Boost Upper Body and Cardiovascular Fitness with Arm Bike Workouts
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Arm Bike Benefits

Arm bikes are a great form of cardio when you want to work out your upper body.

Arm Bike Benefits
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Updated on July 31, 2025
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You don't have to skip a cardio workout just because your legs feel like lead, you’re recovering from an injury, or you have a disability or health condition affecting your ability to do traditional cardio.

The arm bike, also called an upper-body ergometer, can get your heart pumping while giving your legs a rest. Once found mostly in rehab centers, arm bikes are showing up more regularly in gyms because they offer a solid cross-training option that can add variety to any workout routine.

Read on for more arm bike benefits.

It Gives You a Cardio Workout

A cardio workout is one that strengthens your heart and respiratory system, burns calories, and builds stamina.

Most cardio workouts, sometimes also called aerobic exercises, involve the large muscles of the legs — think walking, running, riding a bike, doing water aerobics, or playing tennis. And experts recommend getting 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week.

But if you have a leg injury or use a wheelchair, even low-impact cardio options like swimming may be off limits. That’s where the arm bike comes in.

An arm bike can offer some aerobic benefits without any leg work needed. To use it, you’ll place your hands on the machine’s pedals and push them forward and down. You’ll continue this motion for your whole workout.

In one small study, participants performed 20 progressive training sessions using an arm-crank ergometer. Researchers concluded that this program had aerobic benefits and built strength in the upper body.

Plus, the authors of a research review involving studies in adults with chronic spinal cord injuries suggest that the arm-crank exercise should be used to improve cardiovascular fitness. (Though they do also note that more high-quality studies are needed in this area.)

Plus, in an older study focusing on people with claudication (too little blood flow) due to peripheral arterial disease, researchers determined that arm ergometry exercises led to improvements in cardiorespiratory function and walking ability, similar to improvements seen with treadmill-based exercises.

It Builds Upper-Body and Core Strength

An arm bike works out multiple muscle groups at the same time, such as your trunk muscles (chest, back, and core) and your arms — all without the use of free weights or weight machines.

This can help you develop strength and increase the range of motion of your arms.

 And strong arms can make it easier to do any activity that involves lifting, pressing, or pulling movements, like carrying a child, picking up groceries, or propelling a wheelchair.

It Burns Calories

Depending on your weight, you can burn anywhere from 210 to 294 calories when biking at a moderate intensity for 30 minutes.

While the arm bike doesn’t blast quite as many calories as traditional cycling, it still offers an effective alternative. In 30 minutes, you can burn around 120 to 150 calories using the arm bike.

It Adds Variety and Helps You Cross-Train

Doing the same workout every day can lead to boredom and diminishing results as your body becomes efficient. Changing up your workout, on the other hand, can keep you engaged, challenge your body to adapt and improve, and work out different muscle groups.

You don't have to possess a lot of coordination to join a class that features arm bikes — but you can still benefit from the motivation of an instructor and group environment.

Plus, variety helps you add cross-training to your routine. Cross-training is when you focus on working out different muscle groups throughout your exercise program to help prevent overuse injuries while still building a high level of fitness.

People who participate in a sport that requires a lot of work from the legs — such as cycling or running — may have few options for cross-training workouts that provide aerobic conditioning but rest their legs.

The arm bike, though, lets you use your arms to build cardio endurance and arm strength. And because most people aren't accustomed to pedaling with their arms, a workout on an arm bike can feel more challenging than yet another slog on the treadmill.

It Helps You Recover and Exercise Safely

Using the arm bike can give your legs a much-needed rest if you’re focused on leg-muscle recovery, such as in the days after doing a high-intensity interval workout or running a marathon.

It can also help you exercise safely if a doctor has encouraged you to avoid high-impact exercises due to a health condition. For example, experts recommend using an arm ergometer as a safe form of aerobic exercise if you have certain vascular or neural complications from diabetes.

And in a review of studies including people with multiple sclerosis, researchers found that arm cycling may help enhance the performance of daily activities and may improve quality of life.

The Takeaway

  • Arm bikes offer a cardiovascular workout without the use of your legs — an ideal workout for people with leg injuries, in recovery, or with certain disabilities or health conditions.
  • Using an arm bike can help build upper-body and core strength, engaging muscle groups such as the chest, shoulders, arms, and back.
  • Arm bikes can also support cross-training and help you add variety to your exercise routine, keeping your mind engaged and your body challenged.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. The (Many) Benefits of a Cardio Workout. Cleveland Clinic. May 9, 2023.
  2. What Counts as Physical Activity for Adults. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 6, 2023.
  3. Arm Bicycle. Boundary Community Hospital.
  4. Perret C et al. Strength and Power Adaptations of the Upper Body Following 20 Training Sessions on an Eccentric Arm-Crank Ergometer. European Journal of Applied Physiology. April 24, 2024.
  5. Chiou S-Y et al. Effects of Arm-Crank Exercise on Fitness and Health in Adults With Chronic Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Physiology. March 2022.
  6. Bronas UG et al. Comparison of the Effect of Upper Body-Ergometry Aerobic Training Vs Treadmill Training on Central Cardiorespiratory Improvement and Walking Distance in Patients with Claudication. Journal of Vascular Surgery. June 2011.
  7. To L. The Benefits of Arm Crank Ergometer Spin Training in the SCI community. ICORD. May 26, 2021.
  8. Murphy M. 7 Best Arm Workouts to Help You Get Stronger. AARP. January 26, 2024.
  9. Calories Burned in 30 Minutes for People of Three Different Weights. Harvard Health Publishing. March 8, 2021.
  10. Peters J et al. Cardiorespiratory Responses to an Acute Bout of High Intensity Interval Training and Moderate Intensity Continuous Training on a Recumbent Handcycle in People With Spinal Cord Injury: A Within-Subject Design. Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. December 1, 2023.
  11. Is It Bad to Do the Same Workout Every Day? Cleveland Clinic. April 8, 2024.
  12. Mulcahey MK. Cross Training. OrthoInfo. February 2020.
  13. Colberg SR et al. Physical Activity/Exercise and Diabetes: A Position Statement of the American Diabetes Association. Diabetes Care. October 11, 2016.
  14. Ramadan AA et al. Effectiveness of Arm Cycling On Fatigue and Functional Outcomes in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Review Article. Deraya International Journal for Medical Sciences and Rehabilitation. 2025.
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Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN

Medical Reviewer
Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.

She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.

Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

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Andrea Boldt

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Andrea Boldt has been in the fitness industry for more than 20 years. A personal trainer, run coach, group fitness instructor and master yoga teacher, she also holds certifications in holistic and fitness nutrition.

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