BIP.

Exercise library · Cardio

Assault bike

Cardio on a machine.

How to do it

  1. Starting position

    Sit on the saddle with your feet on the pedals and grip the moving handles with your arms slightly bent.

  2. The movement

    Pedal while alternately pushing and pulling the handles in a steady rhythm.

Most common mistake

Don't work with only your arms, share the movement between your legs and arms and keep your body steady.

Muscle group
Cardio
Equipment
Machine
Where
Gym
Logged as
Time and distance

What it trains

The assault bike, often called an air bike, has a fan instead of a set resistance. The harder you pedal and pull, the more the air pushes back, so there is no ceiling to how hard it can get. Your legs drive the pedals with your quads and glutes, while your upper body works the handles: chest, shoulders and triceps as you push, back and biceps as you pull. With your whole body working, your heart rate climbs very quickly, which is why the bike is mostly used for short, hard intervals.

Common mistakes

  • Starting flat out. The first few seconds feel easy, but the air resistance soon catches up. Ride the first interval so you could have managed one more.
  • Getting off straight after the last interval. Your heart rate is high and feeling dizzy is common. Pedal easily until your breathing settles. If you feel sick or properly dizzy, stop the session.
  • Only pushing with your arms. Pull the handles as actively as you push them, so your back works and not just your chest and arms.

Variations and alternatives

  • The stationary bike when you want a steady session with a fixed resistance.
  • The rowing machine is another full-body option, with an easy-to-follow pace per 500 metres.
  • Burpees get your heart rate high without a machine, but with jumps and landings.

How to plan your sessions

A common format is 10 to 20 seconds as hard as you can, then 40 to 60 seconds of easy pedalling, for six to ten rounds. Longer intervals, such as 30 to 60 seconds, need a pace you can hold all the way, not an all-out sprint. Warm up with five easy minutes, as in the warm-up guide. One or two such sessions a week are plenty for most people, and you can plan the rest of the week with the guide on how often to train.

Measure the same thing each time, such as calories or distance per interval, and aim to beat that figure next session. The calories are only an estimate, but on the same bike they work well for comparison. Add one thing at a time, one more interval, shorter rest or a higher number, so the load grows step by step as in progressive overload.

Also called

  • air bike

Swap for

Taken, or missing the equipment? The same movement with something else.

Want it in a programme?

Tell BIP your goal and your equipment, and BIP builds a week with sets, reps and rest worked out. You log your weights as you train and watch yourself get stronger. The first week is free.

Create a programme →