Studies have shown that indoor cycling helps you lose weight, build muscle endurance and improve cardiovascular health. It is a form of aerobic exercise, i.e., a form of exercise that burns calories in the presence of oxygen each time you breathe in deeply. Aerobic workout improves blood circulation, which improves memory, blood pressure, sleep, and blood sugar levels.
A particular form of the indoor cycle is the air bike, such as the assault air bikes, which provide additional benefits over regular indoor cycling. Read on to learn about the general advantages of an exercise cycle and what other benefits an air bike, specifically, can give you.
Weight Loss:
A study conducted in 2010 found that indoor cycling, combined with a low-calorie diet, significantly reduced body weight and body fat in participants.
Let’s bring in the numbers. You can expect to burn about 100-150 calories in a 30-minute walk. With regular indoor cycling, you can burn about 240 calories per 30 minutes. And with an air bike, you can hike those numbers up to 300 calories in a mere 20 minutes. (If you must know, the current world record is a whopping 87 calories in just a minute on an air bike)
Low Impact:
Exercise such as running, jogging, and jumping, are high impact exercises. Your weight-bearing joints, viz., ankles, knees, hips, and feet, are subjected to tremendous stress. Forces of up to 550% of your body weight can occur on your knees while running. Indoor cycling, on the other hand, is a low impact exercise and exerts a much-diminished force on your knees. Thus, people with joint issues or injuries find this to be the ideal workout option.
Air bikes are not only easy on your knees, but they also provide a more comprehensive and balanced workout. Your upper and lower body are in motion, creating a dynamic rhythm that does not isolate any particular joint.
Resistance training:
While most gym equipment comes with adjustable resistance to allow you to increase or decrease the intensity of your workout, air bikes, such as the assault air bikes, are unique. They are different from magnetic resistance bikes and chain-driven bikes in that they use air to generate resistance.
Air bikes have a unique wind resistance fan system where, as you pedal faster, more air passes through, creating increased resistance. It gives you the ultimate individualised workout with unlimited workout variety. You don’t have to pause mid-workout to modify the resistance level anymore. You can pedal more intensely or slow down depending on what you want. You don’t have to stick to pre-formed resistance levels – where level 5 is too low, but level 6 is too high.
Robust equipment:
Gym equipment ought to be able to withstand repeated use and thus must be well-made. Air bikes are made with high tensile steel and possess a forged cro-moly crank design – no matter how brutal your work out, it’ll hold up against the assault.
While many indoor bikes have a weight limit (about 140kg), air bikes can support up to 159kg.
Monitoring:
Most pieces of equipment have onboard LCD screens that help you monitor your workout. Air bikes go the extra mile with an added functionality that allows you to incorporate them into your HIIT or Tabata workout. You can also use the monitor to fully customise your session by setting a target distance or calorie goal. It gives you real-time information on interval, watts, calories, distance, time and heart rate. Monitoring your exercise has never been easier.
Customizability:
Not only do air bikes let you to customise your workout, they also have the upper hand regarding adjustability. Unlike rigid indoor cycle frames, which cater to one range of heights, the dynamic air bike is suitable for tall and small people. The seat allows for 3-way adjustability (forward and back, up and down, and tilt). People of a wide range of height and leg length can find comfortable settings to suit them.
The bottom line
Cycling indoors is an excellent way to get your heart rate up in the rain or in the sunshine. In addition to your cardiovascular health, you can also lose weight, boost your muscle strength, and recover from joint injuries at the same time. Air bikes, especially, allow you further customizability and the benefits of a fiercely intense workout session in a shorter time. Don’t wait for the New Year to stick to your resolution. Consult your physical trainer today to see which regimen is best suited for you.
