It may look like a Victorian fitness contraption, but the Air Bike (or fan bike for some) is one of the most effective ways to absolutely control your cardiovascular system, thus breaking a sweat and burning fat as efficiently as possible. .
To many of us it is known as a torture and punishment machine. The air bike consists of pedals that are connected to a large fan at the front, which in turn is also powered by long handles. Think of this as a hybrid of a classic stationary bike and an elliptical. On this machine we will simultaneously work the upper and lower half of your body, which requires the heart and lungs to work twice as hard to keep up.
The assault bike has undoubtedly experienced a resurgence in popularity among much of the fitness community, as it works perfectly with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Tabata-style workouts, where short, long recovery sessions quickly followed by intense bursts of exercise.
The unique combination of upper/lower body training and the fact that the fan of an Air Bike naturally increases resistance as the user increases movements (basically offering infinite resistance levels), means that it is possible to increase the heart rate with little more effort. It's perfect if you only have ten or fifteen minutes to exercise.
How to use an Air Bike?
Unlike a more traditional stationary bike, elliptical machine, treadmill or step machine, the Air Bike not really designed for prolonged cardio sessions in which some episodes of your favorite Netflix show are consumed through an elegant multimedia panel. You have to work on an air bike to get the most out of it.
If it is known as the «devil trike» is thanks to its inherent ability to leave athletes recovering air after a grueling workout. Sure, it's possible to gently rotate your legs during a Friends episode, but you'll eventually get bored and probably struggle with the slightly unnatural cycling experience.
Instead, those who are serious about fitness should see an Air Bike as the ultimate HIIT machine: Employing a workout where you maybe first warm up for maybe five minutes, before going to hell for ten or twenty minutes and finishing with a decent cool down.
Benefits of training with an Air Bike
If you're looking for extremely intense yet short workouts, this bike is definitely the gadget for you. Although it is possible to stay in a soft fat burning zone (about 70 percent of your maximum heart rate) for extended periods of time, this machine is best used for increase heart rate and convince the cardiovascular system to become aerobic and anaerobic. That is, when you are gasping for breath and training your heart and lungs to be able to push harder and harder the next time you exercise.
The Air Bike is also fantastic as heating machine, as it engages most of the major muscle groups and gets blood pumping to the areas that need it. Hop on an air bike for five minutes before a hard strength workout and it's a great way to get your back, shoulders, glutes and hamstrings activated.
Similarly, it is also a great tool for rehabilitation, as it does not have the same impact on susceptible joints, such as the knees and ankles, as running or other explosive forms of athletic exercise.
Increases brain power
Science has found that just a 5% improvement in cardiorespiratory fitness from cycling can equate to a 15% improvement in mental fitness when tested. Air cycling achieves a low-impact form that is less likely to damage joints than other cardiovascular methods, such as running or jumping.
This means that it improves the gray matter of the brain and helps to build new brain cells in the hippocampus. It is a part of your brain responsible for memory, which begins to decline after the age of 30. Additionally, cycling can increase blood flow in the body as the heart rate increases.
Increases calorie burning
Although the Air bike can affirm that it burns up to 87 calories per minute, for normal people it really reaches about 30 calories per minute.
An unexpected benefit of the air bike is how easy it is to use. On a normal bicycle, the position is very important, such as the height of the seat and handlebars from each other and our own height. This can often require doing a specialized setup to avoid injury and upper body strain, particularly the core and back. With the Airbike, since there is a rotational movement involving the entire trunk and upper body, it transmits power vertically through the legs more efficiently while in a position that supports a natural flow and this protects against strain.
You could say he has a boxing-like effect. When a boxer punches forward with his arm, he pushes down with his leg to create power through the body. Almost anyone can get on an Airbike and use it safely because the machine keeps you in place while you use it.
Improves flexibility and balance
A bicycle with a fan benefits flexibility because it lightly exercises the joints and hips. As we exercise the ligaments and tone the muscles, we will gain more functional abilities. Thus, we can stretch or lift effortlessly.
The Air Bike also benefits balance, because the muscles in the lower back and abdominals get stronger as we contract them more during workouts. As we know, balance is essential in everyday life.
watch your knees
Air bikes have a unique construction that keeps your back upright without having to lean too far over the handlebars. That kind of design is great for people with chronic back pain, the elderly, or people who are pregnant.
