For some people, gym work is a year-round thing, with weights and bench presses and dumbbells being part of the same activities that are undertaken as much in January as in June. But for others, there is a more seasonal focus.

This is the category you are likely to fall into if you cycle a lot. Spring, summer and early autumn are great times to be outside on two wheels, when the air is warmer and hopefully drier, the days lighter and longer and the conditions underneath your wheels more favourable.

However, as autumn rolls on and the days get shorter and colder, this is no longer the case. Yes, you can still get out and about a bit, but the amount of time you can do so easily is shorter. Road surfaces are more likely to be wet, covered with slippery fallen leaves or, when winter arrives, icy or even snowy.

For mountain bikers, conditions can be even worse, with higher ground more prone to snow and ice and the surfaces often much softer.

Added to all this is the reality that, as it gets dark and visibility can also be hampered by mist and fog, you are more at risk of a road accident.

Finding An Indoor Alternative

Nobody wants to suffer an accident when out riding and even if it is far from a fatal one, an injury has the added impact of hampering your fitness as you recover, unable to train for weeks or even months.

All of this means that your time in the saddle outdoors will probably be very limited over the next few months, which may not be ideal when you want to maintain your muscles for riding. That is why you need an indoor alternative, which an assault bike can provide.

This is not just a matter of keeping them as strong as possible if you are riding competitively. Simply cycling at all has great benefits for the muscles and, if you are new to riding regularly, you may be discovering them.

Among these are not just generally stronger muscles, but wonderfully toned quads and glutes. Your endurance will be greater, and your joints more flexible, aided by the extra muscle mass around them, which is especially good for the knees.

All of this is in addition to the wider benefits such as improved cardiovascular health, burning of lots of calories and enhancements to mental health. You don’t want to lose these during the winter with all that fattening Christmas food around, not to mention the impact on mental health of reduced daylight, whether or not you suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

Not Just An Exercise Bike

Of course, you can get all sorts of exercise bikes that can go some way towards replicating what you would experience when cycling outdoors. But an assault bike can take things to the next level.

A key feature of the product is the built-in fan that creates wind resistance of a kind that you cannot get from a normal stationary exercise bike. This increases the challenge of propelling it, which means you get a much greater workout.

This is better not just for the muscles, but also for your whole body, giving you a great general workout that can enable you to emerge into the lighter days of spring with greater strength, fitness and conditioning than most other cyclists who are getting back on the road or up on the trails.

The best thing of all is that the resistance increases the more effort you put into it, which means you can tailor your effort to your fitness levels at any time. If you are a relative beginner, you can build things up, while if you want to maintain a high level of fitness and endurance, this is also possible.

The Benefits Of Flexibility

Indeed, the flexibility available is just what you need to provide a wide range of training exercises. You can do a nice, gradual warm-up, some CrossFit-style training, cardio activities and warm-downs as well as full-on sprints.

Not only is an assault bike a great way to train your whole body, but it can be adjusted with features such as a flexible seat position, enabling different members of the same household to use it. That way, your partner or housemate can use it as well, ensuring more than one person benefits from its features.

Come the spring, you will be in great shape after using this device a lot over the autumn and winter. Indeed, even though you may enjoy getting back into the saddle and enjoying the fresh air and light days again, you might still find it useful even then to spend some time on your assault bike to gain the benefits of an extra workout.