Modern airbikes are far from the squealing machines my parents had in their local Y decades ago. Today’s machines are overbuilt and impressive. With bigger fans, heavier components and electronic performance monitors, these machines are designed to take and deliver.

AssaultBike® is a modern fan resistance, a full body stationary bike or one of “air bikes.” Similar machines include the Echo Bike, Airdyne Pro, and various other models. However, like Roller Blade®, Q-Tip® or Band-Aid®, “Assault Bike” has become universally known as a phrase that covers all brands of air bikes or simply used interchangeably as “air bike.”
Airbikes can be the most efficient machine for conditioning, eliminating unnecessary weight and training all major metabolic energy pathways, as they allow arm and leg muscle groups to function simultaneously and without resignation.
If you’re lucky enough to have access to an airbike, check out the brutal training below.
The best air bike workout
The perfect air bike workout for conditioning
Their formidable and unadjustable resistance make air bikes more based on strength than spin bikes. (1) In spin bikes, individuals usually do 70-110 revolutions per minute, whereas most riders’ pedals are per minute Airbikes reach 40-80 revolutions Per minute. (1)
Unlike spin bikes, the resistance of air bikes gradually increases. Overall, airbikes may represent a preferred method of conditioning for athletes with a background of strength and bias.
We also offer air bikes A more efficient way to train anaerobic abilitiesor short-term high-strength endurance. If you push it hard enough with an air bike, it will lean violently towards anaerobic glycolysis. This is a system that provides energy when demand exceeds its ability to supply oxygen to the working muscles.

Physical distress associated with anaerobic training also occurs. Lactic acid is a metabolic by-product of anaerobic glycolysis. Training that produces unpleasantly high levels of lactic acid tends to be perceived as a “hard workout.” (2)
Compared to Wingate Cycling (the gold standard “full” test for anaerobic fitness), rides with comparable periods of maximum effort on airbikes produce higher lactic acid levels. Furthermore, these elevated lactic acid levels decrease more slowly. (3)
Lactic acid is not currently the direct cause of muscle “burning.” Rather, lactic acid is produced together with hydrogen ions, which can change the pH of the tissue, leading to burning burns of high intensity exercise. (4) Trust the pain. This suffering pays dividends in the form of Improve your conditioning and fitness.
Modified Sprint Time Trial Interval Training
Unless you are a special type of masochist, you are riding an air bike for physiological benefits. It’s multisystem adaptation that improves our health and the ability to do more work both inside and outside the gym.
Your go-to conditioning workout should look like a Swiss Army knife. Specifically, robust conditioning training is required Train all major energy systems (phosphocreatine, anaerobic glycolysis, and aerobic metabolism). A proper routine promotes fatigue resistance and utilizes muscle fibers with great adaptation potential, increasing overall work ability.
This air bike workout was inspired by a protocol developed by Danish researchers. The original protocol consisted of six 5-minute intervals at 85% of the maximum heart rate, followed by five 15-second full-length sprints at two 5-minute intervals, followed by an active recovery of 45-second. (5)
Only elite cyclists and triathletes were included in the Danish study, and the protocol made these highly appropriate individuals fitters. For the average people, following the same protocol is insurmountable. Therefore, the amount and frequency of the program will change.
Build towards a complete 8 interval protocol by adding one 5 minute interval per month for consistent training. Repeat this workout Once or twice a weekIdeally, it is separated after resistance training or for at least 6 hours to avoid potential interference.
- How to do it: Use the pedals using the arms and legs at high strength intervals. You can use only your legs during recovery period. Warm up thoroughly and do it Three 5 minute intervals At the fastest pace, you can last for that period I’ll take a 2 minute break Or recovery between each interval. After the third recovery period, proceed 5 short intervals and 15-second full sprint followed by Easy 45 seconds recovery Pedaling.
- Set and representative: A 2-minute recovery was followed by a 5-minute effort of three five-minute sets, followed by a 45-second recovery of five-set efforts of up to 15-second recovery.
- Break time: Rest for 2 minutes every 5 minute intervals. It takes 45 seconds between 15-second intervals each.
Best Air Bike Workouts for Fat Reduction
Airbikes may be like that Most “recoverable” form of aerobic exercise. Training stress is distributed to both the upper and lower body parts rather than over-maintaining one area throughout the session.

Air bikes are also “concentric only” exercises. This means that the muscle groups involved must overcome resistance with negligible eccentric or “brake” actions. This makes them It is less likely to cause pain after workout.
High load and/or high amounts of eccentric movement are associated with delayed (domes) of onset myalgia (DOM) and varying degrees of damage to muscle cells at microscopic levels. (6) Ultimately, compared to eccentric heavy modes of the mind (such as jogging or jump rope), it is less likely to cause less pain in the time and days after training on a hard assault bike. As a bonus, concentric contractions require more energy, Larger energy consumption Working out.
Zone 2 Fat Burning Workout
For a low impact total body workout that is unlikely to cause pain to you, You cannot defeat Zone 2 aerobic exercise on an air bike. Zone 2 refers to low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise. This is 60-70% of your maximum heart rate.
To find this range, first estimate your maximum heart rate from 220 to age (year). Then multiply that maximum heart rate by 0.6 and 0.7 to identify the upper and lower limits of the training range.
If you are not using a heart rate monitor, these numbers are not relevant and can simply be driven with the best effort you can maintain while breathing in with your nose alone. If you break in Please open your mouth,you Training is hard work.
Aerobic training is facilitated by the breakdown of fat in the presence of oxygen. Non-durable athletes benefit from aerobic training to improve body composition (such as fat loss), improve heart health, and enhance recovery between sets of resistance training.

