Climbing the hill into Week 4 of our September Sweat Sessions challenge! Way to go!!! This workout is all about CONTRAST. You will be climbing hills, and you will be taking to the flats for a couple sprint sets mixed with active recovery. So saddle up, and ride this workout with a smile!

This workout is great for indoor cycling, stationary bike, recumbent, or elliptical machine. You can easily use this as an interval ride outdoors if you already have a perfect hill to hit for 5 minutes!

Here’s to Monday! Energy! Fitness! GO! (Workout below.)

XX, Megan

For this ride you really only have to choose two levels of resistance– the resistance level where you want your 5 minute hill to begin, and the resistance level where you will be sprinting. Ideally you will choose a “gear” somewhere in the middle for your hill so that you will be on a heavy resistance by the time you hit the top of that hill. You will increase the resistance with a right turn on your bike every minute.

After your hill, you will take the majority of your resistance off for a flat. However, make sure you leave some resistance on so that you are not spinning out uncontrollably, especially on the sprint sets! You’ll repeat these two 5 minute intervals 3 times consecutively. Have a great, workout!!!

Workout 4

Warm up– 3 minute stretch on the bike

3 minute cruise easily

4 minutes of pick-ups. 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off.

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5 minute hill adding resistance every minute.

Now release most of your gear to maintain a flat as you recover and sprint.

1 minute active recovery

1 minute sprint

1 minute active recovery

1 minute sprint

1 minute active recovery

Do these two 5 minute sets 3 times!

*If you want to challenge yourself, just add additional sprints to your set on the flat. You could do 1 minute of spiriting on and then a 1 minute recovery alternating for six minutes. That will give you another 1 minute sprint to your flats, before you head up another 5 minute hill!

I didn’t really think you wanted to see another shot of the inside of a cycling classroom, amiright?!? So here’s some inspiration from the ACTUAL road. The climb. The grind. The mind. From a guy that cut off the top of his shoes so that he could finish the race!!!

AWESOME.

Now we aren’t all at that level. That is all well and fine. We can’t all be Olympic athletes. But we can consistently work toward our PERSONAL body best. YOUR best is simply that– YOURS. You don’t have to walk someone else’s walk. You don’t have to eat someone else’s dinner. You don’t have to COMPETE or COMPARE yourself to anyone else.

You simply need to find a way to move your body, engage your body, and consume energy healthily!

I want to make sure that you are clear that the reason I’ve done the September Sweat Sessions, the reason I rolled out Mondays in May Get Moving has very little to do with pant size. It has EVERYTHING to do with health, happiness, longevity, and the enjoyment of the life you’ve created for yourself. (And it definitely had to do with the fact that the ice cream and I had a really great love affair this summer!)

Being fit. Being active is a LIFESTYLE. And it really is a style that everyone should wear.

So coming to the close of WEEK 3 of our September Sweat Sessions give yourself a pat on the back. If you’ve followed along since Monday, August 31st, we’ll be able to eek out 5 weeks of workouts in September. That’s 15 workouts already! That is a GREAT start or a great reset no matter where you are in your exercise spectrum.

I don’t know about you, but I already notice a difference in my physique. These changes are minute, small, maybe unnoticeable to others. But, again, it isn’t others who I am out to work for– this is for ME! This is so that I can play tag, and practice soccer, and climb trees, and jump between rocks, hike, bike, swim, climb, paddle, and be still. I want to breath, and laugh, and live all while feeling healthy, fit, and free to do the things life requires of my BODY.

Now is the time to check in with yourself. What portion of your goals did you accomplish this week? For me, simply maintaining my goal to workout everyday was enough. I have definitely done a better job of choosing healthy eating options over processed, sugar loaded, food-to-go. But I have definitely enjoyed a few sweets here and there (in case you didn’t see the Instagram of my 2 pound bag of Jelly Belly’s, NO I did not eat them all. YES, I could eat them all, but I let moderation reign me in.)

What are some tweaks you will make to your BODY MOVIN’ next week? Will you add in some resistance training? Will you sub a kick-boxing class for one of your cardio days? Will you do a circuit on the treadmill, elliptical, and stationary bike to mix it up? I can’t wait to hear how it’s going!

I hope you move into the weekend with plans to KEEP MOVING! Where will your motion take you this weekend? To the pool, lake, or river? To that mountain meadow you’ve been meaning to visit? To that 5K you’ve been training for? WAY TO GO!

Until Monday, keep that body movin’!!!

XX, Megan

This week’s workout is designed to get you up and out of your seat! That’s right, we’re going to be working on some cycling stands. One important note about a standing climb is that you need to make sure that you have enough resistance on your fly wheel to support your weight as well as your climb. In other words, you should be able to stand fully on your bike without the aid of your handlebars (in theory, for just a few seconds, this isn’t an acrobatic challenge) without feeling your knees collapse.

If you continue to need to support yourself of your handlebars, or your legs are wobbling under you it probably means that you need MORE resistance.

Another note is that this ride is meant to be steady. Maybe not SLOW, but it is not designed to test your speed. If you find that sweet spot at a resistance level of 7 (meaning that you are on a mid-heavy resistance on your bike), you should need to work hard through all of these minutes. Your Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) should match your resistance level on your bike– 7 (see the sliding scale below).

Push yourself to the top of each climb. Your quads and hamstrings should burn. You might sweat. You might be looking forward to that flush (where you pull all of the resistance off of your fly wheel for 1 minute). All of that is AWESOME! Don’t be afraid to push yourself. Don’t be afraid to work hard.

Workout 3

Warm-up:

3 minute seated stretch

4 minutes of 30 second pick-ups. 30 seconds pick up your cadence. 30 seconds back to rest.

4 minute hill climb, adding gear every 30-45 seconds. Find a 6 or a 7 on if you are using resistance levels from 1-10 on your bike for your ride.

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4 minute standing climb, 4 minute seated climb

1 minute flush

3 minute standing climb, 3 minute seated climb

1 minute flush

2 minute standing climb, 2 minute seated climb

1 minute flush

1 minute stand, 1 minute seated, 1 minute stand, 1 minute seated for 4 minute total. No flush in between.

1 minute flush

Repeat in reverse order, adding a minute to each stand and sit…

2 minute stand, 2 minute seated, 1 minute flush

3 minute stand, 3 minute seated, 1 minute flush

4 minute stand, 4 minute seated, 1 minute flush

Cool down. Spin for 2 minutes. Stretch all the way down.

HOME! You’re DONE!!!! You may be tired, but I hope you’re feeling STRONG! And I hope you have a body movin’ MONDAY!

XX. Megan