5 Best Assault Bike Workouts to Torch Fat

At first glance, an assault bike may look lower than impressive with its old-school vibe and not one of the flash of a Peloton. But, no accessories are needed for this machine, which provides an incredible workout using only a no-frills bike and attached fan.

The complete-body cardio machine works your anaerobic energy system (the identical energy system you depend on to lift heavy weights!) while boosting your cardiovascular endurance.

It is also easily incorporated into high-intensity interval training or Tabata-style workouts, meaning the calorie burn is high, and the time it takes to burn them is low.

Table of Contents:

• What Is An Assault Bike?
• Is The Assault Bike A Good Workout? (Hint: it’s!)
• 5 Best Assault Bike Workouts
• What Muscles Do Assault Bike Workouts Work?
• Assault Bike Advantages
• Air Bike Form Suggestions
• FAQs

Not only does an assault bike work your entire body, but it surely also exercises your mental toughness. You’ll appreciate the additional willpower the subsequent time you might want to push yourself to get one last rep in.

WHAT IS AN ASSAULT BIKE (AKA AIR BIKE)?

An assault bike, also referred to as a fan or air bike or fan bike, takes cycling up a notch by incorporating the upper body into the workout. Your arms will pump such as you’re cross-country skiing, while your lower body cycles through some powerful resistance.

One other difference between the assault bike and a more traditional stationary bike is that the attached fan makes the resistance harder the faster you pedal. Nobody said a cardio machine needs a elaborate screen to be effective.

IS THE ASSAULT BIKE A GOOD WORKOUT?

The assault bike is an incredible head-to-toe workout that challenges your aerobic and anaerobic systems, concurrently improving your endurance and strengthening your muscles.

The exercise equipment targets your chest, back, arms, abdominals, obliques, and legs. It is also a real workout superstar for high-intensity interval training and Tabata workouts, making it a full-body exercise that torches calories. The truth is, if you happen to’re searching for a fat-burning HIIT workout to assist with weight reduction, the assault bike is the equipment for the job.

Research shows the air bike results in additional muscle mass and more cardiovascular work than a leg-only pedaling bike¹. Study participants increased their heart rate to between 163 to 170 beats per minute, exceeding the necessities for a high-intensity workout. The air bike burned max calories, increased muscle, and improved the cardiovascular system.

5 BEST ASSAULT BIKE WORKOUTS

Before starting any of those assault bike workouts, take 5 to 10 minutes to warm up, which you’ll be able to do by pedaling at a simple to moderate pace. 

1. Air Bike Rounds for Time Circuit:

Rounds for time (RFT) is a CrossFit term that describes a workout through which you are attempting to finish a certain variety of rounds of an exercise routine as quickly as possible.

The RFT possibilities are countless, but these two assault bike workouts are perfect for getting you began. For each of those, you’ll spend time on the air bike after which hop off to perform the extra exercises.

Air Bike RFT Version 1 (8 Rounds):

Note: That is one round of the workout. There are a complete of 8 rounds on this workout routine. When you wrap up jumping jacks, round 1 is complete. Hop back in your bike for round 2, pedaling for 40 seconds, and repeating the list of exercises. See how quickly you’ll be able to complete all eight rounds.

Air Bike RFT Version 2 (8 Rounds):

Slightly than staying on the air bike for a set variety of seconds, this version requires you to pedal, push, and pull until you burn a certain variety of calories. Hit your calorie requirements, after which perform the list of exercises below, repeating the circuit as quickly as you’ll be able to for eight rounds.

Note: That is one round of the workout. There are a complete of 8 rounds on this workout routine.

2. Reverse Tabata Assault Bike Workout:

Tabata is an interval-format workout that burns calories quickly while improving your anaerobic energy system. As this assault bike workout style targets your anaerobic system, built-in rest sessions are crucial for letting your energy replenish, making the reverse Tabata a fantastic option.

Put in 10 seconds of exertions, followed by 20 seconds of rest. This routine starts at 8 rounds, but as you construct your endurance, you’ll be able to add more rounds. It’s an easy workout, but very effective.

Note: That is one round of the workout. Repeat this round 8 times for all the workout routine.

3. Pyramid Intervals:

Pyramid assault bike workout intervals are deceiving as they begin with less work (hooray for 10-second sprint sessions followed by 50 seconds of rest!) but quickly increase the all out sprint duration while decreasing the remaining periods.

