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Monday, May 19, 2008

feeling the burn.

almost every morning... i pump up the tunes, sweat like a pig & go! go! go! on my bike. all from the comforts of my own home. with all the heat we've been experiencing, it's much more pleasant to ride my bike indoors on my trainer, then battling the hot hot sun outside. seeing as i'm kinda lazy, lately i've figured out how to get more bang for my buck, in regards to my workout, that is. lately i've been incorporating interval training into my work outs. i work harder but for a less amount of time. don't believe it's beneficial? then check out THIS newspaper article.

have i piqued your interest yet? ready to add a little variety to your workout? for starters you're going to need a heart rate monitor, then you need to print out THIS handy little heart rate chart, get some water, pump up your tunes & get ready to work... (for the sake of brevity, i will refer to the heart rates zones, on your chart, as follows: recovery - zone 1, endurance - zone 2, strength - zone 3, interval - zone 4, race day - zone 5. every "*" represents a "recovery" period. & finally, don't start timing until your heart has raised, or dropped to the desired heart rate. in the beginning it will take longer, but the more you train, the faster it will happen. make sense?)

so here's the plan:

2-4 minute warm up in zone 1, progressing to high end of zone 2

moderate intervals:
2 minute zone 3
*1 minute zone 1 or 2
3 minute zone 3
*1 minute zone 1 or 2
4 minute zone 3
* 1 minute zone 1 or 2
5 minute zone 3
*1 minute zone 1 or 2

gear down - more challenging intervals
2 minute zone HIGH zone 4
*2 minute zone 1 or 2
2 minute HIGH zone 4
*90 second zone 1 or 2
30 second HIGH zone 5
*60 second zone 1 or 2
30 second HIGH zone 5
*60 second zone 1 or 2
60 second HIGH zone 5
*2 minute zone 1 or 2
60 second HIGH zone 5
*90 second zone 1 or 2
2 minute HIGH zone 4
*2 minute zone 1

approximate acceleration time for zone 1,2 & 4: 15-45 seconds
approximate deceleration time for zone 4 & 5: 30-60 seconds

the great thing about this workout? it's really flexible... some days, when i feel really ambitious, i'll do the whole thing. other days, i'll just do the moderate intervals, some days i'll do just the more challenging intervals, & then there are days where i do bits and pieces from both. plus you can do it using any type of machine - bike, treadmill, etc. (i'm sure you could do it without a machine, too, it'll just be harder, and take longer, to change your heart rate.)

don't forget your towel... you'll be sweating like a pig.

8 comments:

Shannon said...

Good for you! I saw them using this kind of interval training at the gym I USED to go to (last year). I really need to get MOTIVATED!

Lindsey said...

WOW! I don't know if I could simultaneously read that chart AND work out. . . (I've got the dumb=3 kids)

Tina said...

thanks for that. I have 40lbs to lose, yes thats right....40! I'm afraid to try hard thinking I will fail. How silly, but I am printing this awesome little bit so I will use it on my elliptical or treadmill. Thanks so much!

Emy5 said...

You know what you are doing, wow! Thanks for the motivation.

Jessi said...

I think I might die. My exercise today was vacuuming and doing the laundry. :) Sometimes when I'm huffing and puffing carrying in the groceries it's hard to remember that I used to be able to run 7 miles. But after I have this baby I'll be right back in there with you. (Or at least trying to be.)

Mique (as in Mickey) said...

You go girl- btw did I miss it? Did you do your tri? I'm thinking about doing one.....I'm not sure if you posted about it....

Lynn said...

I need a trainer for my bike - now that I have kids I'm too chicken to ride on the streets. But the workout looks too complicated for me. Although I don't doubt it's benefits!

Hollyween said...

VERY interesting. How do I incorporate it into my dumb eliptical? I've been running when the weather is good though and I can't believe the difference in my body!