Do you want to add indoor cycling to your workout routine, or are you an spinning instructor who wants another profile to add to your repertoire?
Here’s one for you!
This profile has a very simple concept, but can be tough if you push yourself.
Before looking into this profile, please check out Cycle Profile/Workout Basics so that you can understand a few things about my profiles.
THE “N” RIDE
*scroll to the bottom of the post to find my Spotify playlist and my “Quick Notes” on the ride
WARM-UP: to see the structure of a warm-up, please visit Cycle Profile/Workout Basics
Chariot by Gretchen Wilson – 4:26
-Use this time to warm up your legs. Spin at a low resistance (LEVEL 6). This should feel like a flat road, but make sure you add enough resistance so that you are in control of your bike and your pedals aren’t taking your legs for a ride.
-While pedaling, stretch out your upper body: Take a deep breath in and raise your arms up. Clasp at the top and pull up to the ceiling to stretch your shoulders. Clasp your hands in front and pull forward to stretch out your upper back. Clasp in the back and pull your hands backwards to stretch your chest. Grab your handlebars and round your back while your eyes look toward your stomach. Now, arch your back and look up to the ceiling. Repeat the last two stretches. Keep holding onto the handlebars and rotate your head to stretch out your neck. Shrug your shoulders and get ready to ride!
Beer for My Horses by Toby Keith – 3:32
-Use this time to really warm-up your legs. Alternate sitting and standing every 30 seconds. You should be at about a LEVEL 7, bringing it up to a LEVEL 7-1/2 midway through. Think about what this ride is going to be like. You’ll have three main sections. The first and the third sections have a series of hills in them (these are the two legs of your “N”). If you are visual, this is what it will look like:
The second section consists of two sprint workouts (this is the slope of the “N”). There will be recovery periods between the hill and sprint sections, so don’t be shy to push yourself on those three main sections.
WORKOUT:
-SECTION 1, HILLS: Every hill in this section will be followed by a 1-minute flat road. Each hill will be at a LEVEL 8, and you will be on the tempo of the song during each hill (your revolutions-per-minute, or RPMs, will match the song’s beats-per-minute, or BPMs). You will speed up your legs when you have lower resistance on your flat road (LEVEL 6).
I’m Happy Just to Dance With You
–This is a 1-minute hill, followed by a 1-minute flat road. Bring your mind to the road you are riding on and start building the scenery around you. What type of road are you on? Is it a paved trail, a compacted dirt road, or are you in the bike lane on the side of a busy street? What is to the right and left of you? Are there open wheat fields, houses, buildings, railroad tracks? What does the sky look like? Is it blue with sporadic clouds, is it gray and gloomy, is it completely clear? What does it feel like outside? Is it hot, warm, cold, or frigid? What are you wearing? Do you have a beanie and gloves on or a visor and glasses? Continually build your scene as you ride. Visualize these hills.
Radioactive by Imagine Dragons – 3:07
–This is a 2-minute hill, followed by a 1-minute flat road.
De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da by The Police – 4:09
–This is a 3-minute hill, followed by a 1-minute flat road. During this long hill, you have the option of standing from the 2-to-3-minute mark. If you do, you will need to increase your resistance, because your bodyweight will aid in pushing your pedals around.
She’s a Lady by Tom Jones – 2:53
–This is a 2-minute hill, followed by a 1-minute flat road. Think about pushing the pedals around in a nice smooth circle. Fall into your RPMs and resistance. This is where you want to be!
Lay Down by Amanda Jenssen – 2:09
–This is a 1-minute hill, followed by a 1-minute flat road.
-RECOVERY:
Thank God I’m a Country Boy by John Denver – 3:28
-This is a free section at LEVEL 6. Enjoy the scenery you’ve built in your mind. You can stretch, drink water, towel yourself off, yodel… whatever you want! However, stay focused on not allowing your heart rate to get too low. We still have work to do. Refocus at the end of the song and get ready for your sprint section.
-SECTION 2, SPRINTS:
Stronger by Kanye West – 5:12
-During the first of our two sprint sets, we will play with our speed. This song is 104BPM. If we go at the tempo of the song, we will be riding at 104RPMs. You can use the fact that the song is 104BPM as a guide to help you estimate how fast to go throughout this workout. We will repeat the following at LEVEL 7-1/2: 10 seconds at 60RPMs, 10 seconds at 70 RPMs, 10 seconds at 80RPMs, 10 seconds at 90RPMs, 20 seconds at 100 RPMs, and 30 seconds at max pace. Repeat 3x and use the last part of the song to recover (LEVEL 6, flat road).
The Way You Make Me Feel by Michael Jackson – 4:58
-We will repeat the same 30 seconds continually throughout this song, which means that you will sprint 10 times! Sprint for the first 10 seconds, rest for 20 seconds, sprint for 10 seconds, rest for 20– over and over and OVER! Each sprint should be equal to or better than the last in terms of intensity. You will feel your lactic acid quickly build up during that short sprint and then release during the 20-second rest period. Push yourself to make it through all ten strong! You have a recovery coming up, so that should be the light at the end of your tunnel.
-RECOVERY:
Something by The Hippos – 2:08
-This section mirrors the Recovery section above.
-SECTION 3, HILLS: This hill section mirrors the SECTION 1, with the exception that your hills will be at a level 9. Remember, LEVEL 9 is HARD. When each hill begins, get on the tempo of the song and then add your resistance so that you are at a LEVEL 9. At a LEVEL 9, you should feel your heartbeat after just about 30 seconds into each hill. You should not be able to breathe through your nose. During the 3-minute hill, you should be forced to really reach inside yourself to pull out the motivation to continue at that level of difficulty. It IS possible, and you CAN do it! You should feel a sense of accomplishment when you finish this section. Refocus yourself and think about maintaining proper posture throughout this hill section. Reset your posture and let’s go!
Theme from the Dukes of Hazzard by Waylon Jennings – 2:07
Get on the Good Foot by James Brown – 3:07
Fire Burning by Sean Kingston – 4:04
Something’s Got A Hold On Me by Etta James – 2:50
We Will Rock You by Queen -2:01
-COOL DOWN: see Cycle Profile/Workout Basics for a detailed cool-down
Love On the Rocks by Sara Bareilles – 4:13
Better by Regina Spektor – 3:09
Midnight City by M83 – 4:04
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These are the “Quick Notes” I developed so that you can take only one piece of paper to the gym with you!
Here is the playlist from Spotify, both embeded and linked:
[spotify id=”spotify:user:1271328088:playlist:1vSOhIPDHGOXfkAyxLq2Tn” width=”300″ height=”380″ /]
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