The very best work session lasts 50 seconds, and then you definitely begin reducing the sprint time and re-increase your rest time. Eleven minutes in duration, this pyramid workout is grueling and pushes your endurance to the subsequent level.

Complete one 11-minute round of this assault bike workout, pedal at a slow to medium pace (aka a recovery pace) for five minutes, after which perform the pyramid intervals yet one more time. 

Pyramid Assault Bike Intervals:

Note: You may perform this routine for as much as 2 rounds, completing each round in 11 minutes. Adjust the intensity to your fitness level and ensure proper form during sprints.

4. Air Bike Calorie Intervals:

One of the best solution to burn calories in a full body air bike workout? You guessed it: Set a workout goal to burn calories. With a calorie burn goal for every minute, the air bike intervals get progressively more difficult because the workout progresses.

Pedal, push, and pull until failure, and track your progression each week to control your gains. Every minute added to your time means more progress.

Put within the work firstly of every minute, pedaling hard to hit your calorie goal. When you hit it, rest for the rest of that minute, before minute 2 starts, and your calorie goal increases.

Note: The table includes the primary couple of minutes of the air bike workout for example. Proceed increasing the calorie goal by 3 for every subsequent minute until you reach your limit or failure. Adjust the intensity and pace based in your fitness level and monitor your form in the course of the workout.

5. Timed Interval Workout:

The one solution to make an assault bike more difficult is to throw burpees into the combo. This timed 6-round assault bike burpee interval workout has you air-bike at your highest intensity for five minutes, step by step increasing your burpees as you go.

We’ve programmed this workout for half-hour, but you’ll be able to easily personalize this by shortening the time, increasing burpees, or ramping up your pedaling as your fitness level increases. 

Bonus Assault Bike Workout:

For the last word calorie-burning workout, challenge yourself to burn 100 calories within the shortest time possible. Remember your time, and proceed pushing yourself to beat it. Or, bump up the intensity, and see how quickly you’ll be able to blast 200 calories.

WHAT MUSCLES DOES AN AIR BIKE WORK?

Almost every muscle in your body works during an assault bike workout because of the pushing, pulling, cycling, and resistance.

Just consider the various cardio options available in your gym: the elliptical does a fantastic job working the arms, shoulders, and chest, while the rowing machine works the back. A treadmill, elliptical, rowing machine, and stationary bike require activation from the lower body muscles. Mix those movements and qualities into one powerhouse piece of gym equipment (ahem, the air bike), and also you’ll activate every major muscle group.

Here’s a breakdown of all of the muscles working. Spoiler alert: There are plenty of them.

• Triceps
• Biceps
• Deltoids
• Pectoralis major and minor
• Latissimus dorsi
• Abdominals
• Obliques
• Erector spinae
• Hamstrings
• Hip Flexors
• Gluteus maximus, medius, and minimus
• Quadriceps
• Hamstrings
• Calves

6 BEST ASSAULT BIKE BENEFITS

The advantages of an air bike workout are plentiful. The next perks come once you perform rides on air cycles.

1) Builds muscle: 

Do not forget that long list of muscles we just highlighted? Because of the resistance, each of them becomes stronger when using an air exercise bike.

As your lower-body muscles are cycling all the time, and your arms are constantly working in a pushing-pulling motion during this full body workout, all your major muscle groups engage throughout your air bike workout. Non-stop engagement plus resistance equals more muscle.

2) Burns calories: 

Estimating calories burned during a workout is all the time difficult since it is determined by several aspects, including your height, weight, and exertion during exercise. But if you happen to consider the demands an assault bike places in your body, which involves gaining muscle while constructing endurance, you’ll be able to begin to put two and two together that it’s a fantastic calorie burner.

As well as, assault bikes are perfect for HIIT and Tabata workouts, which might torch calories in a brief period of time. Research comparing HIIT to resistance training, cycling, and running, found that one HIIT session that mixes resistance training and aerobic exercise (on this case, the air bike) burns more calories and increases the center rate more significantly than other exercises².

As for calories burned, a separate study reviewed high-intensity interval training on a stationary bike and located that in only 2.5 minutes, broken up into intervals of 5 30-second sprints followed by light pedaling, participants burned as much as 220 calories³.

