9 Assault Bike workouts and how to use the bike for stiffness, pain and warm-ups
General Population and athletes across the world love sport because of its technical complexity. However, there’s no denying the importance of being physically prepared for each and every single game. This goes for athletes, but also the game of life…(see what I did there).
And the best way to stay in shape is to find the most effective workout that tests your limits without risking an injury.
Because the game (or sport) works all your major muscle groups, individuals often try to find machines that can help them exercise different parts of their body simultaneously.
This is where assault bikes come in. Although these machines are hardly new inventions, assault bikes are making a huge comeback thanks to the intense workouts that athletes can carry out on them.
In this article I will attempt to convince you to make use of your local gyms assault bike by showing you example workouts and sharing its many benefits.
What are Assault Bikes?
Chances are, you’ve already seen an assault bike down at your local gym. They look exactly like stationary bikes, but they feature an oversized fan instead of a front wheel.
But don’t be fooled by the appearance. As soon as you try out an assault bike, you’ll realize that you have to pedal while pushing and pulling the handles at the same time. This allows you to work out your entire body with one single machine, burning up to 80 calories per minute.
And here’s what most athletes consider the machine’s best attribute of all;
The harder or faster you go, the harder it gets!
The benefits of Assault Bike workouts
Assault bikes are relatively simple devices, but you can use them for anything from a mild to an ultra-intense workout. It all depends on the person sitting on it.
Here are some of the benefits of using an assault bike for your own training regime.
Mobility – Strength – Skill
In recent instagram posts we have shared various posts related to the assault bike. With mobility and warm-ups being the focus for the benefits of using an assault bike to encourage rotation and movement in the spine to reduce stiffness, but also increase capacity.
One incredible aspect of the Assault Bike is that it has an extremely low barrier to entry: there are almost no real requirements for mobility, strength or skill to maintain the safety and effectiveness of the movement.
As long as someone has the ability to climb into the seat, he or she can get a solid workout on the bike. Just because there are four power-generating points (two handles and two pedals) doesn’t mean you have to use all of them, making the Assault Bike a great option for de-conditioned populations, injured athletes, adaptive athletes and the elderly.
The second reason almost everyone can express their capacity on the Assault Bike, is because every joint involved moves through a ‘neutral’ range of motion, meaning it never approaches an extreme or end range. This actually makes the Assault Bike a great tool for identifying mobility restrictions. If a person has incredible power on the bike but isn’t strong with other implements like a barbell, it probably means they lack the mobility and skill to be able to express their true potential.
Conversely, if an athlete does well with high-skill movements like muscle-ups and snatches, but can’t get up to speed on an Assault Bike sprint, it could mean that their mobility, skill, elasticity and overall efficiency is high (optimization), while their raw metabolic capacity is low (adaptation). Make sure to account for overall body size (weight and height) into account before making these assumptions.
Improves aerobic conditioning
Aerobic workouts result in improved endurance, which is also one of the cornerstones of high-level performance. The continuous, rhythmic movement strengthens your heart and lungs, delivering more oxygen to your muscles while exercising.
Provides a full-body workout
The pedalling, pushing, and pulling motions works nearly all of the large muscle groups in your body. And, unlike most other machines in the gym, assault bikes are low-impact, so you can feel confident in using them with reduced risks of hip, knee, and ankle pain.
Burns calories at a fast pace
As we mentioned before, assault bikes can burn up to 80 calories per minute. Keep in mind that this will depend vastly on the intensity with which you work out. Athletes using this machine for the first time should strive to find the right pace or they may find themselves out of breath very quickly!
Tests your mental stamina
Many individuals have the right physicality but lack the mental strength to perform at high-levels consistently on the pitch, court or even in the workplace. Assault bike workouts are designed to push yourself while minimizing injury risk, which helps build your mental stamina come game time.
Awesome for rehabilitating players
Injuries can have both physical and mental repercussions. Working out on an assault bike will reduce your chances of re-injury and help you build the mental toughness you need to get back out there and consistently keep showing up.
Keeps your workout area cool
While it may sound amusing, the huge fan that provides resistance also creates a nice draft, keeping your workout area cooler than usual.
Assault Bike workouts to boost your performance
Check out these awesome assault bike workouts that help improve your performance in the game of life.
Workout #1 – Max Cal Burner – 21 Mins
This is a tough, all-around aerobic session.
1min On : 2min Off
Aim for max calories each minute.
x 7
Workout #2 – Assault Bike Tabata
Tabata workouts are always an awesome choice, especially as most assault bikes already have it pre-programmed.
20s Work: 10s Rest
x 8
Workout #3 – Pyramid Intervals
In this workout, you’ll build up to a 50-second sprint and gradually work down. Very easy and effective!
Minute 1: 10 sec sprint, 50 seconds rest assault-bike
Minute 2: 20 sec sprint, 40 seconds rest
Minute 3: 30 sec sprint, 30 seconds rest
Minutes 4: 40 sec sprint, 20 seconds rest
Minute 5: 50 sec sprint, 10 seconds rest
Minute 6: 40 sec sprint, 20 seconds rest
Minute 7: 30 sec sprint, 30 seconds rest
Minute 8: 20 sec sprint, 40 seconds rest
Minute 9: 10 sec sprint, 50 seconds rest
Workout #4 – Death By Assault Bike
Once you’ve tried it, you’ll understand the name.
Every minute on the minute Assault Bike
Minute 1: 2 calories
Minute 2: 4 calories
Minute 3: 6 calories
Continue until you can’t reach your goal for calories in a minute.
Workout #5 – Cals and DTs
Combining assault bikes and weights can also improve your workouts significantly.
15 cals on the bike
1 unbroken round of DT
X 5
Workout #6 – Chase the Calories
This workout can range from mild to ultra-high intensity, especially if you start from 5 and work up.
For Time:
30-25-20-15-10-5 Calories
1:1 Work to Rest
Workout #7 – 10 Up Assault
This workout can be used as a nice warm-up, a finisher, or if you really put in the work, a solo routine.
10 calories assault bike
10 push-ups hand release
X 10
Workout #8 – HIIT Finisher – 6 Mins
An awesome addition to the end of every workout, designed for people who want to add an exercise and keep the same routine.
Minute 1: 55 sec Moderate 5 sec Sprint
Minute 2: 54s sec Moderate 6 sec Sprint
Minute 3: 53 sec Moderate 7 sec Sprint
Minute 4: 52 sec Moderate 8 sec Sprint
Minute 5: 51 sec Moderate 9 sec Sprint
Minute 6: 50 sec Moderate 10 sec Sprint
And you’re done! Let us know how things go
Workout #9 – Coin toss – 10 Mins.
This workout is brutal but short, and so can be used as a sharp spike in intensity within a warm-up, or as a finisher to polish off.
10s On / 20s Off repeated 10 times (5 minutes)
rest 2-mins
20s On/10s Off repeated 6 times (3 minute)