How To Become A Gym Genius

Gyms can be terrifying places, especially if you’re not sure what to do in them. If you’ve just joined up or are looking for new ways to work out, check out our experts’ guide...

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THE BIKE

THE EXPERT
Dan Little, Head of Fitness at Digme Fitness

Many of us have a traditional exercise bike tucked away in the spare room, gathering dust. In the gym, you can just hop on and pedal away – or perhaps a busy spin class is more your thing. If you are working out alone, however, the bike can provide a brilliant short, sharp workout.

Dan explains that the bike isn’t just a great way to start your fitness journey – it’s also great for maintaining or improving cardiovascular fitness: ‘It’s a low-impact piece of kit – which is ideal if you have any niggling injuries or need something easier on the body.’

Here, Dan has created three 20-minute workouts – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced…

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

CADENCE Number of pedal revolutions per minute (RPM). This should be on the small screen on the exercise bike.

RPE Rate of Perceived Exertion (not only on bikes). An RPE of 10 means you are going flat out. You choose your level.

Your biking workouts

Sweat it out with a 20-minute workout.

BIKING BEGINNER

7-minute warm-up: Maintain a cadence between 80-85 rpm, to slowly increase body temperature. For the next four sections, keep a steady cadence between 85-95 rpm. Select gears/level based on your own RPE.

✢ 6 minutes – RPE 6-8

✢ 30 seconds – RPE 3-4

✢ 6 minutes – RPE 6-8

✢ 30 seconds – RPE 3-4

A LITTLE MORE CHALLENGING…

6-minute warm-up: Maintain a cadence between 80-85 rpm. Go up a gear/level every 2 minutes. The next section is a pyramid set, based on RPE and cadence. Be honest with yourself…

✢ 2 minutes – 100rpm/RPE 7

✢ 3 minutes – 90rpm/RPE 8