The Comprehensive List of Airdyne Workouts

Airdyne Exercise Protocols

So you are looking for some tough, tested, Airdyne workouts? Well look no further, here is a list that we have compiled from various places on the internet.  This list of Schwinn Airdyne workouts are broken up into 3 sections. Time dependent and Task dependent and Other. 

Time Dependent or Time Trials

1 minute for calories – 49

2 min max calories

5 min max cals – 142 or distance 2 miles

10 min max cals – 256

20 min max cals

Heather’s Gym 30 minute Airdyne Test – 1 minute on – 1 minute off 15 rounds for Calories. 

30 min max cals – 536

Morning wake up: dyne for 20 minutes increasing calories every minute for 20 minutes

Descending Sprint Interval Workout 

3-2-1 Go! workout Airdyne Interval Ladder courtesy of Heathers’ Gym.

RowB114 RPM Burpee Combo

Task Dependent Airdyne WODs

Task dependent means you are done when the work is done. Time is not the determining factor.

2 miles goal to be done in less than 5 minutes

Reverse tabata : 8 rounds of – 10 seconds on 20 seconds off.

Tabata airdyne : 8 rounds of 20 seconds on 10 seconds off.

100 cals for time – 3:29

20 Calorie Airdyne Sprints x 10 ( Interval Training) 

“FYF” 12-14-12 from Gym Jones.  5 Rounds of  5 Heavy front squat or 6 Heavy step ups then 30 seconds all out on the Airdyne. Rest as needed between sets.

Airdyne Triathlon via @MarksGym

The “450” Airdyne Interval Workout
Super Triathlon from Gym Jones. Ski Erg 2000 m, Airdyne 300 Calories, 

Row 2000 meters.

Team Airdyne Workout for Calories 50-40-30-20-10

Airdyne Interval ladder via Michael Boyle MSBC – 3 mile /2mile /1mile Score as total time rest as needed between time trials.

10 x 30 calories in 1 minute with 1 minute break. 30 calories per minute pacing with 1:1 work to rest ratio (great partner workout)

8 rounds of .5 miles 1:1 work rest cycle (works well with partner)

300 FY workout courtesy of Gym Jones . The goal is to airdyne 300 calories in 10 minutes. If you don’t, you haven’t completed the 300 FY. Keep trying.

Metabolic Conditioning – 6 x .5 miles work : recovery based on HR at approx 60-65 % of max.  via Michael Boyle at StrengthCoach.com

T-Rex Airdyne Push Press Tabata Protocol Workout

 Other

45 min – recovery ride

60 min – recovery, stopping every 5 min and do something like 2 muscle ups, or HS walk, TGU’s etc.

5 min on, 3 min off x 6 – 100-105 cals each set

30 sec on, 30 sec off x 10-20 rounds

10 sec all out, rest 1:50 x 6-8

15 sec all out, rest 1:45 x 6-8

20 sec all out, rest 2:10 x 6

I also include it into WODs in place of runs or rows like. AD 20 cals, 15 T2B, 10 PP, 30 DU’s…rest repeat x 5

I also do WODs like 3 heavy TNG power cleans, or HPC, or HPS, 7 burpees AFAP, 15 sec all out AD, rest repeat x 4-6 sets. This is anaerobic alactic power training.

More articles on the Schwinn Airdyne and Airdyne Workouts:

How to Fix your uncomfortable Airdyne Seat

What is better? Airdyne versus C2 Rower

How accurate is the Schwinn Airdyne – Calibrating it. 

So you’ve scoured the classifieds and the internet and finally found a Schwinn Airdyne bike. Problem is that it was manufactured circa 1979 and it is an amazing gold orange hue. Should you buy it? Schwinn introduced the Airdyne exercise bike in 1978. It proved to be one of Schwinn’s best-selling products ever. This Airdyne above has a replacement seat because the originals are really uncomfortable and it’s a good idea to change them out. 

