Bike Pyramids

Now that I've really begun ramping up my bike training, I've had to get creative with the limitations on both my time availability and training environment.  One of my favourite cycling workouts when either stuck inside, its too late to safely ride outside and/or hard pressed for time between client appointments is a bike pyramid workout.

A bike pyramid is essentially interval training on the bike, where you alternate between fast and slow cadences allowing you to push your heart rate up into an effective training zone in an efficient amount of time.  A great cardiovascular workout can be done in as little as 30min - no time, no problem.  This workout can be done on your triathlon bike while on the trainer, or even on a spin bike at the gym.

This diagram illustrates the idea of a beginners bike pyramid:

Start climbing up the pyramid with 15sec sprinting, then recover for 15sec; sprint for 30sec, then recover for 30sec, sprint for 45sec, then recover for 45sec, sprint for 60sec (you're now at the top of the pyramid!), then recover for 60sec, (now come down the pyramid), sprint for 45sec, then recover for 45sec; sprint for 30sec, then recover for 30sec; sprint for 15sec, then recover for 15sec.  And there you go - that was an 8min pyramid workout. You may want to add in a 3.5min warm up and 3.5min cool down for this workout to make it a 15min bike session total.

Here is my favourite 30min bike pyramid workout when a half hour is all I have:

5min warm-up
30sec fast/30sec slow
1min fast/1min slow  
2min fast/2min slow
3min fast/3min slow
2min fast/2min slow
1min fast/1min slow
30sec fast/30sec slow
5min cool-down

For the fast/sprint portion I like to keep the cadence >100rpm, and for the slow/recovery I like to keep the cadence <85rpm.

Keep an eye on your heart rate and you'll be surprised to see just how effective these short sprints on the bike are.  Here's to making your workouts count!

Northern Shine Magazine - My Fitness Feature

Goodness, in all the rush around the Boston Marathon trip, and thinking about my plans for Ironman Mont Tremblant, I almost forgot to post about my most recent fitness modelling publication.

Here it is! Yours truly was featured in Northern Shine magazine with a two page spread of my side plank (that's me on pages 14-15).  Big thanks going out to my favourite photographer, Wilbur Wong, who always captures my best angles.
It sure feels nice when all that time spent working on my core lands me in the spotlight again!  Hard work pays off.

Do you want awesome abdominals and a strong core? With hard work, dedication and a kick-ass trainer anything is possible.  Let me take you there.

Post Boston - What's next for Coach Kelly?

Now that the Boston Marathon is behind me, I've been busy thinking about my next fitness goal. As most of you who know me, either personally or professionally, I am never happy to be sitting around on the fitness plateau, twiddling my thumbs.  I always like to lead by example, and as a fitness professional I need to not only talk the talk, but walk the walk, or run the run in this case!  I want to be a positive role model for all my clients, as every trainer and coach should.

So what's next for me?  I have even bigger plans ahead for this summer.  Training has already begun for my next challenge - Mont Tremblant Ironman Triathlon!  That's right on Aug 20, I'm travelling to beautiful Mont Tremblant, Quebec, and I am going to swim 3.8km, cycle 180km and run 42.2km on Aug 20.  I've done several triathlons in the past, including long course and half-iron courses, but never a full iron, yet.  I am super excited about this ultimate test of human endurance.

As of right now, I feel very confident in my running abilities after performing well at the prestigious Boston Marathon just 3 weeks ago.  I've also been working on my swimming all winter, including attending swim clinics to improve my stroke technique.  What I have to focus on the most over the next 3 months is my cycling.  To do this I've been spending a lot of time lately with Ruby (my trusty road bike) on the bike trainer, I've signed up once again for the Ride for Heart event this June, and I'll be doing the Welland long course triathlon next month as a tune up event for my iron later this summer.   I will also be doing many hill repeats this summer, as Mont Tremblant is famous for its hills.

Dates to save on the calendar:
June 4: Ride for Heart (100km cycle event)
June 25: Welland Long Course Triathlon (2km swim, 56km cycle, 15km run)
Aug 20: Ironman Mont Tremblant (3.8km swim, 180km cycle, 42.2km run)

So those are my fitness plans for the summer. Now I'd love to hear yours!  I know several of my clients are planning 5km, 10km and half-marathon runs this summer, as well as the CN Tower climb this autumn. Feel free to list your goals in the comments section, or even better send me an email and we can chat about how to make your goals into reality with a solid training plan!