Does an exercise bike tone your bum? This is one of the frequently asked questions by women and if you too have this question, I urge you to give some time and go through the whole article. I answered this question thoroughly in this article in a way so that you can easily understand.

Now the answer is, sure it does. I know a lot of people have confusion on this question but the truth is, it does tone your bum. Exercise bike focuses mainly on the lower body parts and when we push the pedal down by the hip and knee press, we use the support of glute and quad muscle. Also, hamstring muscles get involved in this process.

But in order to get a toned bum, you must exercise in the right way and also there are some considerations that you have to take into account especially when you are exercising for toning the bum.

Don’t worry, I have broken down everything in this article in an easy way which is going to help you thoroughly for getting a toned bum.

So, Let’s get started.

Which Lower Body Muscles Are Involved In Cycling?


As I said earlier, cycling mainly focuses on the lower body parts. However, it is important to know exactly which muscles you use by riding an exercise bike.

Below I have listed all the muscles that tone when you ride an exercise bike. Have a look:

  • Quadriceps muscle: This is the muscle of your upper front thigh.
  • Hamstrings muscle: It is the rear upper thigh muscle.
  • Calf muscles: Rear muscle below the knee.
  • Hip flexors: Muscles on your hip.
  • Gluteus Maximus: This is the muscle of your butt.
  • Plantar flexors: This is the foot muscle.

When you create a pedaling motion, these are the muscles that make it happen. And as you can see, the Gluteus Maximus muscle also gets exercised when you ride, so that’s an assurance that exercise bike tones the bum.

Do You Know The Glute Basics?

Human glute muscles are controlled by three sections. One is Gluteus Maximus, it is the most important area of the glute muscle. Second is the Gluteus Medius, it is the small muscle located on the upper glute muscle. And the last one is the Gluteus Minimus, it is the smaller portion of the butt muscle.

In our daily activities, the stability we get from our butt comes from these muscles.

How To Get A Toned Bum Using Exercise Bikes?

As I said earlier, for getting a slim or toned bum, you will have to exercise in the right way. If you are exercising in a wrong way for a long time, it is not going to change anything. So if you own an exercise bike in the home or you do exercise in the gym, follow the below instructions strictly in order to get toned butt muscles.

Proper Foot Placement

In outdoor bikes, placing foot properly is not always possible as you might need to touch the ground for balance most of the time. In such a case, indoor exercise bikes are a great option.

When cycling, glute, quads, and hamstrings muscles function together which is why placing the foot correctly is very important for having an effective workout session.

So the right foot placement is, you should position your foot soul aligned with the floor and lowering your feet in both the forward and backward way will give a movement to your calves and hamstrings. And as the calve, hamstrings or quad muscles require glute muscle for movement, that’s going to give your glute muscle an effective workout.

Exercise bikes that come with a pedal clip would be better for proper foot positioning.

Proper Upper Body Position

I have seen most people do butt exercise by sitting upright, which is wrong. Here is why, when we exercise sitting in an upright position, only our quad and calve muscles receive exercise. That’s not wrong. In fact, that’s the position you should maintain for lower body weight loss but when you are especially focused on toning your bum then you might want to lean slightly forward instead of sitting upright.

When you lean forward and exercise, you will quickly transmit your energy and pressure on your butt muscles. One important note, don’t lean too much forward, because that’s going to cause you neck pain.

Proper Seat Height Adjustment

Is your seat properly adjusted in the right height? How will you know what is the right seat height for you? Very simple. The seat has a lot to do with your workout effectiveness. A seat that is too low or high, is not going to benefit you in any way.

So the bike seat height is very important. For the seat adjustment, stand side by side with your exercise bike and set the height at the same level as your hip. That would be the proper seat height for you.

 Right Saddle

The right saddle will make you more interested in exercise bikes. On the other hand, the wrong one is going to irritate your bum so bad that it will make you avoid exercising. Though a wider saddle seems comfortable, actually it is not. The wider sides will irritate your bum.

Picking a narrow saddle will be perfect, though you will need some time to get used to that. Also, if you want some additional comfort, you can buy extra padded seat covers.

More Resistance

Resistance is the key to toned bum, as more resistance will help you to shed more weight. Every latest exercise bike comes with different resistance levels. If you own an exercise bike that comes with a fixed resistance, you better swap it off with the latest one.

In which resistance level you will be riding depends on your body fitness. The expert suggestion is, for the first 10 minutes ride at a lower resistance and increase the resistance with the time.

Riding at a higher resistance level will require more energy which will make your glute muscles move more intensely. But make sure you don’t set a resistance level too high that you can barely move a pedal.

Hilly Terrain Riding

If you own any of the latest exercise bikes, there is a high chance that it will come with a hill terrain function. Before you put extreme pressure on your glute muscles, ride at a gentle pace for 15 minutes.

Now select six sets of the hill riding. At the first ride, stay seated and ride in a moderate resistance and on the second ride increase the resistance slightly. On the third and fourth ride, raise your bum from the seat and increase the resistance little more, so you will be riding the bike standing. In this case, be sure to set your bike in an even surface otherwise you may end up falling badly.

In the last hill ride, reduce the resistance level. I am saying again, don’t set a resistance level where you would not be able to move the pedal.

Heart Rate

Working out in high intensity is a good thing for sure but overdoing is bad for health. You have to set the intensity according to your fitness, as your fitness grows you can increase the intensity level.

Now, how would you know if your fitness is growing? That’s very easy if you have any of the latest exercise bikes that come with a heart rate tracker.

If you just started exercising now, after one month of regular exercise you will see that you are able to exercise at more heart rate than before. That’s how you can trace that your fitness is growing.

Read More:

Is Only Exercising Enough?

Your body fitness will mostly depend on exercise, but not fully. You’ll also need to maintain a proper diet plan for proper fitness. If you want a quickly toned bum then the only exercise is not going to help, you will also need to maintain a healthy diet plan.

Eating healthy is always very important, whether you want to lose weight or stay healthy.

There are loads of benefits that a good diet plan will offer you:

  • A healthy diet plan filled with vegetable and fruits will reduce the risk of heart diseases.
  • It can prevent different types of cancers.
  • A fiber-rich diet plan will reduce the risk of type 2 diabetics.
  • A proper diet plan will keep the blood pressure normal, save you from the kidney stone and strengthen your bones.
  • It will give you a glowing skin as well as impressive body shape.

Not only these, but a diet plan also helps us in other ways too. And always remember, diet doesn’t mean “No eating”, it means healthy eating.

To Learn More About Exercise Benefits :

So, I hope after reading this article you are not confused about “Does an exercise bike tone your bum?” anymore. Let me know if you have any questions on the comment box below!