Pros: it’s an Airdyne and will give you one hell of a workout. The older models were very durable and stood the test of time. The parts are all the same up to the AD4’s. It’s chain driven which is a plus. You can probably pick it up really cheap, because it does look old.

Cons: it’s an awful color. The monitor is old and is run with a cable. Good luck finding a replacement, if this baby goes then I guess you still essentially have a “warm up” bike.

The bones of the older Airdynes are essentially unchanged. The only real difference is the monitor. It’s up to you, but know that if that monitor goes then you are probably not going to be able to retro fit or find a replacement. Happy shopping!

Click here for more Airdyne Specific workouts. 

To all those that dared to ride the Devil’s Tricycle for one minute. Let there be a permanent online monument to commemorate those soles that were neither weak or timid.

Jack Beauregard 40
Steve E. 35
Mark Arnold 49
George Savard 48

Darcy Campbell 39 with a couple beers from Creemore Brewery in him.

New Record April 20th, 2014

Airdyne 20 Calorie Sprints – Interval Training for the Air Bike! 

max effort on the airdyne

20 Calorie Sprints on the Airdyne

20 calorie sprints on the airdyne, how hard can it be? Can you do 20 calories in less than 20 seconds? Can you do that 10 times? Give it a shot!

Set up Airdyne and have a friend with a stopwatch or set it up on the Airdyne to count down from a minute. I have done this using a partner and a stopwatch.

The goal is to maintain a very fast sprint pace for 20 calories.

Rest two minutes between rounds.

Repeat 10 times.

A very good goal to shoot for is less than 25 seconds for the 20 calories.

The goal standard is 10 rounds each less than 20 seconds.

Happy Dyning!

Click here for a list of Airdyne workouts

airdyne sprint times

5 Rounds of Intervals Airdyne and Deadlifts 

Airdynes and Deadlifts Intervals

A short little workout today, It’s a tough little one that pushes you past your anaerobic threshold. The airdyne bike gets your heart rate up, and then you go lift some heavy weight quickly. Not so bad for the first couple of rounds, but then it catches up with you. We did this as a warm up for our olympic lifting today.

5 rounds of:

29/20 calories of Airdyne – 10 deadlifts at 205 lbs /135 lbs

Rest 1:00 minute and repeat five times.

Total time of workout includes rest.

Did it today in 10:37 at CrossFit Mozomo

Schwinn Airdynes ready to work

It’s no secret that we really like the Airdyne bikes. We recently purchased another one and the monitor seemed to be a little out of sync with the other bikes. I checked online trying to find if there is any computer way to check the calibration of the monitors, but I was unable to find anything. I think you get what you get

when it comes to these monitors.

If we are using these pieces of equipment as a training tool then we need to know if we are getting consistent readings for work output. Otherwise we would be essentially be putting on a glorified spin class.

I set out to test each bike to determine the accuracy of the computer monitors and if there is a discrepancy between them, if any. It should be noted that all of my bikes are AD4 large fan models and they have the exact same computer monitor.

The test:

I figured the best way to calibrate them would be a set time trial over a 5 minute period using revolutions per minute on the screen setting. I am going to hold 70 RPM while the clock on the Airdyne counts down from 5:00 minutes. After the 5 minutes are up I will switch the monitor to Calories and see what the total work output is.

Bike 1:  Calorie output 94

Bike 2:  Calorie output 95

Bike 3:  Calorie output 93

I’d say they are pretty consistent, accurate and reliable.

For more Airdyne workouts Click here

We had friends George and Andrea Savard from Reebok CrossFit Firepower up this past weekend. They are great friends and run a very sucessful CrossFit box out of Milton Ontario. If you have done any CrossFit courses, chances are you have spent time in Firepower.

I wanted to introduce the Savard’s to the Airdyne as they currently don’t have any in their facility. George said he has been trying to get one for his comp team, but they are pretty scare if you are buying used. I think after our session he is going to find one quickly.

