FIVE MINUTES... FIVE MINUTES and I felt like I ran a marathon! Wow, what a workout!!!! Why have I not used this bike before?!? I guess perhaps because it looks like an old relic that maybe you'd find in your grandparent's basement sitting in a dark corner! The bike has handles and pedals that both move together. Unlike the elliptical trainer which has both hands and feet moving together, this bike is not designed for a nice leisurely stroll. In fact there is no magazine holder or cup holder on this beast! You won't be watching your favourite sitcom during this workout... the fan makes too much noise! The fan provides a nice breeze which is needed to cool yourself while burning tons of calories and bodyfat while challenging your cardiovascular endurance.
The Bike
Unlike a spin or regular stationary bike with a solid wheel and magnetic resistance system, the Airdyne bike uses a fan which provides dynamic resistance. The harder you pedal and push/pull the handles, the more the resistance is increased. The Airdyne provides constant resistance which give the muscular and cardiovascular systems no break! This creates a lactic acid buildup in the muscles which will leave you feeling like you were worked over by Mike Tyson! This will elevate your metabolism for hours. This increases enzymatic activity which flood your body with fat burning hormones.
The "old school" Airdyne bikes are built like tanks and seem to last forever. The newer knock-off versions made from plastic may be less sturdy but still provide a workout unlike any other machine. You can use just the pedals to target lower body muscles, just the handles for an upper body workout or both for a full body cross training workout.
The Workout
The Airdyne bike is an amazing way to warm up for a workout or use for an intense cardio workout. It is effective for high intensity cardio or anaerobic interval training. Athletes from all sports can benefit from using the Airdyne. Many professional football and hockey teams use the bike for training.
You can either choose to pull and push the handles with your arms as you pedal, just pedal without pulling and pushing the handles, or just pull and push the handles for an upper body workout as you rest your feet on the pegs. You control the intensity of the workout based on time and RPM. The longer you maintain a higher RPM the more your body will be challenged.
There are several ways you can use the Airdyne bike. You can do 30 second or 1 minute sprints with a rest period of light pedaling. You can maintain a constant pace (which is what I did) maintaining a specific RPM for a targeted period of time. There are many various workouts using intervals with just the pedals, just the handles and both together.
My Opinion
I can't believe I have overlooked this piece of equipment for so long! Five minutes on the bike was enough to get me sweating, breathing like I just ran a race and had my quads and arms burning! The bike renewed my enthusiasm for doing cardio. It's a new challenge for me to conquer. I had Suzanne and Betty (two of my friends/clients.) do a 3 minute sprint today, keeping a pace between 4 and 4.5 on the machine. They both agreed it was a tough workout and hopped off sweating and breathing heavy! Give the Airdyne a try and see how long you can last during your first session!