Happy Friday!
It’s an especially great Friday here in BC because Monday is Family Day, which means no work for this girl! I won’t be spending it with family, but I sort of made up for that in my trip to Ontario last weekend. At the moment the weather isn’t looking too bad so I just might venture out for a run along the sea wall, which I’ve been missing dearly ever since I transitioned my workouts inside in the fall. The scenery will never get old!
Speaking of workouts…
Work It Out
For those of you who are runners, I promise I’ve got a run coming up for you next week – it just needs to be tested out first! On Wednesday, my half Ironman training plan had me down for a 1-hour bike session, which I planned to do with a bunch of fellow triathlete buddies at Method. Unfortunately, the class was all booked up when I went to book a bike on Tuesday morning, so my Wednesday workout ended up being a solo session. Even though the vibe wasn’t quite the same as being in a group, it was still a wicked, super sweaty ride – and one so good that I wanted to share it with you today.
The 4-3-2-1 Bike Workout
This is a slightly tougher progression on last week’s Pedal Pusher Workout because your muscles will be moving against resistance for longer and the rests are less frequent. You’ll keep your RPMs (revolutions per minute) in the 80-100 range for most of the session, with the exception of 4 spikes over 107 in the toughest bits. There are 4 builds of 10 minutes each, broken into 4, 3, 2 and 1 minute efforts, hence the name of this workout.
I’ve indicated all timing, RPMs and the rate of perceived effort (RPE, out of 10) in the chart below. You’ll get 2 minutes to recover between the 4 blocks, so be sure to do whatever you need to get your heart rate down during this time. Once you’ve completed the 4 rounds, finish off the hour with some very easy pedalling.
[Tweet “Ride it like you stole it: The 4-3-2-1 Bike Workout #triathlon #fitness”]
Turn It Up
This week’s tune is called Sweet Lovin; by Sigala and Bryn Christopher, whom you may not have heard of before. Sigala’s Easy Love (which sounds a lot like Michael Jackson’s ABC) came out last year, and Sweet Lovin’ is just as upbeat and catchy.
Have A Read
- 10 full body exercises you can do literally anywhere – via Mind Body Green
- Tips and workouts to prepare for your first running race of the season – via Training Peaks
- What’s more effective: Dumbells or kettlebells? – via Greatist
Now over to you! Let’s hear…
- Are you as excited about getting back outside for your workouts as I am!? Or, have you been way tougher than me and training outside all winter long?
- Anyone headed to Superbowl parties this weekend? More importantly, are you making any delicious snacks? I will be having nothing to do with Superbowl, but will likely still be making my Vegan 7-Layer Taco Dip, just for fun (and because it’s delicious!)