We all love to ride lots, but sometimes life’s demands only leave us time to ride a little. Don’t sweat it—you can still sweat a ton when you’re sneaking in a quick ride. – Selene Yeager
Below, Kaufmann serves up a set of super-effective, stair-style intervals that blend short, medium, and longer high-intensity efforts, which help build speed and stamina on the bike. “We keep the recovery relatively short to make them even more challenging,” she says. “That short recovery also means your heart rate stays elevated, so you get an endurance bump to boot.”
The 30-Minute Stairway to Fast
Intensity is based on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being full-throttle max effort.
Warmup
3 minutes easy spinning (effort level 2 to 3)
1 minute tempo (effort level 6 to 7)
30 seconds at VO2 (effort level 8 to 9)
30 seconds soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
30 seconds sprint
30 seconds soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
Interval 2: 2 minutes
1 minute all out (effort level 9 to 10)
1 minute soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
Interval 3: 3 minutes
2 minutes almost all out (effort level 9)
1 min soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
Interval 4: 6 minutes
3 minutes almost all out (effort level 9)
3 min soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
Interval 5: 1 minute
30 seconds sprint (sit 20 seconds, stand 10 seconds)
30 seconds soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
Interval 6: 2 minutes
1 minute all out (effort level 9 to 10)
1 minute soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
Interval 7: 3 minutes
2 minutes almost all out (effort level 9)
1 minute soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
Interval 8: 6 minutes
3 minutes almost all out (effort level 9)
3 minutes soft pedal (effort level 1 to 2)
Additional 1 minute spin down to cool down. Then towel off and seize the day!