This “Fitness Challenge Series” is a compilation of “challenges” that I have either tried or have seen others try as fun ways to test current levels of fitness. It is NOT intended for use on a large scale with a team of athletes. Additionally I am NOT telling you that you NEED to try these. Some of these challenges will be easy and some will be quite difficult, but almost all will require some level of prior training (meaning if you don’t train frequently now and/or have never trained you should not attempt these challenges “just to try” or “just for fun” as they may lead to serious injury). However, if you are well-trained and want a fun way to test your current fitness and/or want to throw something new in to spice up your training, this series may be worthwhile for you to read.

With all that out of the way, let’s get into this challenge: Assault AirBike :10/:20 x 40. This is one that I absolutely LOVE. When my training is dialed in I will come back to this one every 4-6 weeks to see where I stand. I do this one on the Rogue Assault AirBike, so all my recommendations will be based on this specific bike (you can easily do this on any other bike, such as the Rogue Echo Bike. You would simply need to figure out your own zones based on a comparable Rate of Perceived Exertion). The challenge is as follows: :10 of effort followed by :20 of rest for 40 rounds (20 minutes total). The effort level is very specific: you should stay above 550 Watts for the entire :10 duration of effort AND at least briefly touch above 600 Watts any time during that :10 effort. (If this is confusing just keep your effort level between 550-650 Watts during each :10 effort).

This is meant to challenge your ability to repeat SUB-MAXIMAL efforts (meaning you should not be going max effort on any of your reps during this challenge). The difficulty lies from the total length of time and overall bouts of effort versus any one all out max effort (think “Run 10 seconds, walk 20 seconds” for 20 minutes and not “Sprint 10 seconds, walk 20 seconds”).

You can also modify this to be a good conditioning “finisher” at the end of a training session. :10/:20 x 8-20 reps (4-10 minutes) is an easy way to get some conditioning intervals in at the end of a session that you may be short on time with. Ultimately the goal would be to get the full 40 reps (20 minutes) to complete the challenge. The Assault AirBike is always a great tool to use for conditioning (especially as an alternative to running) and even at a sub-maximal level this challenge will make your work!