Firepower Airdyne Session
Warm up 1 mile medium pace

Workout
Partner workout or 1:1 work : rest ratio

Personally I think that you will get more out of this if you work with a buddy and he gives you numbers to shoot for or some encouragement.

5 x 1/2 mile efforts on the Airdyne.

The effort on these should be in the 8-9 out of 10. They quickly catch up with you and realistically you want to keep all 5 efforts within plus or minus 3 seconds. I wasn’t able to on this one, but I sure turned myself inside out trying. See pick below for our numbers.

On a side note George now hold’s the Mark’s Gym one minute max effort record with a score of 48 calories.

For more Airdyne workouts click here

Our training session.

To come and try CrossFit in Collingwood click here

Comparing the Airdyne to the Air Assault Bike – Calorie Output

In doing the #first2fifty Bike challenge on the Airdyne, I noticed that across the interwebs that there was a large discrepancy between different types of Bikes. The classic Schwinn Airdyne has been the model that everyone had first started with and used forever. Over the years, the Schwinn Airdyne has made several different versions of their fan bike. The AD4 and AD6 are just two of those models. I’ve found that the power output between these two models of the same brand that the calorie output (which some workouts are based upon) is different, so it’s very difficult to compare workout times or even create a good workout if the time domains are different for the same work output.

Here at Mark’s Gym, we have AD4 model Schwinn Airdynes. I’ve checked them all in a simple calibration test and found that they were all very similar in terms of their calorie output.

I found that some heavy hitters were unable to crack a minute on the AD6 Schwinn Airdyne, and the Air Assault Bike seems to be 40 % harder in terms of calorie output according to Mike Boyle from MBSC. If you are doing a 300FY or a First2Fifty, then it really matters what machine you are using. It would be nice to develop a working guide to help people compare machines.

So here is a simple test, if you can help me out maybe we can compare machines and keep the workouts similar.

Here is all you need to do. 

Start from a stopped flywheel.

10 minutes at 75 rpm.

At the end of the 10 minutes stop the bike and don’t let it run out.

Note how many calories were burned during that time.

Note the distance travelled.

Leave your comments below and I will put together a nice spreadsheet detailing the output of the bikes.

Type:                          Calories           RPMS

Airdyne AD4                     228                75

More Airdyne workouts here. 

how some of the ladies made out on the airdyne

I’m always concerned when I look at a workout and think to myself “that doesn’t look too bad”. This airdyne ladder interval workout certainly fits that description. Deceptively hard if you go hard as intended. I got this workout from Heather’s Gym.

What makes this workout so tough ?

The time domains are different and it starts with a long interval so pacing strategy is tough. The shorter the intervals the harder you should work.

Once you are through and pretty much fried, then you have to do it all over again. Note: you might want to do this one with a friend as you will want to walk away about halfway through. Thanks to Rob over at the Best of Collingwood for sticking it out with me on this one.

So here it is :

3 mins max effort for calories.

Full rest

2 mins max effort for calories.

Full rest

1 min max effort for calories.

Full rest

3 mins max effort for calories.

Full rest

2 mins max effort for calories.

Full rest

1 min max effort for calories.

Done.

Key to this workout is pacing and sustained effort. You don’t want your second round to be way less than your first round. As you can see in the picture I wrote down my RPMs as I feel they are the best gauge of work output on the Airdyne for pacing.

50 Calorie Airdyne Challenge

The first to 50 Airdyne Challenge is a big new thing that is making the social media rounds.

It’s sort of like the ice bucket challenge except more like getting hit by a train.

It’s simple. 50 Calories on the Airdyne or Air Assault Bike for time.  

No Rolling starts. 

#first2fifty

The times on the Airdyne and the Air Assault bike are going to be quite different and harder on the Air Assault bike for Calories.

For more ideas on Airdyne workouts click here.  

Check out #firsttofifty on Instagram and check out some of the efforts and scores.