Being unable to train is the worst situation for rugby players to be put in. Youâve got all this pent-up energy and nothing to do with it. Thereâs also a risk that if you canât get to rugby training, youâll let your fitness slip and be out of shape when the season does finally start. Whatâs the solution? Weâve got a couple.
For those who want a pre-designed workout program, try our menâs and womenâs quarantine programs. They donât require any equipment and can give you a cardio burn while increasing your muscular endurance. Want to go simpler? Try jumping rope in the mornings before you start the rest of your day.
But while these workouts are great for everyone, some of us really like to push the boundaries of what is possible. For you? Itâs time to try an assault bike workout. Assault bikes might not replace the physicality of rugby training, but if you really push hard during your attack bike WOD, youâll find yourself breathing as hard as if youâd hit six rucks in a row.
Youâve definitely seen one in your local gym. But the name might not have been obvious from looking at the equipment. They go by quite a few different names; assault bike, air bike, fan bike, attack bike or crossfit bike. Just to name a few. Weâll be using the most familiar, assault bike here to describe the workouts and programs. But if we refer to assault bike conditioning or an assault bike tabata, this could just as easily apply to attack bikes or fan bikes as well.
Assault bikes look just like stationary bikes, but they feature an almost comically-oversized fan where the front wheel of a standard bike would be. But thereâs another feature that might not seem obvious when the bike is idle, the handlebars move forwards and backwards in continuity with the pedals. So to drive an air bike during a workout, you need to move your legs and both arms at the same time. Much like rowing, air bike workouts provide a full-body burn that can leave you as exhausted as rugby training. What is an assault bike? Your greatest love and worst enemy all at once.
As with any athlete-driven training regime, assault bike workout programs can be as hard or as easy as you make them. Yes, an assault bike is a pretty simple piece of equipment. But sometimes the simplest devices can be the most effective. This goes double for cardio equipment. Working hard on an assault bike can help you burn as many as 80 calories a minute. Several studies of well-trained Vs sedentary men have shown that crossfit assault bike workouts are the fastest way to improve your cardiovascular fitness.
Not enough? Letâs look in-depth at the benefits of using an assault bike to form the core of your non-rugby fitness program:
Rugby places extreme stress on your cardiovascular system. The higher the level of rugby you play, the higher your VO2 Max will need to be if you want to keep up. Itâs been understood since as far back as the early 1980s, that the assault air bike is the most effective way to build cardiovascular endurance. Israel and Hardison showed that an assault bike workout program provides …higher values for maximum oxygen consumption, maximum pulmonary ventilation, maximum oxygen pulse, and maximum heart rate during bicycle ergometry… than maximal arm work. The continuous motion of using an assault bike can greatly improve your cardio.
Using an assault bike requires coordination of your entire body. While one arm is pushing, the other is pulling. And all the while, your legs are driving down as your foot extends towards the ground. This is completely unlike any other cardio machine at the gym. You canât get the same full-body workout on an exercise bike, treadmill or stair-master. The assault bike provides a low-impact, full-body workout that is hard to beat.
We mentioned earlier that you can burn as many as 80 calories per minute using an assault bike. While itâs not possible to maintain that level of energy consumption for very long, this should indicate what a massive load using an air bike will put on your oxidative energy system. There are few training techniques that can even come close to attack bike exercises for burning calories.
Mental toughness is often a key factor that separates the good rugby players from the great ones. Most training sessions, whether on the field or in the gym incorporate an element of mental strength training. Because fan bike workouts are low-impact, theyâre also low-risk in terms of injury. Knowing that youâre unlikely to get hurt means you can go harder physically, getting into a workout zone that will test your mental strength.
If youâve suffered an upper-body injury while playing rugby, an assault bike workout program can help you stay fit while you recover. The low-impact nature of the activity makes assault bikes ideal for players with shoulder or neck injuries.
Assault bikes are the cardio training tool of choice for some of the worldâs best rugby programs. In Australia, the Queensland Reds have an assault bike challenge where two athletes compete to see who can burn 40 calories the fastest. Hereâs a couple of their guys throwing down:
Probably not the #1 reason you should get an air bike for your gym, but itâs true. Assault bikes are often called air bikes because they circulate air through the gym. If youâre working out around a bunch of big sweaty rugby players, this is an obvious benefit.
If youâre a trained athlete, intervals are the best way to build up your cardiovascular fitness. These seven air assault bike workouts will get your panting.
We have Tabata workouts programmed into both our 20-1-20 and pre-season training programs. Theyâre a great way to get started with a new piece of equipment if youâre trying to find assault bike workouts for beginners.
20 seconds Work
10 seconds Rest
x 8
Because assault bikes are such good calorie burners, some of the best workouts are calorie-based. Try this one. Every minute on the minute go as hard as you can until youâve burned up the prescribed # of calories. Hereâs the pyramid:
Minute 1: 2 calories
Minute 2: 4 calories
Minute 3: 6 calories
Keep going up by 2 calories a minute until you canât hit your target any longer.
This is a tough cardio workout that really gets the heart rate up. Every 3 mins, sprint for 1 min and rest for 2 mins. In other words: 1min On, 2 mins Off. Complete 8 sets for 24 mins total.
1min On
2min Off
x 8
An easy and effective way to get started with crossfit-style assault bike workouts. Pyramid up, reducing rest and increasing work in each set. Then pyramid down, giving yourself more rest as you reduce efforts.
Minute 1: 10 sec sprint, 50 sec rest
Minute 2: 20 sec sprint, 40 sec rest
Minute 3: 30 sec sprint, 30 sec rest
Minute 4: 40 sec sprint, 20 sec rest
Minute 5: 50 sec sprint, 10 sec rest
Minute 6: 40 sec sprint, 20 sec rest
Minute 7: 30 sec sprint, 30 sec rest
Minute 8: 20 sec sprint, 40 sec rest
Minute 9: 10 sec sprint, 50 sec rest
Combining assault bikes and burpees is almost cruel. But if you want to really test yourself, try this bruiser.
10 Calorie Bike Sprint
5 Burpees
X 10
This is one of those workouts that gets harder the more effort you put in. Go all-out until you hit the recommended amount of calories, then rest for the same amount of time that you worked.
For Time:
30-25-20-15-10-5 Calories
1:1 Work to Rest
Similar to workout #5, but this time youâre doing push-ups instead of burpees. Itâs just a hard, donât worry.
10 Calorie Bike Sprint
10 Wide grip push-ups
X 10
Yes, you should be doing assault bike training to complement your on-field rugby conditioning. Canât find a workout you like here? Thereâs a great resource over on wodwell.com showing more than 180 different assault bike WODs. If you can;t find something you like there, youâre probably not trying hard enough.
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