If you want to live a healthier life and get in excellent shape, then there are few things more valuable to your routine than a good exercise strategy. While any form of regular exercise will do positive things for your health, buying an exercise bike could have a number of great benefits that you haven't considered before.

For instance, with an exercise bike, you can tone your upper and lower body, improve your respiratory system functioning, and get a healthier heart - all without going outside. Let's take a look at 5 of the surprising benefits that come with using an exercise bike.

1.    It's Great for Your Joints

One of the toughest parts of finding the right exercise routine is looking for a workout you can do that isn't going to hurt your joints or put undue pressure on certain parts of your body. Unlike running and other high-impact exercises, cycling with an exercise bike is great for your joints. The rotation movements help to lubricate your hips, knees, and ankles without causing pain.

When you use an exercise bike, you won't end up with the same pain and discomfort that you’d get from running or weightlifting, but you'll still be contributing to making your joints stronger. This reduces your risk of having problems in the future.

2.    Cycling Supports Better Heart Health

Even though cycling is a form of low-impact workout, it can still do excellent things for your heart health. Because you're forcing your heart rate up by working out on your bike, your strengthening your crucial cardio muscles, reducing your risk of heart disease and other issues later on. The more you ramp up the intensity of your cycling strategy by increasing the pace and resistance on your bike, the more your heart will benefit.

As you continue to work out your heart, you may even find that you gain better stamina which means that you can spend longer working out at the gym or at home without feeling exhausted.

3.    You'll Breathe Easier

Having a heart that performs better means that you get more blood and oxygen around your body, including your lungs. What's more, the heavy breathing that you do when you're working out on a stationary bike also helps to increase your lung capacity.

While greater lung capacity might not seem like a huge deal at first, it means that you'll feel less overwhelmed and exhausted by little tasks because you'll have enough oxygen to fuel your activity. You may also find that you have less pain in your muscles after working out because a steady supply of oxygen will reduce the impact on your body.

4.    You Might Sleep Better

If you have problems falling asleep at night, then committing to an exercise bike routine could help you to finally solve that problem. As mentioned above, cycling helps to increase your lung capacity, which makes it less likely that you'll suffer from problems with sleep-related breathing problems such as sleep apnea.

At the same time, when you exhaust yourself through the day with regular exercise, you're more likely to drift off into a peaceful slumber much faster when you want to. You may even find that the extra dose of dopamine you get from exercise will help you to get rid of any stress or anxiety that might be keeping you up at night too.

5.    Cycling Makes You Happier

Finally, regular exercise, including workouts on an exercise bike, will help to banish stress from your life and give you a boost of feel-good hormones. This could mean that you're less likely to be overwhelmed by feelings of anxiety, stress or even depression in your day-to-day life.

Regular exercise on a stationary bike gives you a quick and easy way to upgrade your physical and mental health at the same time. You might also find that improving your fitness and reaching your physical goals helps you to build your confidence levels too.

What are you waiting for? Get out there and try cycling!