2024 DEKA Tips and Tricks w/ World Champ Kevin Gregory - Zone 7 Assault Bike

Everyone’s favorite station. This station can easily be your slowest, but for some can be your fastest. Everyone wants to know how to train the bike, but no one asks about how to optimally set your seat.
Knee extension, Arm Extension, hip
Position. Mass moves mass. If you don’t have mass, how do better utilize ALL of
It? Most people mistakenly put almost all of their weight on the seat, costing you lots of potential power. Go take a spin class and learn about RPM (cadence), Watts, Seat Position, How to hover on the seat.
In spin, you get the RPM up to 120 RPM on a sprint. What’s your max RPM on the Assault bike if you tested it right now? All out for 15 seconds just to see how high you can get them? Go try.
How Calories work on the Bike: it’s not linked to your steps like a Fitbit, it’s linked to Watts which is a measure of power. Also unlike the rower and ski (measured in meters) Calorie burn increases exponentially as your effort increases. Ever notice that first calorie takes forever to show up? Then as you get going they keep ticking off? So don’t work as hard when you first start! Ramp up your intensity like an airplane taking off. Use momentum in your favor. Increase your power output after easing in.
How to increase power? As the old saying goes, put your back into it. Not exactly, but you want to use all your body weight to mash down the pedals. Back to that spin class, if youre climbing a big hill with high resistance, you put your weight into each pedal drive bc sitting flat on your ass isn’t gonna get you up that hill.
For some that may mean standing the whole time, but if youre as light as a bird, that may be your ticket. One of our athletes Taylor has an ultramarathoner build, she treats the bike like an elliptical and she’s off the bike in a pretty good time (not setting any records, but not killing herself to do so either). Should everyone stand? I don’t believe so. You must use your strengths. I can tell you for a fact, if you’re sitting and your seat is too low, kiss your quads good bye bc you’re dumping lactate into them and you’re going to burn/suffer/die not only on the bike, but coming off you’ll be Bambi legged and your grandma who walks with a cane would beat you if you raced against her on the last 3 stations.
So to answer your question. Most importantly, start by working on setting your seat to be as high as possible to give you 95% extended knees at extension & move the seat forward enough so you can hover your personal undercarriage on just enough of the seat to still have 90% of your body weight on the pedals.
Then push and pull with your arms as your legs are mashing the pedals. Start with 5-7 easy pedals to get the fan moving, then start ramping up your intensity.
Find what works best for you! Trial all of this to figure that out. You don’t need to die everytime you look at the bike. Embrace the suck, but it’s all about figuring out the combination that suits you and your strengths best.
Do a fresh 25 Calorie time trial the way you used to do it. Rest for 5 mins or more. Then do another time trial with the seat set as I mention above. Rest 5 mins or more. Do another TT with the seat back and down out of the way and you’re just standing the whole time. Compare these numbers. Which was fastest? Which felt the easiest? They will all be awkward at the beginning. In training, practice your new method for a more manageable number of calories (like 10 for ex). Get more and more reps at that smaller number and you’ll increase your level of comfort, decrease your level of anxiety, and overall learn to not fear the bike.

[@AmandaLouchart]

Thank you! These tips are 🔥

[@josephcarter7111]

Being a former cyclist and triathlete, you are correct that position on the bike is critical to generate max power and efficiency.

[@PatrickHigh74]

Intervals are the secret to the bike! Will you be adding a bike training strategies pt 2 video? Loved and use your pt 1 ..Thank you!

[@ultrag8069]

Love these videos, all great content that will help shed those seconds.
I've got my first ever deka strong event this weekend so I'm sure this will all help.

[@Underdogfitnessgym]

Let us know how it goes!