Also, almost all stationary bikes, except maybe spin bikes, are very easy on the joints and absorb all the impacts on the knees, ankles and hips. That means we can safely use an assault bike even if we have some pre-existing health conditions.
Strengthens the muscles of the lower body
Using a higher resistance while riding a fan bike can help strengthen your lower body and legs. Pedaling strengthens the calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps. And this movement also helps strengthen the back and glutes. If you're using the bike's handlebars, you can also work your upper body muscles, including your shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
In general, you are likely to see improvements in the range of motion of your joints with regular use of the bike. Also, you will get the maximum benefits of cycling from your knees, ankles and hips.
Ideal to have at home
Air bikes are sturdy, cheap, and don't take up a lot of space. They are versatile and train the entire body so we can use them for a wide variety of fitness goals or types of training.
So even if an Air Bike is the only thing we have in our home gym, it's definitely useful. It can even be combined with a pair of free weights or calisthenics.
What is the best air bike?
Like many large pieces of cardio fitness equipment, the Air Bike it is not cheap, even the most basic machines cost around €400. However, it justifies parting with a little more cash for things like a fully adjustable seat, on-board training computer, and sturdier parts that are built to take punishment. Also, the bigger the fan in the front, the more air resistance the bike can generate.
Assault has long been one of the biggest names and its Elite Assault Air Bike it's possibly one of the best, with very thick parts that even professional athletes have trouble bending and breaking.
Assault also understands that athletes like to isolate body parts, which means their products feature pegs to rest your feet if you're targeting an upper body workout, while targeting your lower body is also possible. of the body with the power of the pedal alone.
The Double Action Air Cycle Schwinn Airdyne AD8 is another highly recommended model, boasting brilliant features such as a detailed on-board computer that features preset interval workouts, as well as the ability to connect to ANT+ heart rate monitoring devices for more reliable calorie burn and fitness information. the heart rate zone.
Risks
Big fans activate assault bikes, but They don't offer as much resistance. like a heavy steering wheel. That means air bikes are best for toning your entire body, not building muscle. It can be important to know this information if we want to shape the body and develop lean muscles. It can also be important if we're going to lose weight long-term because lean muscle speeds up metabolism, so we can burn more calories even when you're watching Netflix.
Another possible drawback stems from its joint- and back-friendly construction. This type of design is great if you have a skeletal-muscular condition that requires special care. On the other hand, this design prevents us from challenging ourselves if we don't have that problem. If that is our case, we must know that an Air Bike will not strengthen the bones as well as walking, running, or strength training. Therefore, weight-bearing exercises such as walks in the park or some weight training are recommended.
Another disadvantage of the assault bike comes from the fact that it helps to lose weight quickly. Air bikes are great for intense cardio because they are so easy to use; After all, you won't need to push a heavy steering wheel around. And that is a problem. Many people get excited by their rapid progress and then overdo it. It's still a bad idea because the muscles will not have time to recover and because the body will get used to the effort. That leads to weak muscles and slow metabolism, which means we can actually gain weight and look less toned from overuse of the air bike.
How to train with an assault bike?
CrossFit enthusiasts love the Air Bike (also known as the Assault Bike, since it's the preferred brand), because it has easily quantifiable effort markers. Essentially, the Air Bike offers infinite amounts of resistance, so athletes can compete with calories burned in a given period, which is often a key point in Workouts of the Day (WOD) designs.
Air Bike for Beginners
For beginners, try gliding the bike with simple interval training, focusing on the RPM (revolutions per minute) setting on the display, or manually counting your cadence by noting the number of pedal revolutions in a 10-second period and multiplying it. at six.
Warm up for five minutes by pedaling lightly at 40rpm for two minutes, then increase this number by 10rpm every minute until you reach the five minute mark. Once you're warm up, try pushing/pulling hard for 30 seconds, making sure the cadence is 80-90rpm throughout the sprint period, before slowing down to 30-40rpm for two minutes. Repeat this interval five to eight times.
Intermediate and advanced
Intermediate athletes can take advantage of these intervals with a longer, more intense sprint period, while reducing the rest period.
You can also try the CrossFit method and take advantage of your bike's onboard calorie counter (if you have one) to burn a set number of calories in one minute. Start with three calories in the first minute, six in the second, nine in the third, and so on. It only takes ten minutes for things to really hurt.
Advanced athletes should look to add additional off-bike exercises to interval training techniques. An example of this might be a 10 calorie burn on the Air Bike followed by ten snatches off the bike.