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.
