With functional training growing in popularity, there's a good chance you've come across the assault bike, aka air bike, in your local gym.
And if you haven't, you'll undoubtedly have seen it on social media.
But what exactly is that penny-farthing look-a-like doing in the gym? Should you be using it? And what are the best air bike workouts to improve fitness?
Many questions. Luckily, we have many answers...
What Is An Assault Bike?
Arguably not a bike. The assault bike is seen as one of the best pieces of equipment to develop your cardiovascular system. Being low-impact while engaging the entire body, the assault bike is not easy, but it does make for an effective workout.
The fan-based resistance means the faster you go, the greater the resistance – and there's no coasting, so constant effort is required from your legs and arms to keep the fan spinning.
Why Is The Assault Bike So Hard?
Anything new can be difficult, as you may not be used to that level of intensity or involvement.
The constant resistance on the assault bike is one of the main reasons this exercise can be more difficult than a regular bike. However, it does provide a great platform to help build aerobic capacity.
If you're a beginner to the assault bike, it's all about time in the seat. Choose a steady pace and try to maintain consistent power input for a set time; start with 10 minutes before increasing conservatively. This will help you develop an understanding of the bike and how to operate it efficiently before trying more challenging assault bike workouts such as high-intensity intervals.
How To Use The Assault Bike
At its core, an assault bike is a simple machine - which is one of its great advantages – anyone can jump on and have an assault bike workout.
Consistent revolutions are key when using the assault bike, and making use of your legs and arms to push and pull will help share the load for optimal efficiency.
Setting up the assault bike incorrectly may negatively affect performance, speed, and efficiency.
There are two things to adjust before using the assault bike:
Seat Height
Seat Slider
Setting Your Assault Bike Seat Height
When adjusting your seat height, you want to retain a slight bend in your leg when fully extended on the pedal.
Setting the seat height is easy. Unscrew the pin until you can release it from the current position. Move the seat to a more suitable height and re-engage the pin.
Setting Your Seat Position
The second adjustment to the assault bike is the seat slider, and this changes the seat position bringing it further to or away from the handles.
This adjustment will most likely be more about preference and finding out what feels most natural and efficient for you.
5 Assault Bike Workouts
Now you know a little more about the assault bike and how to set it up, it's time to try one of these 5 assault bike workouts.
From beginner to seasoned pro, we've got five assault bike workouts for a unique challenge.
Beginner Assault Bike Workout
Assault Bike HIIT Workout
10-Minute Assault Bike Workout
10-Minute Assault Bike Workout
Hybrid Assault Bike Workout
Scroll down to find out more about each of the five assault bike workouts.
Beginner Assault Bike Workout
You've probably seen many athletes going hell-for-leather on the assault bike; this may have inspired you or even put you off altogether.
If you're new to the assault bike, stay away from the high-intensity stuff to begin with, and work on building solid foundations for the movement and the ability to consistently move the fan at a steady pace.
The Workout:
At a moderate pace, complete:
2 min on / 1 min off x 3
5 min on / 2 min off x 3
Assault Bike HIIT Workout
If you're looking for a high-intensity assault bike workout, this one should get you sweating in no time. Starting with short intervals to elevate the heart rate, we'll then try to sustain that pace for an increased amount of time.
This workout may be less than 15 minutes long, but it's definitely not easy.
The Workout:
20secs on / 10 secs off x10
90second rest.
Note your pace for the 20secs bouts, as you'll now be trying to maintain as close to that as possible in your next set of intervals.
40secs on / 40secs off x6
10-Minute Assault Bike Workout
If you're short on time or want a quick aerobic blast at the end of your workout, then this 10-minute assault bike workout will hit the spot nicely.
Working on the premise of calories burnt, we'll be working for 10 minutes with irregular intervals based on how many assault bike calories we burn.
The Workout:
10 Minute AMRAP (as many reps as possible)
10kcal on / 15sec off
30-Minute Assault Bike Workout
If you're a bit more comfortable with the assault bike or want to get a great workout in with just one piece of equipment, then this 30-minute assault bike workout is certainly worth a try!
With this being a longer workout, we'll vary the intensity slightly using a percentage of our max effort.
The Workout:
Complete two rounds of
2mins @ 50%
1min @ 70%
2mins @ 50%
1min @ 80%
2mins @ 50%
1min @ 90%
2mins @ 50%
1min @ 100%
3min @ 50%
Hybrid Assault Bike Workout
Want to add some resistance training into the mix? We hear you.
The hybrid assault bike workout combines the cardiovascular benefits of the assault bike with resistance training.
In this workout, we'll combine fundamental weight training movements with the assault bike for maximum training efficiency.
The Workout:
10 goblet squats
10 DB bench press
5 pull-ups
20cal assault bike at 50% of max effort
repeat for 10 rounds.
Although simple, we've shown the assault bike can be used in a variety of ways. From short HIIT blasts at the end of your weights session, to a full body workout guaranteed to challenge your fitness.
Good luck with your next assault bike workout!
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WRITTEN BY: CHRIS BECK
Chris Beck is Senior Editor at Gymshark, with a passion for writing informative conditioning, health and fitness tech content. Chris is an avid gym-goer and ex-international athlete, holds qualifications in Personal Training, Nutrition, and Sports Performance, and is a certified Crossfit Level 1 Trainer.
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