What Is The Goal Of Assault Bike Intervals

These are all extremely challenging workouts that have the goal of increasing your VO2 max. HIIT training has been shown to be extremely effective at increasing VO2 max with as little as one session per week. Using the assault bike for extremely high intensity intervals once per week will be an extremely quick and effective way to improve cardiovascular fitness. I go into detail about the multiple benefits of performing HIIT with an assault bike in this article .

When Should These Assault Bike Workouts Be Performed

These should be performed at the end of resistance training sessions or as stand alone sessions. They require so much intensity that performing these prior to any other training would be just unrealistic, if you can do effective strength training after these then your not doing the intervals right.

Do A Thorough Warm Up

These are akin to lifting your maximal weights if you were doing a strength session, which would require a long warm up and multiple warm up sets. These need a minimum of a 5 minute warm up to get the body ready for this sort of intensity. This warm up should start very slowly then climb in intensity towards the end. You should not reach the intensity that you will during the intervals, but you shouldn't be far from it either.

Not For Everyone

These workouts are not for individuals who are beginners to cardiovascular training. Just as you would not perform 1RM back squats with someone who has a very minimal strength training experience, these should not be performed by individuals with no cardiovascular training experience. This sort of workout pushes the heart and lungs to their max, a sedentary individuals should start with more entry level HIIT workouts. Be sure to consult your doctor prior to performing any new exercise routine.

The Assault Bike Workouts

20:10

20 seconds on : 10 seconds off, also known as Tabata. Typically performed for 8 sets, though I am sure 6 or 10 would also be very effective at improving VO2 max. These are very tough, 20 seconds is short enough for you to do an all out sprint and 10 seconds is so short that you will feel as if you have no rest at all.

30:30

30 seconds on : 30 seconds off intervals. These I typically perform from between 4-8 sets depending on where I am at on a training cycle, I start with 4 and build to 8 over time throughout a cycle. These also require very high levels of intensity, similar to the tabata style of intensity. I love that doing 5 intervals here can be so difficult, yet be over in 5 minutes.

60:60

60 seconds on : 60 seconds off. These intervals start to get a bit longer which means you will need to pace yourself a little more. Don’t get me wrong, these still require a lot of intensity, but if you go too hard on your first there will be no place to hid on the rest of your sets and you can put yourself into a deep hole. I typically do these for between 4-6.

2 Minute Repeats

2 minutes of : 3 minutes off. These feel very different to the three above, two minutes of work requires a lot more pacing than one and will be much less of an all out sprint. The longer rest period may seem like it will make the session easier, but in fact it allows for good recovery, which just means you can reach high levels of intensity again. In terms of sets, I usually find between 3-4 is very effective.

Every 3 Minutes : 45 Seconds Max Assault Bike Cals

Also referred to as 45 seconds on : 2:15 off. These are a blend of short intervals with longer rest periods which make for a very uncomfortable but effective cardiovascular session. Due to the longer rest period these can be performed for a lot of intervals, between 5-8 would be very effective. Just keep in mind that this may take much longer than the others and therefore may be performed as a stand alone session.

Bonus: 10 Minute Test

The 10 minute assault bike test can be used as an indicator of your current fitness levels. If you are looking for a metric to track year on year to see if your cardiovascular fitness is improving then this is a great option. Just be aware that weight can play a factor on your ability here, Ergs do not take into account bodyweight like running and cycling so if you improve your cardiovascular system but also lose weight you can score worse on this test due to the loss of power.

Further Considerations

Minimalist Training

These five workouts make for excellent finishers and show just how efficient you can be when trying to get a great session in with 30’ to spare. Imagine you just do back squats and the 30:30 intervals, this session could easily be fit into & 30 minute time block.

Group Training

It can be much easier to approach this kind of training in a group. Although many will be able to perform these alone, the vast majority of people will benefit from doing them with someone else. Reaching these levels of intensity can be so much easier when done in a group setting.

Weekly Volume

These sorts of high intensity interval training sessions should only be performed once per week. It is very unrealistic to believe that you will be able to reach this sort of intensity on a consistent basis if you are performing them more than once per week. If you track your HRV, which if your serious about your recovery I suggest you do, then you’ll see the impact that this style of training has on your heart rate variability in the way it drastically lowers it. This is why it should only be performed sparingly in your week.

No Huge Drop Offs

When performing these intervals, you should be able to maintain a high intensity on all the bouts. There will be a drop off in the number of calories you perform from the first onwards, but this shouldn’t be a huge drop off. If you are performing less then 70 of your first set (this is a rough guideline to illustrate by point) then you shouldn’t be performing that many sets. If you simply cannot increase intensity then you are performing too many sets.

Perfect for Travel

When I am traveling and want to get in a quick effective workout I will often add one of these into my week. If I can find a Crossfit gym (this is mainly where assault bikes are) then I will use the assault bike, but if you cannot find an assault bike or just want to do it in the hotel, then a treadmill or bike will be perfect.