Kinda sad to call it quits for the year, but we had more than our share of mechanical issues during this trip. That made us a little less reluctant to end this one.
Back to strength training tomorrow.
Showing posts with label intervals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intervals. Show all posts
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Back from the short tour
We got back from our short, independent (independent insofar as we did not join any group, but planned and rode the whole thing by ourselves) fall tour. We hit some really brutal hills in certain spots, which provided as much of a workout as an old body like this can handle: those were some serious intervals. Averaged about 50-55 miles a day. So we got in some good exercise and probably our last long mileage of the year--probably around 250 miles total over 5 days.
Kinda sad to call it quits for the year, but we had more than our share of mechanical issues during this trip. That made us a little less reluctant to end this one.
Thinking now of getting a different bike for touring--a recumbent tandem trike (something along the lines of what's in the photo above). They're pretty pricey, but it seems like having such a machine would resolve several issues we've faced.
Back to strength training tomorrow.
Kinda sad to call it quits for the year, but we had more than our share of mechanical issues during this trip. That made us a little less reluctant to end this one.
Back to strength training tomorrow.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Spinning: what to expect
In this entry I just want to reflect a bit further on the spin class we took, hoping that it would provide us with some variation in our off-season stationary bike riding. It turned out to be a bit of a bust for us, so part of this entry will be a rehearsal of reasons we will not be doing further spin classes. But it will also describe some of the features of the workout and so could be helpful for others wondering whether spin class will be suitable to their needs.
The class we took featured a smallish room really packed with stationary bikes. There must have been 30 or more bikes in this ca. 15' by 20' room. So it was pretty tight quarters.
One of my initial concerns--air circulation--was allayed on entering the room. There were a number of wall-mounted fans around the room and the air was circulating well. In my fairly long experience of stationary bike riding I've come to realize that I need a fan blowing directly on me when doing stationary cycling and, owing to the fact that we arrived early, was able to find a spot that suited my needs pretty well.
In the calls we took, most of the bikes face the front of the room, which is where a stationary bike used by the class instructor, and that faces all the other bikes, stands.
Prior to the start of the class the instructor made sure all the fans were powered on, then she put on some loud, high-tempo music. She had a head set and microphone on, which was also plugged into the sound system. As you might guess, it ended up being quite loud in that small room.
The routine started off with some high-RPM, warm-up pedaling. Then the routine itself started.
The instructor was giving directions throughout about at what RPM rate participants should be pedaling, as well as about adjusting tension on the bike's flywheel. At various stages participants were instructed to stand and pedal at lower RPM rates, while at others they were to sit and pedal at higher RPM rates.
With warm-up and cool-down phases, the whole routine took about 40 minutes. This seemed to be the average length for spinning sessions at this particular health club.
There were several things we did not like about this class. To begin with, the noise level was really too much. Were I to do something like this on a regular basis I would definitely be wearing ear plugs. It was just overboard noise-wise.
As to the exercise itself, I found it unsuitable for my needs. The high-RPM seated pedaling was suitable, but the increase of tension on the flywheel, the need to stand on the bike, and especially the explicit instruction to lower the RPM rate to as little as 30 RPM were all extraneous activities for me.
I mean, they make bikes with multiple speeds specifically to allow riders to maintain a certain RPM rate (90 is usually a good rate to shoot for), regardless of terrain. Why would anyone willing go as low as 30 RPM's? Actually, I think I know why: because many of those who do this type of exercise never get on a real bike and ride for any distance. So they are unfamiliar with optimal cadence under real road conditions. The only time many of these people get on a bike of any kind is at the health club.
As for increasing intensity, as readers of this blog will know, I already utilize a means for increasing intensity: it's called intervals. This involves short bursts of intense exercise interspersed with a longer period of leisurely riding. I do these intervals, in large part, to vary my off-season routine a bit. It offers a nice break from high RPM spinning and allows me to shorten the session slightly.
Friday, March 12, 2010
More walking, shoulder update
Did some more walking today, though probably only about 3 miles or so. So when we got home we did a few minutes of intervals on the stationary bikes as well (half of our usualy 20-minute session). Itching to get out on the road now that the snow is melting apace.I haven't written about my shoulder problems for a few months now. That's actually a good sign: it means it's not been bothering me much. I think it's now about as good as it's gonna get. What that means is that it will probably always bother me to some extent--if it remains like it is now, it will be mostly just a bit stiff.
