can be used as a book holder) are the MaxKare Recumbent Exercise Bike, the Sunny Health & Fitness Programmable Recumbent Bike ant the Pooboo Recumbent exercise bike, just to name a few.
A great option for the recumbent bikes that don’t have built-in book holders, is to purchase them separately.
Best Book Holders To Buy For Recumbent Bikes
For the recumbent bikes that don’t come with built-in book holders, buying one and placing it on the display monitor will make turn any bike into the best recumbent bike for home use.
Examples of good quality book holders are the Source One LLC Compact Reading Rack, and the BestBookStand Actto BST-09.
What If My Recumbent Bike Doesn’t Have A Display Screen To Put The Book Holder On?
For recumbent bikes that don’t have space to hook the book holders, we would recommend purchasing a tablet or kindle stand. This stand can be placed on your lap for you to read as you pedal.
Alternatively, you could just hold the book on your lap. Because of how stable a recumbent bike is, it will be easily manageable.
The only downside of this is that it may strain your neck to look down for an extended period.
What Additional Features Will Make Reading On A Recumbent Bike More Enjoyable?
Fan
A recumbent bike with a fan can make your reading experience more pleasant as it will cool you as you ride.
This will allow you to focus on your book and not have to look down and find a towel to cool yourself down the whole time.
Swivel Seat
A recumbent bike with a swivel seat can make it easier to use your bike while reading, and you won’t feel so constricted.
IFit
If you’re wanting to have a proper read while you cycle, then looking for a recumbent bike with iFit is a must.
The iFit app will automatically adjust your resistance for you and automate your whole exercise experience, allowing you to happily read without worrying about any of that.
Can I Get A Full Body Workout On A Recumbent Bike And Read At The Same Time?
With a book holder, you are definitely able to combine reading and cycling on a recumbent bike with an upper-body workout.
The book holder will allow you to use a recumbent bike with arm exercisers and still read at the same time.
If you don’t have a recumbent bike with moving arms, but want to do your own arm exercises with dumbbells and Therabands, a book holder will still make it possible to read while doing this.
This is the bonus of a book holder – not only does it let you catch up on some reading, but it frees your arms to allow you to have a full-body workout, too.
Can Reading Be Harmful To Your Workout?
The problem with a lot of technological entertainment, such as recumbent bikes with TV or a recumbent exercise bike with video games, can be very distracting.
This results in you forgetting about your workout and just focusing on what’s in front of you.
You become so fixated on what’s on the screen and don’t put enough effort into your workout.
This is not the case with reading, though.
A study was conducted on reading whilst cycling on a stationary bike. Results showed that participants ended up performing approximately 25% faster on a stationary bike whilst reading than what they did without reading.
Scientists have also documented that the endorphins created as a result of exercise can boost your brainpower. This boosts your memory, the speed at which information is processed, and how fast information is absorbed.
This shows that the best time to be reading is actually during your workout and that it is very unlikely that it will hamper your workout at all.
Final Thoughts On Book Holders For Recumbent Bikes
We think that bookholders are a brilliant feature to add to your recumbent bike.
Not only does it help to combat boredom, but reading also helps to give you a more intense workout, while enjoying it more, too.