Quick and sharp sprint efforts: Manon Lloyd's 25-minute indoor training workout
Ramp up to flat-out sprints with Manon's tough 25-minute session
GCN
The GCN team
This week's indoor session is a trip up and down the intensity scale. Following Manon's lead, we'll build up to a set of flat-out sprints, then ramp down the intensity levels and into a cool down. It's not easy, but for a quick blast of power, this is the one for you.
For this session, you'll need an indoor bike, exercise bike, smart trainer or turbo trainer. It's a good idea to have some water and a towel near at hand, too.
What is the benefit of sprint training or HIIT?
Sprint training sessions like this one develop top-end power, but they also train your body to recover fast and keep pushing, even when you're tired.
If your goal is weight loss, sprint training sessions are great, too. By working your muscles really hard, these sessions burn more fat than low-intensity training sessions in a short period.
Better still, after sprint training, your body keeps burning calories as part of the recovery process. This is known as 'afterburn', and if you exercise regularly, it'll increase your metabolic rate, which is the amount of calories you burn on a typical day.
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Warm up: 7 minutes at a range of intensities
To get ready for the tough sprint efforts, we need a thorough warm-up. Follow Manon's lead as she guides you through the lower intensities, beginning at a super easy 2/10 and progressing through to a 5/10, before coming back down to 3/10 to recover.
Sprint intervals: ramp up, then ramp down
We don't start sprinting immediately in this session. We build up to the sprint gradually, going from 6/10, to 7/10, to 8/10, to 9/10, to 10/10 with a short recovery between each.
Once we've built up, we'll do three efforts at 9/10 with a two-minute recovery between each, then begin to ramp down the intensities from 8/10, to 7/10, then 6/10, then 5/10.
Spin out your legs for a minute
After ramping down through the intensities, your body will already have had a chance to recover, so to finish this session off, drop down to a really easy gear and just spin the legs gently for a minute, to work out any lactic acid and kick-start the recovery process.
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