Assault Airbike or Concept 2 Rower? (x-post from /r/bjj and /r/fitness)

[creamsoda]

I am a 40 year who trains BJJ 2 or 3 days a week. And now I have begun heavy barbell work also 2 or 3 days a week.

To supplement my BJJ and barbell work, I have been eyeing the Assault Airbike and the Concept 2 rower. I've tried the rower a few times at the gym for warming up but that's about it. Never tried the Assault, but it sounds brutal (in a good way). I intend to use it for tabatas//HIIT, as well as some slow steady cardio and recovery workouts.

My goals are:

1) fat loss (I am down nearly 50 lbs from where I started 2 or 3 years ago, and have maybe another 40 lbs or so of fat loss left to go)

2) improve engine performance (conditioning) for BJJ so that I can whoop old dudes' asses in tournaments and better keep up with the 20 year olds in training.

3) Not lose muscle as I lean out and eventually gain muscle and strength.

I welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

[Full Disclosure: I am not a crossfitter, but understand based on my research of these products that they're popular, and commonly found, in CrossFit boxes; so I figured this would be a good crew to seek input from.]

Thanks!

 

[jtkyber]

@creamsoda The assault bike is the most brutal piece of cardio equipment out there. Concept 2 rower is awesome, but the assault bike hands down will make you huff and puff like you wouldn't believe.

Also as a side note, i would say that due to the additional movement in the transverse plane as apposed to just straight sagital plane work on the rower should, in my opinion, make the assault bike a better tool for the type of training you do.

 

[kelster]

@jtkyber Tabata will make you cry

 

[creamsoda]

@kelster I've done tabatas on ellipticals. Hard to imagine, but I gather this is on a whole different level on an Assault.

 

[kelster]

@creamsoda By round 3 i wanted to puke

 

[kenta78]

@jtkyber different kind of pain on the air assault bike. Its demoralizing almost.

 

[creamsoda]

@jtkyber Thank you. This is very helpful and see your point about the traverse plane thing.
edit: Do you think it's also suitable for LISS recovery workouts?

 

[jtkyber]

@creamsoda Do you mean LISS as a recovery, or use it as a recovery from LISS? Tbh, i think that for intervals or steady state cardio it is an excellent machine for low impact work. HIIT work on an assault bike will burn your legs and will hit your cardio vascular system really hard. LISS on it is a good cardio workout and it is almost uncomfortable doing longer sessions because you are constantly moving your whole body, but really if you are doing cardio you want to be challenging yourself and not just going through the motions.

 

[creamsoda]

@jtkyber I meant LISS as recovery workout. But I think I get your point.

 

[greg53]

@creamsoda Personally I'd go for the rower. It's more versatile imo in that you can do hard interval work, steady state short and powerful or long recovery stuff. Maybe I'm just weak but with the assault bike it's kind of all or nothing, even at a steady pace it is knackering.

If you're keen to get into all energy systems I think the rower gives you more options plus you can use distance, calories, power and the monitor is very programmable... oh, and they tend to last longer with less maintenance.

Either way, both will help you no end, (if you are thinking you may sell one the C2 will hold value and be easier to sell).

 

[creamsoda]

@greg53 Thanks. Good counterargument to /@jtkyber's argument in favor of the Assault.

 

[justdeleteme]

@creamsoda I would go for the assault bike. Our box recently got those and I see myself using it for warm-up much more than the rower nowadays. It's a beast for tabatas and such too. In my opinion the rower is also more technical and harder to master. Still, both are good options in your case.

 

[kevin__huang]

@creamsoda An interesting difference between the rower and the airbike is that the rower has a built-in rest-recovery cycle in every stroke, while the airbike is constant output. As a bjj athlete, the airbike might make sense in that regard.

Also, the rower will work your quads, hamstrings, glutes, back, and upper body pulling. You most likely won't get much hamstring work from the airbike.

I personally prefer the airbike because I used to row and would not like to be on the erg any longer than I have to.

 

[hayley368]

@creamsoda My suggestion: get a rower and then try to find an old Airdyne on Craigslist or some other classifieds-type method. Airdynes get a lot of shit for being flimsy but if you're the only one using them it should be good. You can get a used one for $200-250 if you're patient (which you can be since you'd already have the rower). In total it'll only be a little more than a single Air Assault bike and you'll have both so you can switch up your training.

 

[marilyn]

@hayley368 You can get a near new airdyne for way less than half the price of an assault bike, and you can sometimes get the older models of airdyne for less than $100!

 

[lifetips]

@creamsoda I'm a Bjj guy too, air dyne bikes are the devil. It sucks. You'll eventually stop using it. C2 rower is cheaper too I think.

 

[creamsoda]

@lifetips They're about the same price. But I hear you about the risk of hating the Airbike for its sheer brutality and end up not using it.