Get Your Heart Pumping -
We love cycling because...
- It's boredom-proof! Cycling gets you out of the steamy Spinning room and lets you enjoy some scenery, sun, and speed.
- It incinerates calories -- more than 800 an hour -- while sculpting a strong butt and legs, all with zero impact, so it's friendly on your joints.
- It's adaptable! You can ride solo, with a buddy, or with the whole family, plus work out for an hour or the entire day.
Don't just coast -- make your next ride a fitness experience with these strength- and stamina-building workouts designed by Lance Leener, a cycling and triathlon coach at TriLife in New York City. Try them first indoors to get a feel for the routine, then take them outside. Use your gears to control intensity, based on your rate of perceived exertion (RPE), or how difficult the exercise feels on a scale of 1 to 10.
1-Hour Hill Workout
Time: 1 hour
Calories burned: 635
- Find a hill that takes about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes to climb. Warm up for 15 minutes, moderate effort (RPE 5).
- Hill climb 1: Stay seated, use moderate resistance (RPE 6). Recover by pedaling downhill in easy gear (RPE 2).
- Hill climb 2: Stay seated, increase resistance (RPE 7). Recover by pedaling downhill in easy gear (RPE 2).
- Hill climb 3: Sit halfway up the hill, then stand, using moderate resistance (RPE 7). Recover by pedaling downhill in easy gear (RPE 2).
- Hill climb 4: Sit halfway up the hill, then stand using hard resistance (RPE 8). Recover by pedaling downhill in easy gear (RPE 2).*
- Hill climb 5: Stand the entire way using moderate resistance (RPE 7). Recover by pedaling downhill in easy gear (RPE 2).
- Hill climb 6: Stand the entire way using hard resistance (RPE 9). Recover by pedaling downhill in easy gear (RPE 2).
- Ride at a moderate effort for about a half hour (RPE 5), then cool down for 5 minutes at easy effort (RPE 3).
* Beginner option: Do four repeats: one seated, one half-seated, one standing (moderate resistance), one standing (hard resistance).
Tip: When climbing a hill, push all the way back on the seat to gain extra leverage.