A Week of Assault Bike PRs (03/12/18 - 07/12/18)
It was the week of the work Christmas party and I knew it would be a big one as it was 3 hours of free drinks at the Stamford Plaza followed by kicks ons afterwards. I was still feeling it a bit the previous week coming off the back of an Ironman 70.3 Triathlon so had just settled with a 5 hour training week that previous week to allow my body to recover. I decided at the end of the working day on the Monday to get on the assault bike and do my one hour effort for extra conditioning and to give myself a good start to the week knowing that towards the end it was going to be slightly on the unhealthy side of things!
I started my 1 hour effort, I went off fast through the first 10 minutes as I always do clocking through 176 calories in the first 10 minutes and 260 in the first 15 minutes. Most professional CrossFitters who are 90kgs and less than 10 percent body fat push 200 calories for a 10 minute effort on the assault bike and are on their backs as it is a filthy hard machine for high intensity cardiovascular training. At the time of writing this I am currently 79kgs and 9-10% body fat.
After 30 minutes I split 470 calories, this is the point where your lungs are burning, hands are sweaty, wrists get sore due to your hands sliding around in the sweat, you begin to get chafe from the seat due to being in gym shorts and it becomes a real mental game. I finished my 1 hour effort in a new personal best score of 903 calories travelling 24.3 miles (39.1km). This was a huge accomplishment as the Assault Air Bike is designed for short hard interval training not long sustained efforts however as mental training drills I will continue to incorporate this in my training. I then gave my legs an easy spin on the spin bike for 15 minutes to flush out the lactic acid and bring my heart rate down.
On the Tuesday and Wednesday, I did my usual HIIT classes performing an hour of high intensity each day doing spin bike work, body weight exercises and kettlebell work. I also took a core strength class and did a 3km Swim on Wednesday night for good measure. When Thursday came I was feeling a little tired but was determined to push out a 10 minute PR on the Assault Bike! I went out hard again pushing 60 calories in the first 3 minutes and 97 calories in the first 5 minutes before toughing it out and finishing with a score of 185 calories for the 10 minutes.
Stay tuned over the next few months as I push for the 200 calories in 10 minutes and if you liked this story check out youtube assault bike 5 and 10 minutes and you will see what some of the top people do. If you'd like to see a live stream of one of my hit outs leave a comment down below.
#fitness #theassaultairbike #efforts #highintensity
About the Author
Nic Rider is a corporate health and well-being coach with 8 years experience in the health and fitness industry. He is one of the top age group triathletes in Australia practicing what he preaches as he believes in leading by example to help inspire others. Nic has coached 100's of corporate professionals to start exercise, lose weight, build muscle and improve cardiovascular health along with injury rehabilitation. He has coached clients to run marathons and participate in triathlons along with climb mountains in the Himalayas.