I think I have an idea about what exercise was causing me difficulty: a sort of lat pull-down movement I was doing back in Soloflex days. Now that most of our upper-body strength training involves calisthenics and use of some dumbbells, the problem has pretty much been resolved.
I do feel a little stiffness in the other shoulder (left) these past few days, though. But this time it's actually behind my shoulder--like maybe in a muscle that goes between the upper part of the tricep over by the shoulder blade. We'll see whether that goes away.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
To interval, or not to interval?
Somehow I only recently began to wonder to myself "is it really necessary to do intervals on every day we do our stationary bike riding?" Simple question and a simple answer occurred to me promptly: "no, it's not necessary."
According to my by-gosh by-golly technical reckoning, we should get benefits from intervals even if we do them on only 2 of our four cycling days. We're not training for the olympics here, after all, folks.
I decided to implement the new policy pronto. So from here on out we'll be doing intervals on 2 to 3 of our 4 weekly stationary-bike days. On the other days we'll do our usual ca. 30 minutes of spinning.
Anxious to see what will be the effects of the intervals--if they're noticable at all--when we'll hit the road a little later this spring. Stay tuned.
According to my by-gosh by-golly technical reckoning, we should get benefits from intervals even if we do them on only 2 of our four cycling days. We're not training for the olympics here, after all, folks.
I decided to implement the new policy pronto. So from here on out we'll be doing intervals on 2 to 3 of our 4 weekly stationary-bike days. On the other days we'll do our usual ca. 30 minutes of spinning.Anxious to see what will be the effects of the intervals--if they're noticable at all--when we'll hit the road a little later this spring. Stay tuned.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Super shakes and the retch factor: a post-preliminary report
I think I've found a pretty good remedy for the retch factor that had been interfering with my strength-training workouts. The super shake lunch/afternoon snack really does seem to make quite a difference with respect to the problem I've been experiencing. So I'll be continuing to have a super shake for lunch/afternoon snack on strength-training days: it really seems to be about the best resolution to the problem that I'm going to find.
Having said that I have to point out that the problem is not completely alleviated by the super shake . . . for want of a better word . . . let's say, diet. When I'm pushing myself very hard I do still feel some back pressure from the stomach--especially when I'm doing some exercise that involves bending over. But the feeling is much less intense, and thus is less likely to interfere with my breathing pattern.
So, once again, if you, like me, have this problem of feeling as though you're going to regurgitate during intense exercise, try switching to a lighter meal like the super shake on your workout days. I make a really large one, of which I consume about three quarters for lunch. (at about 12:30 P.M.) I consume the other one quarter at about 3 P.M. as a snack and by the time our strength-training routine occurs (around 6 P.M.) I'm able to push hard with minimal interference from the retch factor.
The burning sensation I get in my chest when doing intervals, though, continues to plague me. I'll undoubtedly be writing further about that sensation and its connection with the retch factor in future entries. Stay tuned for those.
Having said that I have to point out that the problem is not completely alleviated by the super shake . . . for want of a better word . . . let's say, diet. When I'm pushing myself very hard I do still feel some back pressure from the stomach--especially when I'm doing some exercise that involves bending over. But the feeling is much less intense, and thus is less likely to interfere with my breathing pattern.
So, once again, if you, like me, have this problem of feeling as though you're going to regurgitate during intense exercise, try switching to a lighter meal like the super shake on your workout days. I make a really large one, of which I consume about three quarters for lunch. (at about 12:30 P.M.) I consume the other one quarter at about 3 P.M. as a snack and by the time our strength-training routine occurs (around 6 P.M.) I'm able to push hard with minimal interference from the retch factor.
The burning sensation I get in my chest when doing intervals, though, continues to plague me. I'll undoubtedly be writing further about that sensation and its connection with the retch factor in future entries. Stay tuned for those.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Short note on intervals
Intervals continue to go well. The time seems to go by so much more quickly when you're keeping track of time in 3.5-minute increments. We're averaging about 20-25 minutes per interval session. We do about 6 intervals in total, which amounts to about 3.5 minutes of intense exercise interspersed with about 20 minutes of light-duty aerobics.
I've gone ahead an ordered an interval timer to aid us in executing these. Intervals will for sure remain an integral part of our off-season bicycle training.
I should have another creatine update tomorrow after we've done another strength-training session.
I've gone ahead an ordered an interval timer to aid us in executing these. Intervals will for sure remain an integral part of our off-season bicycle training.
I should have another creatine update tomorrow after we've done another strength-training session.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Intervals continued
Just a short entry today to comment on how I continue to be pleased with the interval training we're doing on the stationary bikes. I really like it--more interesting than simply riding at a steady pace for the same amount of time.
