Did you ever play the add-on game on the trampoline as a kid? One person would choose a move (for example, a flip) and then the next person would add on to the move (for example, donkey kicks). Then you start from the beginning and do the flip, then the donkey kicks and then the next person adds a move. Then you start from the beginning before adding another move.
One of my favorite workouts that I did with my spin classes after a warm-up was the add-on game.
We would do each move for 1 minute and then add on a new move before starting over again with the first one!
Feel free to try it out next time you are on the spin bike (I have THIS spin bike at home and love it but I’ve also been using THIS one at my sister’s gym and it feels like a special treat each time I use it).
How I rate the tension/hill—> 1-10. 1 being feeling like you are flying downhill, 5 being a flat road and 10 being your wheels actually stopping because the tension is so high (so, I never do a 10… a 9 is pretty much straight uphill). Basically I usually stay between a 5-9.
Add-on workout, 1 minute each:
1. Run (out of the saddle, side to side run/jog). Tension 7.
2. Hill in the saddle. Tension 9.
3. Sprint in the saddle. Tension 5.
4. Jumps (lightly lifting and lowering out of the saddle. The handle bars are for balance, not to pull yourself in and out of the saddle… Let your legs do the work. I usually alternate on counts of 4 but you can also do counts of 8. For example, 4 beats standing and 4 beats sitting—> repeat). Tension .
5. Hill out of the saddle. Tension 9.
6. Riding in the saddle while doing push-ups with upper body on the handle bars. Tension 7.
7. Lock and Load (Raise about an inch or two above your saddle with your hips back and over the saddle. From the hips up there is no movement, no bounce or side to side. The legs do all of the moving and the core is tight. Keep a light grip on the handlebars). Tension 6.
8. Jumps staying out of the saddle. So instead of jumping in and out of the saddle, stay out of the saddle and move back and forth from a run to your head down by the handlebars with your torso parallel to the ground. So up in a run 4 counts, down close to the bike 4 counts while staying out of the saddle the entire time and repeat. Tension 8.
Final move to finish everything up—> Sprint out of the saddle. Tension 6.
This entire workout will take 44 minutes to complete (not including warm-up and cool-down)! Throw in 1 minute recoveries/easy riding when you need! You can also shorten it by taking out a few moves or add on more of your own.
So in case I didn’t explain it very well it would look like this:
1 minute of each:
run, hill in the saddle, run, hill in the saddle, sprint in the saddle, run, hill in the saddle, sprint in the saddle, jumps, run, hill in the saddle, sprint in the saddle, jumps, hill out of the saddle, run, hill in the saddle, sprint in the saddle, jumps, hill out of the saddle, push-ups, run, hill in the saddle, sprint in the saddle, jumps, hill out of the saddle, push-ups, lock and load, run, hill in the saddle, sprint in the saddle, jumps, hill out of the saddle, push-ups, lock and load, jumps with upper body, run, hill in the saddle, sprint in the saddle, jumps, hill out of the saddle, push-ups, lock and load, jumps with upper body, SPRINT out of the saddle!!!
You can also try something similar on the treadmill if you are ever needing to switch things up:
For example, different add-ons:
3% incline, 0% incline sprint, 1.5% incline at a jog, 4% incline @ 6.5 mph, 1% incline @ 8.0 mph etc.
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7 pictures from yesterday:
Still napping away over here and I’m growing rather fond of it.
I actually think it is impossible for a kiddo to not splash in a puddle when they come across one.
While it is raining here, we FaceTimed with Brooke’s Arizona cousins that just finished up swimming in the beautiful weather.
I was making dinner and I turned around to find Brooke eating parmesan cheese by the handful.
I don’t know what it is about spaghetti but it just hits the spot. I added ground turkey and roasted yellow peppers to the sauce which was a good decision.
A little hide and go seek with the girls.
And I tried this for the first time at their house—> amazing.
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PS I’ve had a few questions about why I’m not using my coach right now!
As soon as I’m marathon training again I will be back to using him but right now I have been wanting to just run without a lot of structure (I’m following a plan but not taking it crazy serious if that makes sense). I just kind of do things case by case in life… right now I don’t feel really peaceful about training for a marathon so I’m not. While blogging/writing about running is my job, pushing myself 100% of the time isn’t. So I just decide what my running is going to look like with what’s going on in my life and where my priorities are at the time. Does that make any sense? You would think that rambling would be much harder on a keyboard! Actually, I don’t know how to stop myself from oversharing whether talking or typing via the internet.
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What meal is just hitting the spot for you right now?
Ever worked with a running coach? For how long?
What brand of peanut butter do you buy? Which is the best in your opinion? Anyone make their own?