5 Best Assault Bike Workouts to Torch Fat

At first glance the assault bike (aka air bike/fan bike) looks old-school—no glossy screen, no playlists. But that giant fan + moving arms deliver a brutally effective full-body hit that builds engine and grit at the same time. It hits your anaerobic system (the same one you use for heavy lifts) while ratcheting up cardiovascular fitness, and it slots perfectly into HIIT/Tabata.

What you’ll learn below

• What an air bike is and why it’s different
• Evidence-backed benefits (muscle, cardio, calories, fat loss, mental toughness)
• 5 proven workouts (with clear pacing/targets)
• Muscles worked + form cues that actually matter
• How long/often to ride (without wrecking recovery)
• FAQs and practical programming tips

WHAT IS AN ASSAULT BIKE (AKA AIR BIKE)?

An air bike uses a fan for resistance and moving handlebars so the upper and lower body work together. The faster you pedal/push/pull, the more resistance the fan generates—no buttons required, just effort.

IS THE ASSAULT BIKE A GOOD WORKOUT?

Short answer: yes—for both aerobic and anaerobic development. Air bike intervals can push heart rate well into high-intensity zones and recruit large amounts of muscle mass, which is why sessions feel… spicy.

The exercise equipment targets your chest, back, arms, abdominals, obliques, and legs. It's also a true workout superstar for high-intensity interval training and Tabata workouts, making it a full-body exercise that torches calories. In fact, if you're looking for a fat-burning HIIT workout to help with weight loss, the assault bike is the equipment for the job.

Research shows the air bike leads to 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 requirements 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 these assault bike workouts, take 5 to 10 minutes to warm up, which you can do by pedaling at an easy to moderate pace. 

1. Air Bike Rounds for Time Circuit:

Rounds for time (RFT) is a CrossFit term that describes a workout in which you try to complete a certain number of rounds of an exercise routine as quickly as possible.

The RFT possibilities are endless, but these two assault bike workouts are perfect for getting you started. For both of these, you’ll spend time on the air bike and then hop off to perform the additional exercises.

Air Bike RFT Version 1 (8 Rounds):

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

Air Bike RFT Version 2 (8 Rounds):

Rather than staying on the air bike for a set number of seconds, this version requires you to pedal, push, and pull until you burn a certain number of calories. Hit your calorie requirements, and then perform the list of exercises below, repeating the circuit as quickly as you can for eight rounds.

Note: This is one round of the workout. There are a total of 8 rounds in 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 great option.

Put in 10 seconds of hard work, followed by 20 seconds of rest. This routine starts at 8 rounds, but as you build your endurance, you can add more rounds. It's a simple workout, but very effective.

Note: This is one round of the workout. Repeat this round 8 times for the entire workout routine.

3. Pyramid Intervals:

Pyramid assault bike workout intervals are deceiving as they start 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 rest periods.

The highest work session lasts 50 seconds, and then you 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 next level.

Complete one 11-minute round of this assault bike workout, pedal at a slow to medium pace (aka a recovery pace) for 5 minutes, and then perform the pyramid intervals one more time. 

Pyramid Assault Bike Intervals:

Note: You can perform this routine for up to 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:

The best way 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 each minute, the air bike intervals get progressively more challenging as the workout progresses.

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

Put in the work at the beginning of each minute, pedaling hard to hit your calorie goal. Once you hit it, rest for the remainder of that minute, before minute 2 starts, and your calorie goal increases.

Note: The table includes the first few minutes of the air bike workout as an example. Continue increasing the calorie goal by 3 for each subsequent minute until you reach your limit or failure. Adjust the intensity and pace based on your fitness level and monitor your form during the workout.

5. Timed Interval Workout:

The only way to make an assault bike more challenging is to throw burpees into the mix. This timed 6-round assault bike burpee interval workout has you air-bike at your highest intensity for 5 minutes, gradually increasing your burpees as you go.

We’ve programmed this workout for 30 minutes, but you can easily personalize this by shortening the time, increasing burpees, or ramping up your pedaling as your fitness level increases. 

