Sample Class: Riding the Wind

This fartlek training approach increases anaerobic threshold and VO2 one interval at a time.

Have you been looking for a way to challenge and prepare your indoor cycling class for a lively outdoor group-ride pace? “Riding the Wind” is perfect. This class is designed to increase the total capacity or gear you’re able to maintain without becoming overly anaerobic. It’s based on the fundamentals of the fartlek (a Swedish term meaning “speed play”) interval training theory, in which the work periods are harder than the recovery periods. However, the recovery intervals are not easy. This class will exercise a ratio of 1-minute work intervals followed by 1- or 2-minute active aerobic rest intervals. The key is to recover at an intensity that is challenging and mildly uncomfortable. The recovery period is likely to get tougher for each interval, due to cardiorespiratory fatigue and lactic acid buildup.

Format: intensive interval/fartlek indoor cycling training

Time: approximately 60 minutes

Equipment Needed: stopwatch, music that reflects suggested intervals and heart rate monitors (optional)

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Becky Langton, MA

IDEA Author/Presenter

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IDEA Fitness Journal, Volume 3, Number 5

May 2006

© 2006 by IDEA Health & Fitness Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.

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