10 Assault Air Bike, Rower, and SkiErg Workouts
These high-intensity erg workouts will torch calories and test your mindset.
The age-old fitness routine for people trying to lose weight is to go to the gym and do low-intensity, steady-state cardio on a treadmill or elliptical for an hour.
But there’s a better way to get results.
We’re talking maximum output and effort, leading to improved conditioning and better body composition.
There are no better tools of the trade than these three monsters. They’re called ergometers (or erg) and they measure your work output.
They’ll improve your aerobic conditioning, burn a ton of calories, test your mental and physical stamina, and give you a full-body workout as you’ve never experienced.
Here are ten workouts for each one of them.
Workout #1 (Assault Air Bike)
Tabata
The Tabata Interval Training Protocol is a high-intensity interval training style that was developed by Dr. Izumi Tabata to train Olympic skaters in the 1990s.
Dr. Tabata had athletes train using the 20/10 model - meaning 20 seconds of all-out exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest and then repeated and compared them to a group of athletes performing moderate-intensity exercise for one hour.
He found that the athletes using the 20/10 model, or the Tabata Protocol, increased their aerobic and anaerobic fitness levels dramatically.
Ride as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat for a total of 8 rounds.
20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, 8 times.
Workout #2 (Assault Air Bike)
This is a pyramid interval, building up to a 50-second sprint and back down.
Minute 1: 10-second sprint, 50 seconds rest.
Minute 2: 20-second sprint, 40 seconds rest.
Minute 3: 30-second sprint, 30 seconds rest.
Minutes 4: 40-second sprint, 20 seconds rest.
Minute 5: 50-second sprint, 10 seconds rest.
Minute 6: 40-second sprint, 20 seconds rest.
Minute 7: 30-second sprint, 30 seconds rest.
Minute 8: 20-second sprint, 40 seconds rest.
Minute 9: 10-second sprint, 50 seconds rest.
Workout #3 (Assault Air Bike)
Minute 1: 55 seconds moderate pace, 5-second sprint.
Minute 2: 54 seconds moderate pace, 6-second sprint.
Minute 3: 53 seconds moderate pace, 7-second sprint.
Minute 4: 52 seconds moderate pace, 8-second sprint.
Minute 5: 51 seconds moderate pace, 9-second sprint.
Minute 6: 50 seconds moderate pace, 10-second sprint.
All Assault Air Bike workouts can also be done on a Rogue Echo bike.
Workout #4 (Rower)
10-20-30
Row gently for 30 seconds, accelerate to a moderate pace for 20 seconds, then sprint as hard as you can for 10 seconds.
Do five of the 10-20-30 intervals in a row without pause, then rest for two minutes. Repeat the five consecutive intervals one more time and cool down.
Erg is short for ergometer - a workout machine that measures the amount of work you’re performing.
Workout #5 (Rower)
Warm up for 5 minutes.
Alternate 40 seconds of hard rowing with 20 seconds of easy rowing for a total of 10 minutes.
Workout #6 (Rower)
This interval workout has a 1:1 work-to-rest ratio. The rowing should be completed in less than a minute.
Rest for one minute, then repeat for a total of 10 rounds.
Row 250 meters
Rest 1 minute
Total duration: 20 minutes
Workout #7 (Rower)
Row 1 minute. Rest 1 minute
Row 2 minutes. Rest for 2 minutes.
Row 3 minutes. Rest for 3 minutes.
Row 4 minutes. Rest for 4 minutes.
Row 3 minutes. Rest for 3 minutes.
Row 2 minutes. Rest for 2 minutes.
Row 1 minute.
Workout #8 (SkiErg)
The Double-Pull
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent. Grab the handles and pull both arms straight down and reach back behind you. Keep your back flat. Return to standing, lifting your arms back overhead.
Double-pull gently for 30 seconds, accelerate to a moderate pace for 20 seconds, then sprint as hard as you can for 10 seconds.
Do five of the 10-20-30 intervals in a row without pause, then rest for two minutes. Repeat the five consecutive intervals one more time and cool down.
Workout #9 (SkiErg)
This is a 600-meter SkiErg workout.
Perform double-pulls for the full distance as quickly as possible, resting only as needed.
Workout #10 (Rower/SkiErg/Air Bike)
This is a CrossFit workout that uses all three ergs.
For Time:
100-Calorie Row
100-Calorie SkiErg
100-Calorie Air Assault AirBike
Every 2 minutes, do 7 burpees.
Can you meet the Gym Jones standard?
Let me start by saying that I have no affiliation with Gym Jones. But I love what they’re about, including their standards, and I regularly use them as a benchmark of my performance and progress.
So what are their standards?
In 5 minutes or less hit 500 meters on the SkiErg, hit 50 calories on the Assault AirBike, and row 500 meters.
For rowing only, the Gym Jones standard is to be able to row 2000 meters in under 7 minutes. That’s right, 7 minutes.
Check out their page here to learn more about Gym Jones.
