They use the CEVIS – the Cyclo Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization. It’s basically a stationary bike, fastened to one side of the ISS to make sure it doesn’t float away. Astronauts wear heart rate monitors while riding the bike and then send the data down to Earth, so their trainers can analyse it and optimise their exercising routine.
“We have a computer so if you like to listen to music, you can do that. Or watch a movie,” notes astronaut Doug Wheelock in a NASA demonstration video.
Everything seems similar to what we experience in our living rooms, but still. We’d like to give it a go. Wouldn’t you?