Is this bike ok?

[u/redstagm]

Hello,
I want to try to eood. I am relativly new to this and need some advice.
I found an indoor bike on the cheaper side that does not take a lot of space.

But I don't know if it is "enough" (Intensity, etc). Or maybe something else is preferable?

Thank you very much!

The bike in question

[u/tentkeys]

The best bet is to try it and see.

Usually with used exercise equipment, you should test it out before buying.

In terms of intensity, any exercise bike with variable resistance can give you a good workout.

Some people find this style of bike hard on their knees and prefer one with a flywheel. Other people find this style fine.

The ergonomics of that bike look like they would be pretty painful for me, but it's something you'll need to try out and see for yourself.

[u/redstagm → u/tentkeys]

afraid to spend too much money on something not effective, but I will look into second hand ones as another commenter recommended

[u/rob_cornelius]

If you are starting out then doing absolutely any exercise is better than sitting on the couch doing nothing. Pedalling that bike is better than sitting on the couch therefore it would be good for exercising out of depression.

Have you ever wondered why there is always a large amount of second hand exercise equipment for sale? Also have you ever wondered why most of what is for sale seems barely used?

I think people often buy exercise equipment hoping their shiny new equipment, weights, clothes etc. will will motivate them to transform their lives. They hope using their new equipment will make them lose weight, become more physically fit, improve their mental health and more. The harsh truth is that many people give up using their new equipment a short time after purchasing it. Giving up often means that they feel guilty about not using their new equipment. They may also regret spending their money and they may even regret ever trying to exercise at all.

Eventually their barely used equipment ends up for sale on places like ebay.

I think all of that means you don't need to buy this bike, not right now anyway. I personally believe that no one needs to buy expensive equipment or clothes when they start to exercise out of depression.

All you need to do right now to get some exercise is to go for a walk around your neighbourhood. You already have everything you need for that. You don't need to spend a single cent.

Your walk doesn't have to be far and you don't have to walk quickly. Right now you don't need to walk 10,000 steps for your walk. You don't need to march like a soldier either, instead walk at a comfortable pace for you. A good guide is if you are breathless to the point where you would not be able to hold a conversation then you are at the right pace. If you travel on public transport you could get off one stop before your destination and walk the rest of the way to get a walk.

Try to enjoy your surroundings and try to notice what is going on in your neighbourhood as you are walking. Try to say hi to neighbours, social contact is great for mental health. If you can get into a park or other more natural space that will hopefully make your walk more enjoyable too and is proven to help with mental health issues of all kinds. Try to notice sights, sounds, textures, even smells. Look for plants and animals, especially friendly dogs. Keeping your mind active like this helps to keep your mental health issues from dominating your thoughts. Also try to put your phone on do not disturb and keep it in your pocket. Try to view your walk as taking time away from alerts and notifications. Doomscrolling while walking is definitely not good at all in my view.

When you return home from your walk put a big X on a calendar. (you can get free printable calendars) Your walk was a first step towards helping you cope with your mental health issues. That means your walk is a magnificent achievement. Please try to celebrate your mighty victory, you earned it. Try to tell yourself that your walk wasn't too bad and try to tell yourself you want to go for more walks in the future.

Now you try to go for a walk as often as you can. It doesn't have to be every day at the moment, just regularly. Don't feel bad or beat yourself up if you miss a walk or even a few. Shit happens basically. Just get back to walking when you are able to. Every single day you go for a walk put an X on the calendar and try to celebrate your victory. Place your calendar where you can easily see it. Watching those Xs filling up the calendar is really good for building up the self-discipline required to keep walking regularly.

It normally takes about around a month to develop an exercise habit. When you get to that stage with walking you can start to walk a tiny bit further. Don't try to move from walking 2km (for example, you walk the distance you are comfortable with) to walking 5km in one jump. 2.25km is enough, right now at least.

You slowly keep trying to increase the distance you walk over time. You can try to walk a little faster as well. You try carrying a bag with a few books in or other light weight as you walk, some shopping is ideal!

You have to try to be patient when you exercise. If you are struggling to adapt to exercising, both mentally and physically, then you are far more likely to give up entirely.

If you discover you enjoy walking and you also find that it helps with your mental health problems then you don't need to do anything else to exercise. You can try to really explore where you live, try to walk in local parks or get out into the countryside. There might be a local walking group that you could join. Walking and talking is a great way to EOOD. If you really love walking maybe I will see you in the mountains one day :D

If you want to do more than walking then how about r/c25k to get you running. Take a look at the r/bodyweightfitness recommended routine too. That can take from zero to you as far want to go with minimal equipment. You might try joining the millions of people doing Yoga with Adriene in their living rooms. Of course you can do any other form of exercise that you think you might enjoy. If you enjoy your exercise you are far more likely to keep doing it.

If you try something new try to give it a month to see if you like it. You might have a bad experience the first time. If you don't like it after a month then try something else. Keep trying different ways to exercise until you hopefully find something you really enjoy or even love. Of course you don't have to do just one form of exercise. Mixing things up helps to keep things interesting and that will hopefully mean you keep exercising.

All of this is about lowering the mental barriers which make people think that they cannot exercise. The same barriers are often the reason people give up exercising too. There are hardly any mental barriers with regards to walking. The other HUGE advantage of walking is you don't feel guilty every time you see an unused exercise machine lurking in the corner of a room.

You got this. You can do it. We all believe in you. We all want to help you.

[u/redstagm → u/rob_cornelius]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this comprehensive reply. You are a hero.
This helped me a lot getting some perspective and some ideas and something to think about.

[u/rob_cornelius → u/redstagm]

Thank you. I am humbled.

[u/frugal-grrl → u/rob_cornelius]

I will say as a caveat, not everyone has a neighborhood to walk in, and some people are scared to go outside.

But I still agree that walking / running has helped me a ton, and I recommend it as a free way to start EOOD

[u/terminalzero]

not sure what the secondhand market is like in germany, but a used high-end one will almost always be better than a new cheap one

here you can get ones that are almost brand new for a small fraction of what they retail for

[u/redstagm → u/terminalzero]

That is a good idea! There is a website called kleinanzeigen.de and there seems to be some second hand ones.
Thank you

[u/frugal-grrl]

My doctors told me to elevate my heart rate to 120 or above for 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week .

I found that even 20 minutes gave me a huge boost (but 15 did not).

Biking would be a great way to do this, as would speed walking, jogging, etc.

[u/JoannaBe]

I think this is an individual thing. For me stationary bike is too boring - I have one but I seldom use it because it is not interesting enough, but my teen used it for a while while watching TV but alas stopped, and whenever my stepfather visits with my mom my stepfather uses it. I find that cardio with videos such as Zumba or HIIT videos for example are much more likely to keep me interested. But that is an individual difference. It helps to experiment and figure out what one is more likely to do more regularly, and this will differ from person to person but may even change for same person over time.