Assault Bike Vs. Treadmill: Which Cardio Machine Is Better For Your Goals?

Yahoo

7 hours ago

There are approximately a zillion ways to get your cardio in nowadays. Walking, running, biking, stair climbing, rowing, skiing, swimming—the list goes on. You understand the importance of cardio, but when you're pressed for time, you need to find the most effective option.
And of course, 'effective' certainly depends on what you enjoy doing most—because ultimately, the machine that will be the most effective will be the one that you use most often.
If you love a quick, sweaty HIIT session, you might be apt to hop on a full body option like the Assault (or air) bike. If you prefer a long, leisurely stroll, you might feel right at home on the treadmill.
But is one better than the other? We asked the experts to figure how they stack up, and how to get the most out of each machine.
These machines move you in different ways.
A treadmill can replicate any kind of walking, jogging, or running you would do outside or on a track, says Erica Coviello, CPT, a level 2 certified RRCA running coach and owner of Run Fit Stoked. All together, your quads, hamstrings, glutes, core, and calves work together to power your propulsion forward. 'You can build your endurance, you can build your strength, you can build your power, you can increase your speed. There's a ton the treadmill can do,' she says.
When you increase the incline on the treadmill, the muscles in the back of your body have to work even harder to keep you upright and moving against gravity. If you're choosing to run or jog on the treadmill, you'll get a bit more impact through your hips, knees, and ankles, Coviello says—which is important for increasing your bone density, but might not be great if you have joint issues. Talk to your doctor before starting a running program if you've had issues in lower body joints.
The Assault bike is your road bike on steroids. You pedal in the same way, but you also have moveable handlebars that can power the bike when pushed and pulled forward and back. On a regular stationary bike, you manually have to press a button or use a lever to increase the resistance placed upon you. On an Assault bike, your pedals and handlebars spin a fan where the front wheel would typically be, displacing air. As more air gets displaced, a greater wind resistance is created. 'The harder you push, the more resistance it creates,' says Gabrielle Savary, CPT, trainer, professional bodybuilder, and member of the WH Strength in Diversity class of 2024.
Your entire body is put to work, since your legs and upper body both power the bike. Your quads, glutes, hamstrings, back, chest, and core all play a role in your performance.
Because the assault bike requires so much output from your muscles, it's not likely that you'll want to stay on this bike for a long period of time the way you might with a stationary or road bike. This piece of equipment is typically better for high intensity interval training or intervals, Savary says.
Both machines are great for getting your cardio workout in. Which one you should choose largely depends on what you're trying to achieve with your workout.
The science of weight loss is largely about calories in versus calories out. Because the Assault bike requires more muscular activation, you'll burn more calories in a shorter amount of time than the treadmill, Savary says.
In practice, though, the best cardio machine for weight loss is the one you're going to use consistently, Coviello says. Sure, you might burn more calories in a shorter amount of time on the Assault bike, but if you hate it so much that you never use it, the point becomes moot. If you prefer the treadmill and are more likely to use it, it will be the better tool for your journey.
Of course, cardio machines are more tailored towards training your cardiovascular system, but that doesn't mean you can't use these machines to gain strength. On the treadmill, your glutes and quads have to build strength to more effectively climb when you crank up the incline. But, you'll likely gain a bit more strength through the whole body on the Assault bike. Your muscles have to adapt by getting stronger to better combat the resistance that is placed on you—which is exactly how strength is built.
'The more we work against something, the stronger we are going to get,' Savary says. 'That might not mean it will feel easier, because [the Assault bike] is never easy, but you'll be able to ramp up faster.'
Both machines will help improve your cardiovascular health, Coviello and Savary agree—what really matters is how, and how often, you use it.
When you're doing low-intensity, steady state cardio, you're probably going to be hanging around 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate, otherwise known as zone 2 cardio. Performing this type of cardio can increase the amount of mitochondria in your muscle cells (the part of your cell that provides the fuel your muscles need to contract)—improving your performance and energy. More intense cardio (think 80 percent of your maximum heart rate or more), strengthens your heart's muscles, improving its ability to pump blood throughout the body.
You'll want to factor in at least 150 minutes of low intensity cardio, or 75 minutes of high intensity cardio per week to reap all these benefits, according to the American Heart Association.
Never used the treadmill or Assault bike before? Or maybe you have, and are looking for ways to challenge yourself on them? Look no further.
If you're a beginner, you're probably not hopping on the Assault bike for an extended period of time. Try out intervals to get a sweat on in less time, Savary says. You can qualify these intervals by time or calories. If you'd prefer to go for time, try 20 seconds fast, 40 seconds slow. If you'd rather go for calories, try hitting 10 calories, and then taking a 40 second to a minute break. Aim for 3 to 5 rounds.
There are so many ways to use the treadmill. If you want to get into distance running, you can hop on the treadmill and go for a nice light jog for about 5 to 10 minutes, and build up in time as your endurance improves, Coviello says. 'Keep your heart rate in that magic zone 2 [range], where your body's not working too hard, but it's just enough to make it work harder than if you were just walking or just doing daily chores or running errands.'
If you're adding on a little bit of cardio to the tail end of your strength training, you might want to incorporate some intervals to increase intensity and shorten time spent, she says. Start with a 30 second run, 30 second walk for 3 to 5 rounds. Once that starts to feel easy, increase your speed, time spent running, or the amount of rounds you're doing to up the challenge.
Set up properly. You'll perform better (and hit those max calories faster) if you set up the assault bike appropriately to your height. Adjust the seat so it hits slightly lower than your hip when you're standing up. 'You're going to have to use your arms and your legs, and you don't want your elbows smashing into your knees,' Savary says. Same goes for the distance from the seat to the handle bars. Since you're using your arms, you want to make sure that the seat is close enough to where you can fully extend your arm and you still have a grip on the handle.
Acclimate yourself with the screen. There's so much data on cardio machine screens. For the assault bike, find the calories and the time to start. Use those to create your intervals while you're getting used to it, Savary says. For the treadmill, familiarize yourself with the time, and how to change the speed and incline.
Learn the fancy functions. Many treadmills allow you to program incline or speed increases so you're not hitting the 'up' button a bunch of times to increase, Coviello says. Some also have pre-programmed hill and interval workouts that can be extremely useful. Ask a trainer at your gym to give you a little crash course if you can't figure out how to use it.
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