Tonight we managed to get in only about 5 intervals due to interruptions. So probably total time on the bikes was 15 to 20 minutes. It's going to be hard to go back to just spinning for a half hour. But who knows, maybe I'll get sick of intervals at some point?
(This setup is something like what I'm riding except I've replaced my front wheel with an upright 2x4)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Current and past weekly routines
I'm on kind of a table craze lately. My latest idea is to post a table that will offer a concise overview of our past and current fitness endeavors by weekday. As you can see, cycling/stationary bike riding is the mainstay of our fitness program.1
Thus, the following table that lists our fitness pursuits by typical week2 since April of 2008:
To be updated as our routine changes.
ADDENDUM: Thinking today about our regime I realized that, at certain parts of the year, we might be doing as little as about 2 hours per week of exercise. Of course we do try to be active during those periods in other ways, such as by sometimes walking instead of driving and taking the stairs instead of the elevator--so it's not as if we're totally sedentary the other 166 hours of the week. Then again, during a different part of the year (height of the cycling season) we might get in 14 hours or more of fitness activities during a given week. And we also do some walking and stair-climbing during this portion of the year as well.
-----------------------
1 As mentioned in this entry, on-street cycling sessions (done when weather permits) range from .5 hours to 7 hours. Stationary bike sessions run 20-30 minutes--the 30-minute sessions usually being cardio workouts aiming to raise and sustain the cardio-vascular rate for the designated period, while the 20-minute sessions typically involve a recurring pattern of 30-second intense riding intervals followed by 3-minutes of liesurely spinning recovery (as described in this entry).
2 We do occassionally miss a day. In addition we've so far taken periods of anywhere from one week to one month off at certain points in the year due to religious or other obligations or vacations. This sort of intentional break might occur 3 to 4 times in total in a given year.
3 We also try to work in several minutes of abdominal/core exercises on these days.
4 It might be a bit confusing that I call this the "arm toner phase" while listing the Monday and Friday exercise routine as "modified Power 1/2 hr." in the table. To provide a simple explanation, we excerpt from the Power Half Hour program a routine called "Arm Toner," which we do on Mondays and Fridays during this phase.
Thus, the following table that lists our fitness pursuits by typical week2 since April of 2008:
| Sunday3 | Monday | Tuesday3 | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| cycling/stat. bike | cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike | cycling/stat. bike | ||
| cycling/stat. bike | modified Power 1/2 hr. | cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike | modified Power 1/2 hr. | cycling/stat. bike |
| cycling/stat. bike | modified Power90 | cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike | modified Power90 | cycling/stat. bike |
| cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike | alternate modified P90X | cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike |
| cycling/stat. bike | modified Power 1/2 hr. | cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike | modified Power 1/2 hr. | cycling/stat. bike |
| cycling/stat. bike | modified Power90 | cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike | modified Power90 | cycling/stat. bike |
| cycling/stat. bike | modified P90X | cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike | modified P90X | cycling/stat. bike |
| cycling/stat. bike | Soloflex/calisth. | cycling/stat. bike | rest day | cycling/stat. bike | Soloflex/calisth. | cycling/stat. bike |
To be updated as our routine changes.
ADDENDUM: Thinking today about our regime I realized that, at certain parts of the year, we might be doing as little as about 2 hours per week of exercise. Of course we do try to be active during those periods in other ways, such as by sometimes walking instead of driving and taking the stairs instead of the elevator--so it's not as if we're totally sedentary the other 166 hours of the week. Then again, during a different part of the year (height of the cycling season) we might get in 14 hours or more of fitness activities during a given week. And we also do some walking and stair-climbing during this portion of the year as well.
-----------------------
1 As mentioned in this entry, on-street cycling sessions (done when weather permits) range from .5 hours to 7 hours. Stationary bike sessions run 20-30 minutes--the 30-minute sessions usually being cardio workouts aiming to raise and sustain the cardio-vascular rate for the designated period, while the 20-minute sessions typically involve a recurring pattern of 30-second intense riding intervals followed by 3-minutes of liesurely spinning recovery (as described in this entry).
2 We do occassionally miss a day. In addition we've so far taken periods of anywhere from one week to one month off at certain points in the year due to religious or other obligations or vacations. This sort of intentional break might occur 3 to 4 times in total in a given year.
