Train your body to burn more fat.
By Hunter Allen- Peaks Coaching Group Founder and world renowned expert in training with a power meter.
Weight loss is somewhat of a math problem. 3500calories equals 1 lb. of fat. Divide 3500 by seven days and that’s 500 calories a day you need to reduce in order to lose a lb. a week. Or you could burn 500 more calories a day and maintain your guiltless glutton at each meal. Or maybe you could do a bit of both? Reduce your calories by 250calories a day and increase your burn by 250 calories by increasing your exercise volume, intensity or both. Follow the plan below in increase your metabolism in just two short weeks. A final note: whatever your current exercise level is now, in order to increase your metabolism, you’ll have to increase that by riding more intensely or longer. With that in mind, I have devised “additions” to your current workouts to help you. Add them in each day for improved fitness and calorie burn.
Day 1: Lengthen your ride by 30 minutes and add in (3) intervals, each last 10 minutes each and close to your threshold power or heart rate. Rest for 5 minutes between each, pedaling lightly. (Threshold power or heart rate is the average power or heart rate you can maintain in a 20 minute test)
Day 2: Add in (5) intervals for 3 minutes each, and do these as hard as you can maintain a steady pace. Don’t go so hard that your pace slows after a minute, but go as hard as you can to maintain the highest possible power or heart rate for the entire 3 minutes. Rest only 3minutes between each, pedaling lightly.
Day 3: Lengthen your ride by 45 minutes and add in a short sprint (8-10 seconds) every 2 minutes in these 45 minutes. Make them only about 80% of your normal sprint. The rest of the time, just ride at a moderately fast pace or what is called tempo pace.
Day 4: Add in (10) short one minute intervals today. Do these really aggressively and attack them so that you’ll be fading in the final 15 seconds, but push to the end. Rest for 2minutes between each. These will help improve your anaerobic capacity along with stimulating your metabolism with short, high intensity efforts.
Fitness and Weight Loss
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Day 5: Do your normal ride here or take a rest day. Watch food intake though!
Day 6: Do your normal ride here. Start your ride today without eating anything for breakfast and only drink black coffee. So, start on an empty stomach. Take plenty of food with you, and begin eating at the two hour mark so you don’t bonk.
Day 7: Start your ride today without eating anything for breakfast and only drink black coffee. So, start on an empty stomach. Take plenty of food with you, and begin eating at the two hour mark so you don’t bonk. If possible also increase your duration by one hour today. Just ride longer.
Day 8: Do your normal ride here or take a rest day. Watch food intake though
Day 9: Add in (4) intervals of 10 minutes each today and do these at threshold power or heart rate. Push yourself in the last two minutes. Rest for 5 minutes between each.
Day 10: Do (10) hard sprints today and make these very intense as if you are Mark Cavendish sprinting for the finish line. Rest for 4 minutes between each. Do both small ring and big ring sprints.
Day 11: Do one of my favorite workouts emphasizing your anaerobic capacity. The recovery intervals are short and the intervals are very intense. Do (3) x 2 minutes striving for 135% of your threshold power with 2 minute rest between each, then 5 minutes easy, then 3 x 1 minute, striving for 150% of your threshold with 1 minute rest, then 5 minutes easy and finish with 3x 30 seconds ALL out with 1 minute rest.
Day 12: Lengthen your ride by 45minutes today and pick up your pace in that last 45minutes to nearly your time trial pace, or what is called upper tempo pace.
Day 13: Start your ride today without eating anything for breakfast and only drink black coffee. So, start on an empty stomach. Take plenty of food with you, and begin eating at the two hour mark so you don’t bonk. If possible also increase your duration by one hour today. Just ride longer.
Day 14: Start your ride today without eating anything for breakfast and only drink black coffee. So, start on an empty stomach. Take plenty of food with you and begin eating at the two-hour mark so you don’t bonk. If possible, also increase your duration by one hour today. Just ride longer.
This is a starter two weeks! It’s made to help you “teach” your body how to burn more fat than carbs and extend your cycling “range”. This will allow you to use your muscle glycogen stores in the final part of your ride or race, so you can really put out the higher wattages when needed.
Hunter Allen has online training programs available at https://shoppeaks.com/product/ftp-power-threshold-improvement-the-next-level-12-weeks/ including the most popular “Next Level” plan. You can contact Hunter and his coaches directly www.PeaksCoachingGroup.com for personal coaching, camps and speaking engagements.