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Interval workouts to amp up your bike ride

Give spinning a "go" outside

Want to enjoy the outdoors and get a spinning-type workout? Kirk Cox, a spin instructor at Wellmark's Well for Life Center, created the 45–60 minute interval workouts below. If you’re a beginner, try doing the workout around the block or in a loop so you can log the distance without getting too far from home. Once you feel comfortable, turn it into an out-and-back ride and explore some new terrain.

Hill Challenge

Find a low-traffic hill that is challenging and takes 2–4 minutes to climb. Once you’ve mastered this challenge, try a steeper, longer hill.

Warm up:

10–15 minutes easy

Workout:

Alternate seated and out-of-the-saddle climbs

  • Recover at the top and on your downhill ride for about the length of time you spent climbing
  • Repeat 4–6 times
  • Add 1 climb to each session until you can ride 10–12 climbs comfortably

Cool down:

10–15 minutes easy riding

Interval Pyramid Challenge

Find a low-traffic road or bike path. This workout is also easy to incorporate into a longer endurance ride.

Warm up:

10–15 minutes easy

Workout:

Accelerate to what feels like a challenging pace — it will be different for everyone:

  • 1 minute hard / 1 minute recovery pace
  • 2 minutes hard / 2 minutes recovery pace
  • 3 minutes hard / 3 minutes recovery pace
  • 4 minutes hard / 4 minutes recovery pace
  • 3 minutes hard / 3 minutes recovery pace
  • 2 minutes hard / 2 minutes recovery pace
  • 1 minute hard / 1 minute recovery pace

Cool down:

10–15 minutes easy

“Talk test” your biking.

Not sure your biking is “easy” or “hard?” Here is a simple way to gauge your intensity level.

  • Talking casually: recovery pace/easy
  • 1 to 2 sentences at a time: endurance pace/moderate
  • 2 to 3 words at a time: labored breathing/hard

You can time intervals on your watch, or between landmarks, like phone poles.