3 We also try to work in several minutes of abdominal/core exercises on these days.
4 It might be a bit confusing that I call this the "arm toner phase" while listing the Monday and Friday exercise routine as "modified Power 1/2 hr." in the table. To provide a simple explanation, we excerpt from the Power Half Hour program a routine called "Arm Toner," which we do on Mondays and Fridays during this phase.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Creatine, intervals, breathing exercises
Here's a fitness update so I can keep up the posting momentum on this blog. I decided I really had nothing to lose by trying out creatine, so I started on that this past week--fuller report below on the effects so far. As a result of trying out creatine, I've gotten more serious and regular about my breathing exercises and once again stopped taking the blood pressure meds: more on that below as well. And finally, we've now started working interval training into our stationary bike sessions--see below for some greater detail on that also.
First thing to report on is creatine. I decided to just buy a small quantity and try it out for awhile. As you will be aware if you read my previous post, I'm hoping as much for a mental benefit from this as I for physical benefits.
Here's how it's going so far. I decided after doing some reading on the topic that, initially, I should take a larger dose of the creatine. So, for the first week--which will end this coming Thursday--I'm taking ca. 15 grams a day.* After that I'll cut down to the more normal daily dosage of about 5 grams daily.
We've only done one strength-training workout since I started this and I would say that so far I've noticed zero effect from the creatine so far as endurance or recovery are concerned. It's too early to say definitively whether it will have much effect in those areas but I can at least say that the initial impression I have is that it's unlikely to have any dramatic effect. That said, I will revisit this topic later. After a longer trial period I should be able to say something more conclusive.
Though I can't say anything especially positive (or negative, for that matter) about creatine on the physical front, I can say that I've felt positive effects mentally. I actually do feel more sharp and alert when I take it. As a result, I intend to extend the trial period I'm now undergoing and will probably be on creatine for at least the next three months or so. Again, I will post more information about its effects in the mental realm as I progress through this trial.
Relatedly, since, as I posted earlier, my blood pressure medicine (hydrochlorothiazide or HZ) would conflict with the creatine, I've stopped taking the HZ again (last dose taken on 1/6). This, in turn, has led me to be more conscientious about doing my breathing exercises. And I have to say that, most of these days I've not felt any high blood pressure indications--that is until today. I'm hoping I can attribute today's symptoms to the fact that, owing to some obligations that took up much of the day yesterday, I did not do my breathing exercises yesterday. I continue to hope that being very regular about these exercises is going to allow me to stay off the HZ and on the creatine.
On the breathing exercise front I do continue to feel immediate benefit from these. Just a little while ago I thought I felt a blood-pressure-related-headache coming on, but now that I've done my second set of breathing exercises for the day, the nascent headache seems to have dissipated. I'll certainly be posting more in the future about this.
For the record, I'm trying to do these breathing exercises twice a day--in the morning and right before bed--for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time. My breath-per-minute (BrPM) count continues to be lower than what's recommended--at about 4 BrPM--but I'm not doing any special straining to attain that, so I have to assume what I'm doing is safe.** My working hypothesis is that the recommended BrPM is higher than mine because most people with blood pressure problems are in much worse physical condition than me.
And, finally, we've started our interval training on the stationary bikes. I have to say that I really like this form of off-season training--it really offers a great way to mix things up in our fitness regimen. And, if certain studies are to be believed, doing intervals will allow us to keep in a form at least as good as what we'd get from a pure cardio stationary-bike routine while putting in less time.
I've modified things a bit from the regime the researchers used in the article I posted about (Fitness 'takes 6 minutes a week') some time ago and that touted the benefits of this type of training. The participants in that study used a pattern consisting of a 30-second burst followed by 4 minutes of leisurely riding over a 15 minute period. But I've found that I feel fully recovered after only about 2 minutes of leisurely riding following the 30-minute burst. So I've cut down the leisurely riding period to 3 minutes. I also feel that 15 minutes total time on the stationary bike is just too short so I'll increase it a bit. I'll be putting in between 20 and 30 minutes when doing this interval training over the remainder of the cycling off-season.
So the current routine is 4 times per week (Sat., Sun., Tues., Thurs.) stationary bike interval training and twice a week (Mon., Fri.) strength training. We now do our modified Power 90 routines for strength training, but we will soon move to a different routine for our twice-weekly strength-training sessions--at least up until cycling season begins in earnest.
Thanks for reading.
---------------------
* Ok, I know it's recommended to take 20 grams a day during this initial "loading" phase. But I'm trying to make the small quantity of creatine I bought for an initial test last until the next credit card billing cycle when I can buy some more. So I've made some dosage adjustments.
