Each week, we share a workout from a member of the Wellesley community. This week, novice crew coach Austin Work shared a challenging workout that can be applied to any method of cardio.
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Work writes: A favorite of mine is a 30 minute interval workout. Interval training is one of the best ways to build muscle and increase cardiovascular fitness at the same time, and it can be done in as little time as 30 minutes!
Workout
Four minutes off (medium intensity), one minute on (maximum intensity) for 30 minutes. All you really need is a watch. You can run it, swim it, bike it, spin it, walk it, ski it, etc.
Step 1: Give yourself about three minutes to find out what your lowest intensity is and what your maximum intensity is. Do this by starting your exercise at a pace that you think is manageable for about an hour. Then shift the intensity up to something you think you can only maintain for one minute.
Step 2: Now that you have those two levels of effort in mind, set your clock for 30 minutes, and start the workout by doing four minutes at 50 percent intensity, and then one minute at 100 percent intensity. Repeat until your time is up.
Step 3: Cool down! Spend a few minutes after the final minute actively cooling down. Congratulations! You’re finished.
Tip: Try not to let your effort level dip down below 50 percent during the four-minute “off” periods. It may be hard to maintain at first, but as those four minutes tick down it will get easier.
Example: I get on the treadmill and start it up to a slow jog, something I can maintain for about an hour. Then, I speed it up until I can barely make it through a minute (taking note of each pace). My jogging pace is a 10 minute mile. My fastest pace is a 7 minute mile. Then I take the average: 8:30. Now I know that my “four minutes off” pace is an 8:30 mile, and my “one minute on” pace is a seven minute mile.
If you do this for thirty minutes, you’ll be good for a couple of days. It’s a tough one, but it will make you feel like a superhero at the end. Like I tell my rowers: of course we want to have fun, but it’s way easier to have fun with a gold medal around your neck.
