I have recently been incorporating ‘power drills’ into my spin workouts.  Power drills are some of my favorite workouts to improve power at lactate threshold (the point at which lactate begins to accumulate in the bloodstream).  They are the building blocks to improve power and speed during a spinning workout.

Spinning is an excellent cardiovascular cycling workout.  Routines range from strength and endurance training to calorie burners.  Many people are not fond of spinning at first because it can be ridiculously challenging on the legs. Since it’s primarily an anaerobic exercise, it pulls energy from your reserves and builds up your muscular endurance over an extended period of time.

So how do you add power drills to your spin routine? After establishing a ‘comfortably hard’ heart rate zone we move into a challenging set of intervals working a high aerobic heart rate for at at least 20 minutes.  We build into some steady time trial efforts at a higher intensity and hold each of these efforts for a 2-3 minute period of time.  Then come the power drills where we surge at a 90%, breathless effort for 30 second to 1 minute repeat intervals with a 15-30 second active recovery in between.

We typically repeat the time trial efforts and power drills to complete a full 60 minutes of high aerobic and lactate threshold intervals.  This is a great way to get those endorphins going and take high performance training to the next level.  It’s also great for all you runners who need cross training but don’t want additional impact on your legs.  Plus it’s one of the best indoor workouts for burning max calories.

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This is the time of year when we head back to the gym with resolutions still freshly in mind.  More often than not, the first thing we do when we get there is sign up for a fitness class.  While this is a great idea for a number of reasons, you are still faced with the decision of which class is the best for you.  Here are three quick tips for narrowing down your choices.

1. Mix it up: Look for classes that focus on interval training and that incorporate both cardio and resistance training. Don’t just burn energy (calories). Make sure you’re producing something with that energy.
2. Ask questions: Ask your instructor to tell you exactly how his or her workouts will build aerobic conditioning, endurance and strength. Ask how often you should take the class and when you should expect to start seeing results. Make sure the answers are in line with your fitness goals.
3. Look for the results: When you are in a good class, you gain real fitness that translates into real health benefits more directly than simply losing weight and body fat. If you’re not getting the results you want, look for a new class.

Follow these pointers and you’ll save yourself a lot of time and effort experimenting with fitness classes that don’t help you achieve your fitness goals.

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Our lives are so busy, the last thing we want to do is spend countless hours on a treadmill, bike or eliptical, not to mention the 30 minutes it takes to drive to the gym and the inevitable wait time when you find out your favorite cardio machine is being used. The chunk of your day that is eaten up by the gym can seem massive and even deter you from actually going at all. Well, I may have a solution that can help you out.  While I can’t shorten your drive to the gym or kick that super fit triathlete off of your favorite machine, I can recommend a way to shorten the amount of time you actually have to spend doing cardio without sacrificing any of the benefits of a longer workout.  The answer is interval training.

Punching in the same old numbers into the machine, can get boring for both the brain and the body. The result is a longer workout with fewer results. If you are looking to cut down on pounds and time in the gym, your best bet is to vary your speed, going back and forth between an uncomfortable rate and a pace at which you can recover. On a treadmill, sprint for 30 seconds and then jog for a minute. On a stationary bike, do a high level of resistance for 1-2 minutes and then do 2-4 minutes at a lower level. These drastic fluctuations allow your heart rate to spike and recover, aiding in calorie burn and performance training. Best of all, you can achieve better results than your regular routine in just half the time.  So next time you hit the gym, mix it up with some interval training.  You ma just find that it gives you a bit more room in your pants and your schedule.

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