5 Assault Bike® Workouts to Boost Your Fitness

Looking for new Assault Bike® workouts to take your fitness to the next level? Our personal trainer, Jess, has designed five to help you get your sweat on.

Used regularly in CrossFit® training, the Assault Bike® is a brand of air bike . Air bikes have handles that you push and pull while you cycle hard. A large fan creates air resistance, powered by the pedals. The harder you work out, the greater the resistance.

Air bikes are ideal for CrossFit® training and HIIT as they offer a vigorous, full body workout. To get the most from your Assault Bike® workout, pay attention to your form. Keep your core engaged, your upper body upright, and don’t rotate at the torso. Your shoulders blades should be pulled back and down.

Assault Bike® Workouts

Here are five Assault Bike® workouts that target different fitness systems. From pure cardio to endurance, power and toning, these workouts will put you through your paces:

1) Power Smash

To do the power smash air bike workout:

Select the default interval training programme on your air bike. For most, this will be 20 second work with 10 seconds rest, repeated eight times.
On your first work phase, try to output as much power as possible. Watts will be displayed on the console. Remember the figure and try to beat it in each work phase.
Once the time is up, cool down with 3-5 mins of gentle easy work on the bike. Ensure your heart rate and breathing regulates before you come to a stop.

2) Stand Up, Sit Down

Alternating between standing up and sitting down while pedalling will keep your body guessing and make the time fly. This Assault Bike® workout is also seriously intense!

Use the seated sections to catch your breath, keep pedalling but slow the pace down. Try to transition quickly between the two:

Minute 1: 10 secs up, 50 secs down.
Minute 2: 20 secs up, 40 secs down.
Minute 3: 30 secs up, 30 secs down.
Minute 4: 20 secs up, 40 secs down.
Minute 5: Down, moderate for one minute.
Minute 6: 10 secs up, 10 secs down for 1 minute.
Minute 7-10: Cool down.

3) Steady State

Air bikes are great for HIIT but they’re also good for longer sessions. To do a steady state Assault Bike® workout, first pick a set metric. For example, time, calorie burn or distance. Then, hop on the bike and settle in for a more regulated session.

Focus on the power of your strokes and your form. Look down and make sure knees are tracking over your toes (not bent out to the sides). Keep your posture controlled, upright torso, shoulder blades pulled back and down.

4) 30-20-10

The 30-20-10 Assault Bike® workout, is about gradually increasing the intensity of your workout. To do this workout:

Warm up for 3 mins at a steady state easy/moderate.
30 seconds moderate.
20 seconds hard.
10 absolute max.
Repeat the above, five times.
2 minutes recovery. You can choose to let go of the handles for this portion and just focus on pedalling.
Repeat the 30-20-10 intervals for another 5 minutes.
Cool down 3-5 mins.

5) Back & Arm Drills

Assault Bike Workout 5 - Back and Arm Drills

You can do this upper body work, after another workout. Or or perhaps before a steady state session, to build up strength and power in your upper body.

To do the back and arm Assault Bike® workout:

Warm up for 3 mins using both the handles and pedals.
Take your feet off the pedals and onto the foot rests either side of the fan.
Engage your core, make sure your pelvis is neutral. Squeeze your shoulders blades back and down.

Power: Try to use explosive movement whilst you pump the handles back and forth, for 30 seconds. Push and pull with as much speed and force as you can, while maintaining form in your torso.
Rest for 30 seconds.
Repeat the above 4 times.
Continuous flex: Move the handles back and forth six times. While you’re doing this, squeeze every muscle in your arms, chest, back and torso as hard as you can. Keep tension in all of the muscles throughout the range of movement. Picture a bodybuilder flexing their muscles for a hold -- you should be using this level of intensity.
Rest, but keep the arms moving, for 20 seconds.
Repeat the above 3 times.

Benefits of Assault Bike Workouts

Working out on an air bike is a great way to boost your fitness. Here’s a summary of the main health benefits:

Full Body

One of the main benefits of an air bike is the fact that it works both the upper and lower body. In this way, it is similar to a rowing machine or cross trainer. But the movement is far more intense, giving you an all over body blitz. Use the air bike with the shoulder blades pulled back and down and length in the torso and spine. With good form like this, your air bike workout will target: back muscles (latissimus dorsi and rhomboids), biceps, triceps, chest, core, quads.

Intensity Pusher

Air bikes use a giant fan to create resistance. The faster and harder you pedal, the faster the fan is driven. This creates more resistance. So, your workout gets harder the faster you pedal. This is why air bikes are so popular for intense HIIT workouts with short intervals. As you build up speed, intensity builds. This ensures maximum exertion for a short burst.

Low Impact

HIIT workouts often include jumps. They create the explosive power needed to fully exert yourself. Burpees, box jumps, squat jumps, mountain climbers and plyo lunges often feature. The down side to this is the impact on your joints. Compared to running, skipping or HIIT workouts, the air bike has zero impact. You can enjoy a vigorous, full body workout, without the strain.

Calorie Burn

Air bike workouts work your whole body, using explosive power. For this reason, the calorie burn is much higher on an air bike than other cardio equipment. Used regularly, the air bike will take your fitness to a whole new level. And you will also see weight loss accelerated.

The JTX Mission Air Bike

If you’re looking for a new air bike, JTX Fitness now offers an alternative to the Assault Bike® brand. The JTX Mission Air Bike boasts an impressive specification, at a competitive price.

Built to last, the air bike has a heavy duty steel frame which ensures a stable ride. The infinity resistance fan allows you to push yourself to new limits. The harder you work out, the tougher the resistance. The limit? That’s up to you. Build up a sweat and the non-slip handles mean you will keep your grip.

With eight training programs, including interval training, you have a diverse range of workout options. Track your progress using the LCD console which shows time, pace, distance, speed, calories, watts. You can also measure your pulse when you use the air bike with a separate heart rate monitor.

Find out more about the JTX Mission Air Bike, available to buy now: