There are plenty of exercise bikes to choose from: recumbent, upright, spin bikes and, sitting a little apart from the rest, the air bike. Also known as an Aerodyne or fan bike, it looks simple, but ask anyone who has done a hard interval on one and they will tell you it is one of the toughest machines in the gym. The air bike benefits come down to a few key differences: it works your arms and legs together, its resistance is unlimited, and it is completely low impact. Here is why we rate it so highly at Hammer’s Gym and how to get the most out of it.
What is an air bike?
Most exercise bikes use a weighted flywheel and a friction or magnetic brake to create resistance, so you set a level and pedal against it. An air bike uses a large fan instead. The faster you pedal, the faster the fan spins and the more air it has to push, so resistance rises automatically with your effort. There is no dial to set and no ceiling to hit. The other big difference is the handles: rather than being fixed, they move back and forth with the pedals, so your upper body drives the machine alongside your legs.
The biggest air bike benefits
1. A true full-body workout
Because the handles move, every stroke involves your chest, shoulders, back and arms as well as your quads, hamstrings and glutes. That is a lot of muscle working at once, which is why the air bike burns so many calories in a short time and why it feels far harder than an upright bike at the same perceived pace.
2. Unlimited, self-adjusting resistance
With fan resistance, the machine always matches you. Ease off and it gets easier; push and it pushes back. That makes it ideal for interval training, because you can go from a recovery pace to an all-out sprint instantly without touching a setting. Beginners and elite athletes can use the exact same bike and both get an appropriate workout.
3. Low impact and joint friendly
Any bike is a great alternative for people who struggle with higher-impact cardio such as running, skipping or box jumps. If you are carrying an ankle, knee, quad or hip flexor niggle, the air bike lets you train hard with zero impact while moving the injured area gently and pushing blood flow to it, which supports recovery. It is a favourite of physios and a staple of our members’ return-to-training plans.
4. Perfect for HIIT and conditioning
High-intensity interval training works best on a machine that lets you reach maximum effort quickly and safely. The air bike does exactly that. Ten to twenty seconds of all-out effort on an Aerodyne is brutally effective, and because you are seated there is no risk of tripping, falling or losing form under fatigue.
5. Built-in cooling
A small but welcome bonus: the fan pushes a stream of air over you as you ride. On a hot day or during a long conditioning block, that airflow makes a real difference to how long you can keep working.
6. Excellent for fighters and athletes
Muay Thai, boxing and BJJ demand repeated bursts of maximal effort with short recoveries, exactly what the air bike trains. Many of the fighters who train at Hammer’s use it for round-based conditioning, and it is a core piece of our group fitness and conditioning classes.
Three air bike workouts to try
- Beginner steady state: 10 to 15 minutes at a conversational pace, keeping the RPM steady. Great as a warm-up or an easy recovery session.
- Classic intervals: 8 rounds of 20 seconds hard, 40 seconds easy. Aim to hit the same peak RPM or wattage on every round.
- Calorie sprint: 10 calories as fast as possible, rest 60 seconds, repeat 6 to 8 times. Brutal, short and extremely effective.
For technique, sit tall, keep a light grip on the handles and drive with your legs first; let the arms follow and add power rather than trying to pull the handles on their own. Start conservatively the first time. The air bike is famous for feeling easy for the first fifteen seconds and very hard after that.
Air bike vs other cardio machines
Compared with a treadmill it is far kinder to your joints; compared with a spin bike it adds an upper-body component and needs no resistance adjustments; compared with a rower it is easier to learn and harder to do badly. It pairs particularly well with the SkiErg and rower for varied conditioning circuits, and it fits neatly into hybrid sessions like our 500 calorie workout.
Try the Aerodyne bikes at Hammer’s Gym
You will find our air bikes in the cardio and functional zones of the Hammer’s Gym floor in Nunawading. If you are new to them, ask any staff member for a quick set-up, or book a session with one of our personal trainers to build interval work into your program. Not yet a member? Grab a free one-day trial and come and experience the air bike benefits yourself. We are minutes from Mitcham, Blackburn, Box Hill and Doncaster.