Aerobic trained muscles develop better angiogenesis and greater densities of mitochondria over time. These adjustments help the muscles do more work and recover more quickly.
Airbikes are perfect for aerobic trainingbecause it trains large muscle groups in the upper and lower body. Unless you enjoy the monotony of steady state training, divide Zone 2 tasks into segments to maintain motivation. This fat loss training consists of five segments with a downward calorie target. Use the bike display readout to monitor your progress.
Repeat this workout 3-5 times a week as part of your fat loss plan. Ideally separate after resistance training or for at least 6 hours to avoid potential interference with recovery and performance.
- How to do it: Warm up and then start training with your arms and legs. Instead of tracking the time, Pedals that burn 120 calories, 110 calories, 100 calories, 90 calories, and 80 calories. The goal is to achieve a “negative split” by completing it Each calorie segment is slightly faster than the previous calorie segment. Maintain zone 2 strength throughout your workout either by using a heart rate monitor or by maintaining breathing only through the nose.
- Set and representative: Five calorie segments: 120 calories, 110 calories, 100 calories, 90 calories, 80 calories.
- Break time: Rest passively (“chase” the momentum of the pedals and handles) or aggressively (very low-intensity pedals) for 30 seconds after reaching each calorie target. It should take enough time to take a sip of water or a towel before going again.
The best air bike workout finisher
“Finisher” refers to a short metabolic conditioning workout added at the end of a major workout. For example, after hitting the weight, jump on your air bike to empty the tank and make the most of your training.
Because you’ve already trained, your level of muscle glycogen (a form of stored, easily accessible energy) will be lower. “Low Training” or training with low levels of glycogen stimulates adaptation of the energy system. (2) Regular high-intensity interval training allows muscles to build a larger reservoir of accessible energy and better manage the metabolic by-products of high-intensity training.
Sprint Interval Training
Consider this Sprint Interval Training (SIT) “Finisher” Spin your metabolism And when you leave the gym, you leave a feeling of accomplishment. This workout allows for incomplete recovery between short, high-intensity riding.
The “fast energy” from the phosphogen system is not fully replenished during the seizure, so anaerobic glycolysis and aerobic pathways gradually contribute to the energy needs of training. (7)
Translation: You Train all three main energy pathways With this workout. Perform this workout at the end of one resistance training workout each week.
- How to do it: Your weight training is just finished, so you still have to be relatively warm. Perform a simple 2-minute pedaling before starting your training. Pedals with full effort, using 20 seconds, every minute, 1 minute (emom) using the arms and legs. It’s finished with a simple 2-minute pedaling.
- Set and representative: Perform every minute intervals for a total of 5 minutes.
- Break time: Using the EMOM approach, work for 20 seconds and allow one minute to rest for the remaining 40 seconds of rest. The rest of the time will be active (low-strength pedal) or passive (following the moving handle and pedal).
How to warm up your air bike workout
A proper warm-up will naive your body for movement and peak performance. Body temperature and blood flow increase, increasing metabolism and oxygen delivery to working muscles.
The joint begins to move more freely. You may start to sweat. This helps you regulate the temperature when the actual work begins. Try this warm-up before your next airbike workout.
Air Bike Workout Warm Up
- Easy ride: Pedal with low levels of effort for 3 minutes.
- Trunk Rotation: Sit down and apply your feet to the pegs. Rotate the trunk and maintain an upright position as you advance with one arm. Replacement arms with each spinning. Run 10 per 10 repeats in total.
- Feels like riding only with feet: Use only your legs to place your arms for 1 minute with a “easy” effort and ride for 1 minute.
- Arm only ride: Place your legs on the pegs and use only your arms to ride for a minute with a “easy” effort.
- Triple Ramp Up: With a “easy” effort, pedal your arms and legs together for 10 seconds. Increase to “medium” effort for 10 seconds. A transition to a 10-second “hard” effort. Run the entire sequence three times (90 seconds) in total.
The most effective aerobic exercise machine?
Air bikes are mercilessly versatile. You can push as hard as possible during interval training or relax for steady state aerobic exercise. Airbike workouts are ideal for metabolic conditioning and fat loss. It can be a standalone conditioning or fat loss session, or tacked at the end of a traditional workout in the sprint interval “Finisher.” As your recovery and adaptation take their course, airbike training sets you for better fitness and future benefits.
But you are warned – they can be brutal.
reference
- Schlegel, P., Kthehký, A., Hiblbauer, J. , & Faltys, V. (2022). Air cycling is a new way to stress testing. Movement & Sports Science Science and Motoric. It was published online before printing. doi.org/10.1051/sm/2022001.
- Buchheit, M. , & Laursen, P. B. (2013). High-intensity interval training, programming puzzle solutions. Sports Medicine, 43(5), 313-338.
- Schlegel, P. , & Brick, A. (2020). Anaerobic fitness test with CrossFit. Acta Physicae University Comenianae60(2), 217–228.
- Robergs, Ra, et al. (2018). Lactic acid, not lactic acid, is produced by cell sol energy catabolism of the cells. Physiology, 33(1), 10-12.
- Gejl, K. D., Andersson, E. P., Nielsen, J., Holmberg, H. C., & Ørtenblad, N. (2020). Effects of acute exercise and training on myocytoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release and uptake rates in highly trained endurance athletes. Frontiers of physiology, 11810.
- Hotfield, T., et al. (2018). Advances in delayed onset myalgia (DOMS): Part I: Etiology and Diagnosis. Sports Injuries and Sports Damage, 32(04), 243-250.
- Bogdanis, G. C., Nevill, M. E., Boobis, L. H., & Lakomy, H. K. (1996). Contribution of phosphorite and aerobic metabolism to energy supply during repeated sprint exercises. Journal of Applied Physiology, 80(3), 876–884.
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