Bike Tempo Workout

thanks for your patience

http://www.mediaconverter.org/ the conversion can be done right on this website. mines being converted as we speak! ill post again if something glitches, but a friend told me itll work

gahhh, the file was too large for the online converter (its 55min long the bike workout). i think ill ask a friend to use a pc and convert it for me…

ok, i got it to work, i just had to download an add on to my quicktime player and now it can play wmv’s. a friend reccommended flip4mac, but im not sure of its legality and such

:cool:

:cool: Thanks!

hey angela, i noticed that even though in the video u talk about ur strength levels being kind of down, the push ups and arm pulls looked very easy for u. is that the case? should those exercises not be pushed? as a guy i assume id do normal push ups, but on the arm pulls should i be using a weight that feels heavy, or go very light on it?

same with the medball sit ups stuff, should i be going as heavy on those, or light? i know its always individual, but is the goal just to keep moving, or to actually increase strength wiht these exercises being included?

As long as done appropriately,everything helps everything.

As long as done appropriately,everything helps everything,the goal being increasing general strength,as by CFTS.

Did it today, not the entire thing though (missed about 8min worth) because my fitness is terrible and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t sore tomorrow. I have to say I haven’t had a workout like this in awhile. One complaint I have with my bike is the straps. For the working sets I wsa doing a 32-33mph consistency and the left strap broke in 3 spots (there are 6 total, and 3 left) because I was going too fast. Is there a way around this?

you are riding like a bike rider not a track athlete, power down not up, pedals bend the straps don’t break. :slight_smile:

I recommend using clip-less pedals not straps.

What would the better stationary bikes be to use? I am planning on buying a used stationary bike for both my daughter and myself.
Probably look for something on Craigslist.
We have no indoor running facility here in the Winter months, and we do get quite a bit of snow.

Thanks…

Rick

Again, I am looking to purchase a used stationary bike and would like to get the most from it. What are the things I should be looking for, or can I get some suggestions as to brand/model?

Thanks…

Rick

I hardly know anything about exercise bikes but in your situation I’d look at spin bikes. They’re simple and don’t have an electric motor so no worries about issues with that. They’re also much cheaper than powered exercise bikes, you can get a good new spin bike for $300. The drawback is they won’t freewheel or have computerized programs but for basic indoor workouts should more than suffice.

Stikki, thank you, I appreciate your response.

completed the bike workout as was shown on the video & delighted to report that today my muscle tone and mobility are a lot better than before I did it. I had some muscle stiffness in my hamstrings from a previous workout and also a small bit of muscle spasm in my lower back. The original plan was to do some tempo outside but as the weather was getting towards freezing conditions & with my back bothering me, I didn’t think I would be able to run enough vol to work up a sweat to flush out my system, so to the bike workout.

Mistakes I have made in the past, is that I have remained on the bike for long periods usually at a high resistance level which made my quads feel like rocks when I got off the bike. It just felt too easy on a low resistance and felt like I wasn’t getting a workout. Of course this resulted in muscle stiffness the following day, which is got good prep for speed work!

Keeping the resistance low, but at high turnover 100rpm, I started the warm up, keeping tracksuit top and bottoms on to aid faster increase in body temperature. By the end of the warm up which consisted of a few min on the bike, abb work,leg swings & stretches, my body temperature was up and feeling a bit looser but not as warmed up as I would for tempo outside as I’d usually do more jogging, leg swings etc. But I still felt ready to start the workout.

The first set of 10x45sec with exercises in btw went smoothly, I had no bench access so did pull ups instead of row which was prob a lot harder!!. By the end of the set I had worked up a good sweat and my back wasnt as stiff. The 2 min recovery btw sets went alot quicker than expected which means I was feeling it!
The second set was harder. I found myself drinking water after each exercise before getting on the bike, also my rpm was slower than the first set especially after the 5 rep. After completion of the set it felt as if I had run a solid 1500m vol tempo session. I was breathing and sweating, walked around for a 2min then stretched. Today I have no muscle sorness & my back is a lot better. A quick 1 hour workout.

Questions:
Ange, can u increase the number of sets or the time on the bike to make it a tougher workout, say for athletes used to doing 3000m vol tempo.
Do u ever use different exercises?
U mentioned a treadmill workout at the end, can u give us an idea of what this would look like.

Making workouts tougher is never a problem. I find most of the time the higher the motivation of an athlete the greater the need for a plan, a coach , excellent judgement ( does not come easily and it still a tough call) or all of the above.
Why increase number of sets? Why increase the amount of time on the bike? What are your needs for the training? Typically all the men I have worked with go right to high resistence which is exactly what you did. I find that funny. Woman often comment… " what is this doing" ? ( usually I say shut up and do the work or something like that") and athletes rarely question it and just do it.
You are partially answered your own questions by how you felt. Here is the thing. Once you understand what proper training is and how it feels it’s an excellent guide isnt it? Feeling great is not enough data to support elite training methods but it does validate day to day goals and help prevent injury.
We have used increased sets but mostly this model mocks small circuits , big circuit and 2 ( 10x 100meter) tempo. Some people may have to deal with issues around the shortening of their psoas but I have not come across this myself or with others. ( might be a problem for those with less back ground in general training)
Regarding the exercises? The role of the bike to replace the running is what you are after if what you want is a tempo for speed and or sprinting. If it’s fitness your goal you have to worry less about what exercises and refer to how we rank exercises in terms of % of muscles used. ( squats, lunges or these type of exercises).
A general rule about tempo is on or off the bike or grass… you want to finish as you started. If the demand is too high to begin with you won’t be able to finish the same way.
Be conservative and progressive and have a plan.

I like using the bike for tempo work and we have an Schwinn Airdyne at our facility and allows the incorporation of arm movement into the bike workout. I have also personally found that moderate load single arm KB snatch has been a nice alternative especially if my goal of the session is to work the aerobic system. As an example
the other day I did 30 seconds run on treadmill, 30 seconds rest to move to next station, 30 sec KB snatch, 30 sec rest, 30 sec airdyne, 30 sec rest, 30 sec KB snatch, 30 sec rest and repeat x 10

Are you saying 2x10 45on/15off bike tempo = 2x10x100 on grass??