There is no doubt that cycling is one of the most popular exercise methods today, with bike lanes and cycling communities popping up all over the world. However, there is a vast difference between pedalling just to get from A to B and biking to gain health benefits.
Chaichan Butyee, fitness team leader/pro cycling programme coach at Fitness First, said to reap the most health benefits from biking, interval training is the way to go.
"Interval training is the only route to take if you want to burn fat and gain muscle strength quickly," he said. "Interval training is more effective than just regular cardio exercise."
Interval training involves a series of low-and high-intensity exercises that offer both cardio and muscle-strengthening benefits.
The "Pro Cycling" classes have been designed to help those who want to see fast results but can't spend an hour at the gym. The programme was developed by retired British Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton, who specialised in the sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. It's an intensive cardio workout designed for both professional bikers preparing themselves for a competition, and also amateur bikers wanting to improve their skills.
The programme is divided into three classes — "Keirin", "Team Sprint" and "Individual Sprint". The Keirin class focuses on high speed and muscle endurance. The Team Sprint focuses on high intensity, as if biking up a mountain. Individual Sprint alternates between seated and standing positions to improve biking skill and train muscles.
The 30-minute class begins with warm-up training, followed by nine sets of interval cycling, alternating between the seated position and the standing position, for 15 seconds each, followed by a rest. According to Chaichan, switching between the two positions makes the exercise more intense and speeds up fat burning.
"The seated position requires you to push harder, while the standing position is easier thanks to the gravity," he said. "Alternating between the two makes your muscles work harder than staying in only one position. The varying speed also helps you burn more calories."
Next comes the "competition", where participants are supposed to keep up with the speed of the instructor. This section can be either rigorous or laid-back, depending on how much energy the participants have left. The class wraps up with a few stretching movements to help cool down the muscles.
Chaichan said that intensive cycling, contrary to popular belief, does not result in the bulky calves most women dread.
"To create bulk, you need to work very hard," he said. "Bodybuilders have to lift very heavy weights in a slow and controlled movement in order to build their muscles, and it takes months for muscles to get bulky. Your calves won't get bulky from fast biking a few times a week."
The exercise is designed to firm up the muscles, which in turn makes the body burn off more calories even while not exercising. It also improves balance and stamina in daily activities.
The benefits of this intensive training session is that the body continues to burn calories even after the workout. The "afterburn" effect can leave your metabolism operating at a higher level of efficiency for hours. In one 30-minute session, you can burn around 500 calories. However, due to its intensity, first timers should eat a light meal an hour before the class, and have slept well the night before.
This class does not require the ability to ride an actual bike or any cycling experience, but the person should be in good physical condition. Beginners should start off slowly and gradually build intensity, and if they feel dizzy, can stop and take a rest. After all, it's not a race, just a workout.
Classes are available at Fitness First.
Call 02-789-9997.
