An assault bike, also known as an air bike or fan bike, is an intense full-body workout machine that is growing in popularity in gyms and home gyms. It provides a high-intensity cardio and strength training workout by combining elements of a stair climber, upright bike, and rowing machine. But just how many calories can you expect to burn in 1 minute of riding an assault bike?
What is an Assault Bike?
An assault bike, sometimes called an air bike or fan bike, is an upright stationary bike that uses air resistance to provide an intense full-body workout. It has a large fan at the front that spins as you pedal, creating wind resistance. The faster and harder you pedal, the more resistance the fan provides.
Assault bikes also have movable handles that drive the front fan wheel. As you pedal faster, you can also push and pull the handles, engaging your upper body and core muscles. This combination of pedaling and pushing/pulling the handles works all the major muscle groups in your legs, glutes, back, arms, shoulders, and core.
Compared to upright stationary bikes, assault bikes burn more calories and elevate heart rate faster because of the use of both upper and lower body at the same time. They provide a high-intensity cardio workout that also builds muscle strength.
Calorie Burn Per Minute on Assault Bike
The number of calories you burn per minute on an assault bike depends on a few key factors:
- Your weight – Heavier people burn more calories than lighter people.
- Intensity – The harder you work, the more calories you burn.
- Fitness level – Fit people tend to burn more calories than unfit people at the same workload.
According to research, here are some general estimates for calories burned per minute on an assault bike for a 125 lb, 155 lb, 185 lb, and 215 lb person:
| Weight | Moderate Effort | Vigorous Effort |
|---|---|---|
| 125 lbs | 10 calories per minute | 15 calories per minute |
| 155 lbs | 12 calories per minute | 18 calories per minute |
| 185 lbs | 14 calories per minute | 21 calories per minute |
| 215 lbs | 16 calories per minute | 24 calories per minute |
As you can see, calories burned per minute increases as body weight increases. Heavier people need more energy to move their bodies and thus burn more calories for the same exercise.
Intensity is also key – you can double your calorie burn by going from a moderate effort to a vigorous effort. For an 185 lb person, that’s the difference between burning 14 calories per minute (moderate) and 21 calories per minute (vigorous).
Calorie Burn in 1 Minute All-Out Effort
For a 1 minute all-out, maximum effort workout on the assault bike, you can burn even more calories per minute. Here are estimates for calories burned in 1 minute at maximum effort:
- 125 lb person – 22 calories
- 155 lb person – 26 calories
- 185 lb person – 31 calories
- 215 lb person – 35 calories
This shows how pushing yourself to absolute maximum effort, with very high pedal rpm and very fast arm movement, can torch calories. But it’s extremely difficult to maintain this for more than a minute.
Calories Burned in 30 Seconds All-Out
Many assault bike workouts include 30 second all-out intervals, where you sprint at full power for 30 seconds before recovering for a period. Here’s how many calories you can expect to burn in 30 seconds at maximum effort:
- 125 lb person – 11 calories
- 155 lb person – 13 calories
- 185 lb person – 15 calories
- 215 lb person – 17 calories
So in a 30 second max effort sprint, an 185 lb person will burn around 15 calories. This shows just how quickly the assault bike can torch calories when you go all out. But you must recover after, meaning you burn fewer net calories overall.
Calories Burned Per 10 Minutes on Assault Bike
For longer assault bike workouts of about 10 minutes, here’s a look at potential calorie burn:
| Intensity | 125 lbs | 155 lbs | 185 lbs | 215 lbs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light | 100 calories | 120 calories | 140 calories | 160 calories |
| Moderate | 150 calories | 180 calories | 210 calories | 240 calories |
| Vigorous | 225 calories | 270 calories | 315 calories | 360 calories |
This gives you a good idea of total calorie burn for a typical assault bike workout length. An 185 lb person doing a vigorous 10 minute workout would burn around 315 calories in total.
How to Burn More Calories on an Assault Bike
Here are some tips to maximize your calorie burn on an assault bike:
- Increase pedal rpm – Don’t just pedal fast, focus on spinning the pedals as fast as possible.
- Increase arm rpm – Crank your arms as fast as possible.
- Use intervals – Alternate short intense intervals with lower intensity recovery.
- Increase resistance – Make it harder by adjusting the resistance knob.
- Stand up – Stand while pedaling to engage more muscles.
- Increase workout length – Aim for longer workouts to burn more calories overall.
Combining these strategies during your assault bike workout will result in greater calorie burn.
Sample Assault Bike Workout
Here is a sample interval assault bike workout that will maximize calorie burn:
- 5 minute warm up
- 30 seconds maximum effort
- 60 seconds light pedaling recovery
- Repeat interval 5-8 times
- 5 minute cool down
This type of workout combines moderate pedaling with intense 30 second sprints to spike your heart rate and calorie burn. For an 185 lb person, this can burn 400-600 calories in a 30 minute workout.
Benefits of Assault Bike Training
Here are some of the main benefits of incorporating assault bike training into your workout routine:
- Full-body workout – Works legs, glutes, back, arms and core.
- Calorie torching cardio – Burns up to 30 calories per minute at high intensities.
- Builds strength – Develops leg and upper body strength.
- Boosts endurance – Improves cardio respiratory fitness.
- Easy on joints – Low-impact, non-weight bearing exercise.
- Convenience – Compact, adjustable machine.
Assault bikes provide an efficient and effective workout to burn calories, get in cardio, and build strength.
Downsides of Assault Bikes
Some potential downsides of assault bikes include:
- Not ideal for long steady state cardio due to discomfort.
- Can be hard on the glutes/legs if not conditioned.
- Upper body arm pumping motion may irritate shoulders.
- Uncomfortable seat may discourage longer workouts.
- Not suitable for HIIT beginners due to intense effort needed.
To avoid these, build up your conditioning gradually, use proper form, and supplement with other cardio modalities.
Conclusion
In summary, an assault bike is an extremely effective calorie burning exercise machine. At high intensities, you can burn over 30 calories per minute thanks to the use of both upper and lower body.
Key tips for maximum calorie burn include increasing intensity, using intervals, having proper form and building your workout duration over time. Assault bike training provides an efficient, joint-friendly workout to help you burn fat and get fit.
