6 Best Assault Bike Exercises
Exercise bikes are a great way to get fit. They are hugely popular at the gym and super convenient for those who prefer to exercise at home. The trouble with a standard exercise bike is that they are great for cardio, and work the legs, but they don’t really do much more. That’s where an assault bike is a king.
Forget about pedaling along at a leisurely pace, the purpose of working out on an assault bike is to push yourself to the limits. For one, you need to use your arms and your legs so you’ll be getting an upper and lower body workout. You pump the handle bars with your arms while pedaling with your legs. The “wheel” is actually a fan that acts by giving you wind resistance. The faster you pedal, the higher the wind resistance and the more challenging your workout. This is the ultimate machine for cardio, interval and metabolic training. You’ll burn more calories than you ever thought you possibly could and you’ll tone all the flabby muscles on your arms, legs and butt.
One of the best things about an assault bike is that you can modify the intensity of your workouts, depending on your current fitness levels. You can start off with a relatively tame workout and as your stamina and fitness levels increase, you can intensify your workout and really get those calories burning.
Deciding on which workouts to get into can be a little confusing. We’re often pushed for time so we want to squeeze in a really intense workout in the shortest possible time. We’ll look at 6 intense assault bike workouts to get you burning those calories and getting into great shape.
High Intensity Interval Training – HIIT
High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT, as it is more popularly known, is a cardio exercise that involves a workout where you go all out for short bursts, followed by a shorter, less intense recovery exercise. You basically keep repeating these two steps until you are too tired to continue.
You can also incorporate HIIT into your assault bike workout. Get on your assault bike, do 20 seconds at full sprint, then follow with 40 seconds of slower paced, recovery. Over time you can increase the full sprint time, and decrease recovery time. This is just one variation and you can adjust it according to your fitness levels and what you fell you can endure.
HIIT on an assault bike will really get your heart pumping and will literally torch calories. It will be a little difficult in the beginning, and you will feel a definite burn. Stick to it though and you’ll increase your lung capacity, improve your cardiovascular health and you’ll be in great shape. In fact, 20 minutes of HIIT is like twice the amount of many other workouts and it will help you with your metabolism and muscle growth as well.
Assault Bike Tabata
Tabata training was developed by Dr Izumi Tabata, a Japanese scientist. In many ways it’s a form of high intensity interval training that you can squeeze in to about four minutes. It basically involves working out at maximum intensity for 20 seconds, then resting for 10 seconds. This set is repeated 8 times to get to about 4 minutes.
You can do the same on an assault bike. Pedal furiously for 20 seconds, slow down for 10 and repeat 8 times. Now when you look at 4 minutes, you’ll think it’s a piece of cake. I mean, what’s four minutes? Right? However, if you put all of your effort into your 4 minute workout will feel like a 20 minute one. You’ll get the desired burn and decimate calories at the same time. When you’ve done one set, take a short break and do it again, or try another workout.
15 On / 15 Off
This assault bike workout is simple enough. You pedal furiously for 15 seconds, followed by slow paced pedaling for 15 seconds, and repeat. Keep going until you feel you can’t go on any more. Easy! Well, the concept is easy, but after a few sets you’re going to feel the burn. When you first start out with 15 On / 15 Off, you may only be able to complete 5 to 10 sets. However, you will be able to get in more and more as you progress.
20 Calorie Assault Bike
The 20 Calorie Assault Nike Workout will have you panting and gasping for air. The idea is to pedal at maximum capacity until you burn 20 calories. Depending on your effort and your fitness level, you could complete this in 25 to 40 seconds. Be warned though, you’ll be lucky to get in 3 or 4 sets when you first try this workout, and even when you can progress to 5 or more, you’ll still be drastically short of breath.
The main focus of the 20 Calorie Assault Bike Workout is to perform a whole lot of exercise, in a very short amount of time. This is perfect if you only have 10 – 15 minutes a day. You’ll still be able to get in an intense cardio workout with maximum benefits.
The Assault Bike Time Trial Method
This workout is about your own personal journey of progression. You start off with a 5 minute, medium intensity warm up session. Then you choose a distance you would like to achieve and pedal on your assault bike until you reach that distance. Make sure you time yourself. The following day, do the same 5 minute warm up and choose the same distance. But this time, try to reach that distance faster than your previous attempt.
