You know all about the benefits of indoor cycling, you are motivated by the idea of working your cardio and your legs and you have even bought a spin bike to ride in the warmth of your home, great!
But you quickly realized one thing... “What should i do to get start!”
Indeed, if you are not in a spinning class with a teacher who yells at you to move your buttocks, the stationary bike sessions can prove not to be very exciting ...
So what do you do, you dump your bike on the good corner?
Well, let me show you how funky the spinning bike can be! We'll see how to do space sessions that will leave you on your knees and blast your calories.
If you want to lose your belly, reduce your body fat, tone your posterior chain, maintain fitness and do it all without spending too much time on your exercise bike: you've come to the right place!
In this article we will show 4 HIIT workout with spinning bike that will keep you fit
Workout #1: 25 minutes of HIIT that will finish you off
Workout #2: Heart rate based HIIT
Workout #3: TABATA on a stationary bike
Workout #4: HIIT pyramid!
What to remember from all this?
Workout #1: 25 minutes of HIIT that will finish you off
If you haven't heard of HIIT (high intensity interval training) yet, you'll quickly fall in love to it.
The benefits are enormous.
This training format offers fast-paced, intense sessions that literally demolish calories, boost metabolism and burn fat...
If you're looking to burn fat, it's better to work on this type of interval training than to stick to boring, flat cardio (like 45 minutes at a constant pace with your butt in the saddle).
The training we're going to see here is based on 4 levels of intensity that you yourself will have to evaluate according to these criteria:
- Quiet: corresponds to a flat road at a pace you can ride for hours and hours
- Moderate: you start to pedal a little, and your breath gets a little ragged. You are still able to talk. Here you have to play with the resistance to feel like you're riding uphill on a small hill.
- Intense: you pedal so hard that you blow hard! You can only stammer a few words here and there, but you have no desire to speak. The resistance of the bike used at this stage is medium to high.
- Insane: you send everything you have, you are chased by a bear, you use the strongest resistance and you are unable to say a word!
Now that the "rules" are set, here's what the workout should look like:
- 5 minutes of quiet warm-up
- 30 intense seconds then 30 moderate seconds (to be repeated 4 times for a 4 minute cycle)
- 1 minute of quiet recovery
- 1 minute intense then 30 seconds moderate (repeat 4 times for a 6 minute cycle)
- 1 minute of quiet recovery
- 45 seconds of insanity followed by 15 seconds of tranquility (repeat 3 times for a 3 minute cycle)
- 5 minutes of quiet recovery
- Total training time: 25 minutes
- Rider status: very exhausted
Workout #2: HIIT based on heart rate
Here we drop personal feelings and rely on heart rate to see if we are in the right work zone. So for this workout, you'll need a heart rate monitor.
The resistance and speed needed to achieve a high target heart rate varies from person to person. I recommend you go with a high resistance and moderate pace or a moderate and fast pace.
Either combination will do the job!
Here's the workout in question:
- 5-minute warm-up
- 1 minute at 75-85% of your maximum heart rate
- 1 minute of recovery at 60% of your MHR
- Repeat this cycle 6 to 10 times (6 to 10 minutes for those who follow)
- 5 minutes of recovery
Notes: A good way to determine your maximum heart rate is to apply the following formula:
MHR = 207 - 0.7 x age
For example, the heart of a 30 year old athlete beats 186 times per minute (= 207 - (0.7 x 30)). Check the accuracy of this calculation by testing "in the field" with a heart rate monitor.
Workout #3: TABATA on a stationary bike
TABATA is a training method similar to HIIT, very intense, and based on 4-minute cycles of effort.
Again, the training is based on sensation, using the Borg scale which is a measure of perceived exertion, an easy way to monitor your intensity without the need for equipment.
The idea is to give yourself an intensity rating on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being intense effort)
Here's how to navigate the intensity scale:
- Low intensity, between 3 and 5 on the effort perception scale, ideal for a warm-up or a long cardio activity like a long hike.
- Moderate intensity, between 5 and 6, is where you'll be during your "classic" workouts like a good long run. At this stage, you can say a few words, but not hold a conversation for long.
- High Intensity, between 8 and 9, you are only able to maintain this intensity for short periods of time. Typically, during your HIIT workouts! Here, you can't get a word in edgewise, you wouldn't even think of it.
To reach the right level of intensity, you will need to change your speed and the resistance of the exercise bike.
Here is your TABATA workout on the spining bike:
- 5 minutes of warm-up at an intensity of 4-5
- 20s at an intensity of 8-10 then 10s at an intensity of 1 (repeat 8 times for a total cycle of 4 minutes)
- 5 minutes of recovery at an intensity of 4-5
Note: if you have not had your fill, do a second 4 minute TABATA cycle.
Workout #4: Pyramidal HIIT!
This is a method developed by researchers at the University of Copenhagen's Department of Exercise and Sports Science, which is based on HIIT in "10-20-30" pyramidal intervals, followed by two minutes of active recovery.
Each interval consists of five consecutive one-minute intervals divided into 30, 20 and 10 seconds at different intensities. This is a great way to structure an effective HIIT workout.
For this workout, try to use the same resistance throughout the workout, one that allows for smooth, continuous pedaling. The only thing that will vary to get into the right intensity is your pace.
For the intensities indicated, refer to the scale of intensities proposed in training #3 (Borg scale).
Here is the HIIT pyramid workout:
- 7 minute warm-up at intensity 3-4
- 30s at intensity 5-6 followed by 20s at intensity 7-8 followed by 10s at intensity 9-10 (repeat this cycle 5 times for a total of 5 minutes)
- 2 minutes recovery at intensity 3-4
- 30s at intensity 5-6 followed by 20s at intensity 7-8 followed by 10s at intensity 9-10 (repeat this cycle 5 times for a total of 5 minutes)
- 6 minutes of recovery at intensity 3-4
Total workout time: 25 minutes
Rider status: critical, ready to sleep
What to keep in mind from all this?
Well, first of all, these workouts sting!
Secondly, You need to keep in mind to combine interval training with longer, moderate cardio workouts to burn fat.
If weight loss is your goal, aim for a minimum of 3 workouts per week. If you're a beginner, do 2 classic bike workouts (45-60 minutes at 60-70% of your MHR) for one HIIT workout.
Never forget to warm up and include a cool down in your workouts. Finally, regarding HIIT, it is not risk-free, if you have not done any sport for a long time, always go gradually and be attentive to your body. If it really doesn't feel right on your bike, stop the session.
You need to give your body and muscles time to adapt to this new, somewhat aggressive form of exercise.