** I've read information indicating that the ideal BrPM is 5 to 6. Below 4.5 is said to be too low.
First thing to report on is creatine. I decided to just buy a small quantity and try it out for awhile. As you will be aware if you read my previous post, I'm hoping as much for a mental benefit from this as I for physical benefits.
Here's how it's going so far. I decided after doing some reading on the topic that, initially, I should take a larger dose of the creatine. So, for the first week--which will end this coming Thursday--I'm taking ca. 15 grams a day.* After that I'll cut down to the more normal daily dosage of about 5 grams daily.
We've only done one strength-training workout since I started this and I would say that so far I've noticed zero effect from the creatine so far as endurance or recovery are concerned. It's too early to say definitively whether it will have much effect in those areas but I can at least say that the initial impression I have is that it's unlikely to have any dramatic effect. That said, I will revisit this topic later. After a longer trial period I should be able to say something more conclusive.
Though I can't say anything especially positive (or negative, for that matter) about creatine on the physical front, I can say that I've felt positive effects mentally. I actually do feel more sharp and alert when I take it. As a result, I intend to extend the trial period I'm now undergoing and will probably be on creatine for at least the next three months or so. Again, I will post more information about its effects in the mental realm as I progress through this trial.
Relatedly, since, as I posted earlier, my blood pressure medicine (hydrochlorothiazide or HZ) would conflict with the creatine, I've stopped taking the HZ again (last dose taken on 1/6). This, in turn, has led me to be more conscientious about doing my breathing exercises. And I have to say that, most of these days I've not felt any high blood pressure indications--that is until today. I'm hoping I can attribute today's symptoms to the fact that, owing to some obligations that took up much of the day yesterday, I did not do my breathing exercises yesterday. I continue to hope that being very regular about these exercises is going to allow me to stay off the HZ and on the creatine.
On the breathing exercise front I do continue to feel immediate benefit from these. Just a little while ago I thought I felt a blood-pressure-related-headache coming on, but now that I've done my second set of breathing exercises for the day, the nascent headache seems to have dissipated. I'll certainly be posting more in the future about this.
For the record, I'm trying to do these breathing exercises twice a day--in the morning and right before bed--for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time. My breath-per-minute (BrPM) count continues to be lower than what's recommended--at about 4 BrPM--but I'm not doing any special straining to attain that, so I have to assume what I'm doing is safe.** My working hypothesis is that the recommended BrPM is higher than mine because most people with blood pressure problems are in much worse physical condition than me.
And, finally, we've started our interval training on the stationary bikes. I have to say that I really like this form of off-season training--it really offers a great way to mix things up in our fitness regimen. And, if certain studies are to be believed, doing intervals will allow us to keep in a form at least as good as what we'd get from a pure cardio stationary-bike routine while putting in less time.
I've modified things a bit from the regime the researchers used in the article I posted about (Fitness 'takes 6 minutes a week') some time ago and that touted the benefits of this type of training. The participants in that study used a pattern consisting of a 30-second burst followed by 4 minutes of leisurely riding over a 15 minute period. But I've found that I feel fully recovered after only about 2 minutes of leisurely riding following the 30-minute burst. So I've cut down the leisurely riding period to 3 minutes. I also feel that 15 minutes total time on the stationary bike is just too short so I'll increase it a bit. I'll be putting in between 20 and 30 minutes when doing this interval training over the remainder of the cycling off-season.
So the current routine is 4 times per week (Sat., Sun., Tues., Thurs.) stationary bike interval training and twice a week (Mon., Fri.) strength training. We now do our modified Power 90 routines for strength training, but we will soon move to a different routine for our twice-weekly strength-training sessions--at least up until cycling season begins in earnest.
Thanks for reading.
---------------------
* Ok, I know it's recommended to take 20 grams a day during this initial "loading" phase. But I'm trying to make the small quantity of creatine I bought for an initial test last until the next credit card billing cycle when I can buy some more. So I've made some dosage adjustments.
** I've read information indicating that the ideal BrPM is 5 to 6. Below 4.5 is said to be too low.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Inspiration for a new winter cycling regimen
I'm usually on the look-out for ways to vary our fitness routine. Why? So that keeping fit won't become something boring, some kind of trudgery. The latest on that front is an article I actually read some time ago (at least 6 months back I'd say).
