Air Bike
A stationary bike with a fan and moving handles, where your arms and legs work together and the harder you push, the more the fan pushes back.
- Primary muscles
- Quads, Glutes
- Secondary
- Hamstrings, Lats, Triceps, Front delts
- Logged as
- Session: time, plus what the machine shows, such as distance and calories
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Why do it
The air bike has no levels: the fan's resistance rises with your effort, so it gets hard fast and suits short, brutal intervals better than long steady rides. Because your arms push and pull the handles while you pedal, more muscle shares the effort than on a regular bike. Calories are the usual way to compare sessions, and they climb quickly when you sprint, so pace the first interval instead of going all out from the start.
How to do it
Set the seat so your knee stays slightly bent at the bottom of the pedal stroke and hold the moving handles at chest height.
Push and pull the handles while you pedal; the harder you work, the more the fan pushes back, so there is no level to set.
Stay seated, keep your core tight and drive with your legs; your arms add power but should not do all the work.
Ease off for the last minute. Copy calories, watts and distance from the display at the end; calories are the usual way to compare air bike sessions.
Common mistakes
Going flat out from the first second
The fan rewards effort instantly, so it's easy to blow up early. Build into each sprint and save the hardest push for the end.
Letting the arms do the work
Pulling hard with lazy legs wears out your arms and shoulders fast. Drive with your legs and let the arms add power.
Seat set too low
A low seat bends the knee too much at the bottom of the stroke. Set it so the knee stays slightly bent with the pedal at its lowest point.
Sets, reps and progression
How many sets you do and how close to failure you take them depend on your goal and your week, not on the exercise. These guides cover it:
Alternatives that train the same thing
Same movement, a different angle or piece of equipment.