Note: You can replace burpees for future assault bike workouts too, with exercises like the push up, pull up, kettlebell swings, or even planks. You will still have an effective workout with any of these options, but burpees are arguably the hardest.

Bonus Assault Bike Workout:

For the ultimate calorie-burning workout, challenge yourself to burn 100 calories in the shortest time possible. Remember your time, and continue pushing yourself to beat it. Or, bump up the intensity, and see how quickly you can blast 200 calories.

WHAT MUSCLES DOES AN AIR BIKE WORK?

• Upper: delts, pecs, lats, biceps, triceps
• Core: rectus abdominis, obliques, erectors (constant bracing)
• Lower: glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, hip flexors

Technique: Form That Saves Your Back (and Your Pace)

• Seat height: Knee ~20° bend at bottom of stroke. Too low = knee stress; too high = hip rock.
• Posture: Slight forward hinge; chest proud; ribs down.
• Quiet trunk: Don’t sway—brace and let arms/legs move.
• Push–pull–pedal: Sync the handle drive with leg drive.
• Hands: Neutral grip, elbows soft; no death-grip.
• Cadence: Pop to target watts, settle, then hold.

Programming: How Long, How Often, Where It Fits

Session length (work time, not counting warm-up/cool-down):

• Beginner: 10–12 min intervals
• Intermediate: 15–20 min
• Advanced: 20–30 min (if 30 feels easy, your sprints aren’t sprints)

Weekly frequency:

• Beginner: 1x/week
• Intermediate–Advanced: 2–3x/week
• Spacing: Leave ~48 hours between hard interval days

Place in your week:

• Lift days: After strength work or as a finisher
• Off days: Keep quality high, volume modest so you don’t nuke recovery

Benefits You’ll Actually Notice

1. Serious calorie burn in short time (full-body drive + intervals).^{2 3}
2. Cardio & anaerobic power improve together.
3. Low-impact compared with running; joint-friendly.
4. Fat loss support, including abdominal fat, when paired with nutrition.⁴
5. Mental toughness—holding pace when it hurts pays off under the bar.
6. Scales to any level—the fan meets you where your effort is.

FAQs

How many calories can I burn?
Highly individual (size, power, format). The air bike is among the highest per-minute outputs thanks to full-body work.

Can I do Zone 2 on an air bike?
Absolutely. Keep cadence easy, breathe nasal or conversational, and park your HR in your Zone 2 range.

Back gets tight—now what?
Raise seat a touch, shorten sprints, lengthen rest, and cue ribs down + brace. Build gradually.

Do I need clip-in shoes?
Optional. Stiff trainers are fine; clips can help at very high wattages.

Air Bike Workouts: Summary

Well, there you have it! Everything you need to know about assault fitness bikes and maximizing your time on them. All you have left is to get to the gym, hop on one of these old-school machines, and prepare to burn calories, build muscle, and blast fat.

Trust me, it'll be one of the best full-body workouts you can do.

Want to bring assault bike (a.k.a. air bike) workouts to the comfort of your home? Check out our list of the 8 best air bikes on the market. Looking for a recommendation? Go for the Blitz Assault Bike from Bells of Steel. In our opinion, it is the best option on the market.

Overall Best Assault Bike

Blitz Air Bike

The Blitz Air Bike is the definitive choice for your home gym. Belt driven with an oversized fan and comes standard with wind guard, bottle and phone holder and a super comfy seat...

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References:

1. BROWNE JD, CARTER R, ROBINSON A, et al. Not All HIFT Classes Are Created Equal: Evaluating Energy Expenditure and Relative Intensity of a High-Intensity Functional Training Regimen. International Journal of Exercise Science. 2020;13(4):1206-1216. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7523891/
2. March 2015 - Volume 29 - Issue 3 : The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research. journals.lww.com. https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Fulltext/2015/03000/Caloric_Expenditure_of_Aerobic
3. Sevits KJ, Melanson EL, Swibas T, et al. Total daily energy expenditure is increased following a single bout of sprint interval training. Physiological Reports. 2013;1(5). doi:10.1002/phy2.131
4. Boutcher SH. High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise and Fat Loss. Journal of Obesity. 2011;2011:1-10. doi:10.1155/2011/868305