The longer you do this particular workout, the less time you will need to achieve your distance. Even so, it’s still a great workout. When it comes time to modifying this workout, as in, when you find your original distance too easy, you can increase your set distance and start all over again. This is the ideal workout to continuously keep challenging yourself and stay in great shape.
Death By Assault
As the name suggests, you’ll push yourself on the assault bike until you feel like you’re going to drop. This works with EMOM – Every Minute On The Minute. The principle of this workout is that you pedal intensely until you burn 3 calories. Then you rest for the remainder of the minute. This is where EMOM kicks in. Every Minute On The Minute your aim is to add another 3 calories every new minute. Once you burn the desired calories, you go into rest mode. You keep adding 3 calories to each new minute until you can’t burn the desired calories in that minute. If this sounds easy, give it a try before you pass verdict. This workout is challenging and will have you gasping for air like a fish out of water. Try it a couple of time a week and don’t forget to track your progress.
A Few More Tips For Your Assault Bike Workout
It’s Not Going To Be Easy
The concept of the assault bike is simple enough, but the real work is in the intense bursts and the repetition. Take it easy your first few times. The only scores and times you should look at beating are you own personal best times.
Combine Assault Bike Workouts With Other Forms Of Exercise
Doing the same thing over and over again, day in day out is boring and it will derail your workout efforts almost as soon as you start. Introduce other workouts and exercises with your assault bike workouts. You can still go jogging or running, which will get you out in the fresh air. Do some light weight training and incorporate other High Intensity Interval Training workouts with your assault bike workouts. Not only will the variety of exercises do you a world of good, the constant changes will keep you interested and motivated.
Track Your Progress
One of the best ways to know if your workout routine is successful is to track the progress you make. You don’t need a fancy program or chart to fill in every day, a simple notebook and pencil are more than enough. Write down which workouts you chose to perform each day and the times it takes you to complete them. Also include the number of repetitions you performed of each exercise. At least once a week take your body measurements and record them too. Assault bike workouts generally get results faster than many other workouts and when you see the progress in your body stats, you’ll feel even more motivated to keep going.
Do It ‘Til You Drop
No Pain, No Gain is annoyingly appropriate when it comes to working out on an assault bike. While the movements themselves are easy, if you don’t feel like you’ve been run over by a steam roller, you’re simply not trying hard enough. The idea is to get an extremely intense workout in a short amount of time. This will require a maximum amount of effort and dedication on your part and you need to keep pushing yourself to the limits to get the full range of benefits.
Why Assault Bike Workouts Are Beneficial
They’re Great For Injury Recovery
If you’re recovering from an injury, you’re limited as to what types of workouts you can do. Assault bike workouts are ideal for those recovering from injury because they are almost impact free, yet effective at getting your whole body moving. The other benefit is that you can start any Assault Bike Workout at a relatively low intensity and gradually increase the intensity. It’s enough to do what is comfortable for you and you’ll find you can do a little bit more each day.
Anyone Can Do An Assault Bike Workout
You don’t need to be a gym-junkie to perform an assault bike workout. All you need is a little bit of determination and some willpower. Most assault bikes have adjustable tensions so you can choose the best one for your fitness level. The workouts themselves are simple. It’s generally a matter of distance, time and the desired calorie burn. Once you reach your first target, you simply step it up a notch and start a new challenge.
You Don’t Need A Lot Of Time To Get A Great Workout
Many people find it impossible to start a workout routine because of time. When they finally do find the time, the results aren’t there. This tends to derail many people who quickly give up their routines. Assault Bike Workouts pack a whole lot of fat and calorie burning activity into intense short bursts. You can get a calorie decimating workout in as little as 20 minutes a day. However, assault bike workouts are so intense and effective that even 5 to 10 minutes will produce great results in a short amount of time.
You Can Build Muscle And Burn Fat
Assault Bike Workouts are as close as you can get to a full body workout. You use the power of your legs on the pedals, you need to move your arms on the handles and your torso needs to move through the entire process. This makes them a great workout for building muscle mass and improving your overall metabolic conditioning. When it comes to the fat burning benefits, this comes from the intense bursts of the workouts. When you get your heart rate up to the levels needed for Assault Bike Workouts, your body will burn fat like you never thought possible. With regular workouts on an assault bike, you will become fitter and stronger.
If you’re looking for a simple, yet effective workout routine, then you need to start these intense assault bike workouts soon. These are the ultimate workouts for body sculpting and fat burning. You’ll love them, you’ll hate them, but once you see the results and start reaping the benefits you’ll be hooked.
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