One-Hour Workout: Bursting with Power
This is a fun way to keep your body firing on all cylinders without taxing your immune system.
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This week’s one-hour workout provides a fun and dynamic way to keep your form and fitness as fresh as possible, without running the risk of compromising your immune system. As many athletes try to keep their training at an aerobic endurance level during the global pandemic, it’s important to adjust your effort levels—but you can still get creative with sessions like this power burst cycling workout that include super short neuromuscular efforts.
After a 15-minute warm-up—gradually building effort to a 6/10 RPE (rate of perceived exertion)—you’ll start the prep set of four rounds of two-minute intervals, raising your effort from 6/10 to 8/10 RPE through the course of each two-minute section. These should all be smooth, focusing on fluid pedaling, and keeping your effort well under control. Take one minute recovery/easy riding between each two-minute interval. By the end of this prep set, you should be feeling ready to hit the main set. Get ready, it’s a good one!
The main set involves riding (at a steady aerobic pace, think 7/10 RPE) for 24 minutes, but every third minute you’ll do a 10-second out-of-the-saddle burst, keeping your cadence high (100+ rpm) but giving it maximum effort—just for 10 seconds, no more. Smoothly sit back down and continue riding at a comfortable aerobic pace until it’s time for the next 10-second effort, and so on, until you’ve repeated eight times (24 minutes).
Cool down for eight to 10 minutes, bringing heart-rate and breathing rate back down and flushing your legs with some easy, higher cadence pedaling.
Power Burst Cycling Workout
Warm-up
15 minutes, gradually build effort to 6/10 RPE
Prep set: 4 x 2 minutes, building effort from 6/10-8/10 throughout each interval. Recover for 1 minute between each.
Main Set
Ride at a comfortable aerobic pace for 24 minutes, but every third minute hit a 10-second out-of-the-saddle burst, maximum effort, holding 100+rpm cadence. Smoothly transition back to aerobic riding after each burst.
Cool-down
8-10 minutes easy, relaxed riding.