The original article I read had kind of a gaudy title--something like "stay fit exercising six minutes a week." Despite the snake-oil-salesman sound of it the article was based on a medical study that investigated the effects of interval training. Even more to the point, the subjects in the study rode exercise bikes. So it seemed to offer some promise with respect to my idea of regularly "changing things up" in our routine and a way to possibly cut back healthfully on our regimen for part of the year.
Anyway, without further ado, here's an article similar to the one I read:
Looks very interesting to me, and very much along the lines of the experiment I wanted to try during cycling off-season anyway. To refresh our memories a bit on that, I wondered, since riding stationary bikes one half hour four days a week seemed to keep us in pretty good cycling form over the winter months, what would be the effect of riding for only fifteen minutes four days a week during part of the cycling off-season?
Well, this article has given me an idea about how to implement that. I think we'll try riding fifteen minutes per session during a certain part of this winter--say, from December through March. But instead of the usual high rpm, steady heart-rate pace we've been keeping on our half hour rides, we'll do intervals. At the moment I'm envisioning thirty-second intervals where we go all out followed by four minutes or so of liesurely riding followed by another thirty-second burst, etc, until the 15 minute period is up.
At this point, I'm still planning exactly how we'll implement this strategy. But it should be something very close to what I've just described. I'm anxious to try it out and see what the effects will be. And you can rest assured that once I determine the particulars I'll report them in this blog--as well as the results at the end of our trial period for this method.
On other related fronts, my shoulder--even after our third strength-training session following our vacation--continues to feel ok. I'm hoping the break from exercise allowed it to fully heal. I'll keep posting here on that topic as well.
The original article I read had kind of a gaudy title--something like "stay fit exercising six minutes a week." Despite the snake-oil-salesman sound of it the article was based on a medical study that investigated the effects of interval training. Even more to the point, the subjects in the study rode exercise bikes. So it seemed to offer some promise with respect to my idea of regularly "changing things up" in our routine and a way to possibly cut back healthfully on our regimen for part of the year.
Anyway, without further ado, here's an article similar to the one I read:
Fitness 'takes 6 minutes a week'
Monday, June 6, 2005
Short sprints are more beneficial than long runs, the study says.
LONDON, England -- Six minutes of pure, hard exercise a week could be just as effective as an hour of daily moderate activity, according to a new study.
"Short bouts of very intense exercise improved muscle health and performance comparable to several weeks of traditional endurance training," said Martin Gibala, an associate professor at Canada's McMaster University.
The research, published in the June edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, says that repeatedly doing very intense exercise such as sprinting resulted in unique changes in skeletal muscle and endurance capacity, similar to training that requires hours of exercise each week.
Sixteen subjects were used in the test: Eight who performed two weeks of sprinting at intervals, and eight who did no exercise training.
The program had in it four and seven 30-second bursts of "all out" cycling followed by four minutes of recovery time, three times a week for two weeks.
Researchers found that endurance capacity in the sprint group increased on average from 26 minutes to 51 minutes, whereas the control group showed no change.
The muscles of the trained group also showed a significant increase in a chemical known as citrate synthase, an enzyme that is indicative of the tissue's power to use oxygen.
"Sprint training may offer an option for individuals who cite lack of time as a major impediment to fitness and conditioning," said Gibala.
"This type of training is very demanding and requires a high level of motivation, however less frequent, higher intensity exercise can indeed lead to improvements in health and fitness."
Extracted from McMaster university journal of Applied physiology, discovered and published by Martin Gibala.
Looks very interesting to me, and very much along the lines of the experiment I wanted to try during cycling off-season anyway. To refresh our memories a bit on that, I wondered, since riding stationary bikes one half hour four days a week seemed to keep us in pretty good cycling form over the winter months, what would be the effect of riding for only fifteen minutes four days a week during part of the cycling off-season?
Well, this article has given me an idea about how to implement that. I think we'll try riding fifteen minutes per session during a certain part of this winter--say, from December through March. But instead of the usual high rpm, steady heart-rate pace we've been keeping on our half hour rides, we'll do intervals. At the moment I'm envisioning thirty-second intervals where we go all out followed by four minutes or so of liesurely riding followed by another thirty-second burst, etc, until the 15 minute period is up.
At this point, I'm still planning exactly how we'll implement this strategy. But it should be something very close to what I've just described. I'm anxious to try it out and see what the effects will be. And you can rest assured that once I determine the particulars I'll report them in this blog--as well as the results at the end of our trial period for this method.
On other related fronts, my shoulder--even after our third strength-training session following our vacation--continues to feel ok. I'm hoping the break from exercise allowed it to fully heal. I'll keep posting here on that topic as well.
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