Five minutes of labor for 220 calories equals 44 calories per minute, which is phenomenal. Now, imagine using that very same HIIT format on a motorcycle where your legs and arms are each working constantly. What number of calories you’ll be able to burn is limitless! When pedaling at your fastest speed, it’s possible you’ll find a way to burn near 80 calories per minute on the air bike.

3) Supports weight reduction and sheds belly fat: 

No workout lets you spot goal body fat, but as you burn calories during aerobic training and shed some pounds, you’ll lose excess fat in all places, including the abdominal area. Research comparing HIIT to other types of steady-state cardio, comparable to jogging, found that HIIT reduces more abdominal fat⁴. 

HIIT workouts can reduce appetite post-workout, while the strain placed on the anaerobic energy system results in a better rate of fat burn. That is a fantastic weight reduction tool for everybody but could be particularly useful for an endomorph body type fitness routine.

4) Improves cardiovascular fitness: 

As your major muscles move constantly against resistance while on assault bikes, your heart works just as hard.

Improving your endurance makes your heart more efficient at delivering oxygen to your muscles, and as your endurance improves, you’ll be able to pedal faster to proceed pushing yourself. This strategy keeps constructing your heart muscles while ensuring you avoid a plateau.

5) Improves mental toughness:

An intense workout pushes you mentally just as much because it does physically, and the assault bike is difficult to say the least. You’ll reach a degree where your body is drained and desires to stop – in any case, why does it matter if you happen to quit 2-3 minutes sooner than you planned?

But push through, finish your assault bike workout, and you may be mentally and physically stronger for having done it.

6) Helpful for everybody: 

Whether you might be searching for a low-impact workout, one that can push your anaerobic system and aerobic system, boost your endurance, or help with weight reduction, air bikes check all of the boxes.

Now that the awesome advantages of Air Bikes you may be interested by purchasing one. If that’s the case, be certain to envision out our post that covers the Best Air Bikes available on the market today.

FORM TIPS FOR THE ASSAULT BIKE

You now know the advantages of the air bike and the muscles it really works, and you might have a number of great routines to work into your gym routine. The one thing left is to make use of proper form to get essentially the most out of your assault bike sessions. 

• Adjust your seat height. Essentially the most uncomfortable thing you’ll be able to do for yourself is hop in your assault bike without adjusting the seat. It is best to have barely bent knees when sitting; think 20 degrees or so. This position lets you pedal with more force while protecting your knees.
• Lean forward barely. One other strategy for extra force production, it helps you pedal faster and burn more calories. 
• Keep your trunk still while pedaling. When on assault air bikes, keep the work in your legs and arms by not moving your torso side to side or forwards and backwards. Moving your trunk area puts you at a better risk of injuring your back. Keep your torso still so your core may have to work harder to stabilize your limbs and protect your back. 
• Push, pull, pedal. Avoid letting one muscle group work harder than the remaining when using a fan exercise bike. Just as much work should go into your upper body because it does your lower body.

FAQs

Searching for more great air bike workout information? You have come to the correct section!

HOW LONG SHOULD ASSAULT BIKE WORKOUTS BE?

Your workout length is determined by your fitness level. In the event you are at first stages of constructing muscle and endurance capability, start with 10-12 minutes and work your way up. In the event you are in moderate shape, a great starting place is 15-20 minutes, while someone very fit can goal the 20 to 30-minute range. HIIT workouts place high demands in your body, so pushing past half-hour is unnecessary. In the event you reach half-hour and are not thoroughly fatigued, pedal faster.

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU DO AIR BIKE WORKOUTS?

Just as you should not train the identical muscle group on back-to-back days, that very same protocol applies for high-intensity interval training on the assault bike. Strength training, HIIT, and Tabata depend on the anaerobic energy system, meaning your body needs time between sessions to construct muscle and replenish energy stores. Beginners on the assault fitness air bike should aim for one session per week, while intermediate to advanced fitness levels can aim for two to three sessions per week. Be sure to offer your body 48 hours between assault air bike workouts.

Air Bike Workouts: Summary

Well, there you might have it! All the things you might want to find out about assault fitness bikes and maximizing your time on them. All you might have left is to get to the gym, hop on one in all these old-school machines, and prepare to burn calories, construct muscle, and blast fat.

Trust me, it’ll be among the best full-body workouts you’ll be able to do.