Cycling Workout: Cardio Fitness

If competitive cycling isn’t your thing, but you just want to take your fitness to the next level, then this is the workout for you. Our bodies constantly adapt to the stresses (workouts) we expose them to, and in order to prevent plateaus, we need to incorporate a little variety every once in awhile to shake things up a bit.
In this workout, you’ll complete a series of 4-minute intervals, all with a different focus. Whether it’s increasing the resistance or bumping up the speed, each interval is a major calorie burner. Allow your body to recover as much as possible between rounds, but get ready to work during the difficult 4-minute intervals.
The resistance will steadily increase in your first 4-minute interval. The goal here is to find a
comfortable RPM, ideally between 70 and 85 revolutions per minute. Once you’ve settled into a comfortable cadence, you’ll steadily increase the resistance, trying to keep your RPMs as steady as possible over the whole 4-minute interval.
Your second 4-minute interval will steadily increase RPMs. You’ll start at a slow to moderate cadence and without adjusting the resistance, you’ll gradually increase your cadence every 30 seconds. Be sure to not start out too fast, or set the resistance too high. Both sets will probably feel pretty easy at the beginning, but should become very challenging during the last minute or so.
Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s get to it!
Today’s focus: Improving Cardiovascular Fitness
Warmup: Bodyweight and Cycling
30 seconds each:
shoulder swings
shoulder circles counterclockwise
shoulder circles clockwise
3 minutes easy pedaling
ROUND 1: On equipment (Complete 1 time through)
4 minutes at 70–85 RPMs
          Start at a moderately easy resistance
          Every 30 seconds increase the resistance
2 minutes at a very easy tempo and resistance level
ROUND 2: On equipment (Complete 1 time through)
4 minutes at a moderately challenging resistance
          Start at about 50 RPMs
          Every 30 seconds increase the cadence by 3 to 5 RPMs
2 minutes at a very easy tempo and resistance level
ROUND 3: On equipment (Complete 1 time through)
4 minutes at 70–85 RPMs
          Start at a moderately easy resistance
          Every 30 seconds increase the resistance
2 minutes at a very easy tempo and resistance level
ROUND 4: On equipment (Complete 1 time through)
4 minutes at a moderately challenging resistance
          Start at about 50 RPMs
          Every 30 seconds increase the cadence by 3 to 5 RPMs
2 minutes at a very easy tempo and resistance level
Cooldown: Bodyweight and Cycling
3 minutes easy pedaling
30 seconds each:
quad stretch
hamstring stretch
calf stretch
glute stretch
Well done! Are you feeling super fit? Hopefully you are! Cardiovascular fitness can aid in so many things, and everyone can use a little more of it.
Don’t forget to check out the other workouts in this series!
Good luck and stay fit!

Becca Capell
iFit Head Trainer
 

The Workout