Saturday’s Circuit

Tough intervals on Saturday. I have made the switch from base building to interval and speed work. And it is really, really hard climbing. This tough training will pay off when I hit the street in another four or five weeks. At least, that is my hope.

There are two intervals that I find particularly challenging. There is a style of interval training called Low BRO. Basically you push a really hard gear at a very low RPM (Low RPM, Big Ring Only).

I typically ride at a fairly high cadence — in the low 90s. For the Low BRO interval, I am pushing a hard gear at 40 to 50 RPM. 5 minutes with a 1 minute recovery, then 4 minutes with a 1 minute recovery, 3, 2, and 1.

The other interval is a progressive climb. Start with a very high cadence, over 110 RPM, and then shift to a harder gear every 20 seconds for 3 minutes and 20 seconds. By the end, I am struggling to keep the cadence above 60 RPM.

Getting on the bike is the hardest part. It is mostly psychological. I know that the next hour or so will be very demanding and, candidly, a bit unpleasant.

Nothing beats the feeling once I get off the machine.

Here is a screenshot of my nutrition plan from yesterday.

I use software to track exercise and diet. Basically I have shifted my target intake to favour increased protein and lowered fat.

Breakfast
Calories: 140, Carbs: 14 grams, Protein: 20 grams, Fat: 0 grams

Lunch
Calories: 363, Carbs 36 grams, Protein: 19 grams, Fat: 16 grams

Dinner
Calories: 733, Carbs: 104 grams, Protein: 45 grams, Fat: 16 grams

Supplemental
Calories: 330, Carbs: 50 grams, Protein: 25 grams, Fat: 3 grams

Total intake
Calories: 1,566, Carbs: 204, Protein: 108 grams, Fat: 35 grams
Sodium intake of 1,999 mg and total fibre intake of 16 grams.

Exercise

My spinning ride burned 780 calories so my net caloric intake was 786 calories. Might need to head out to Denny’s for a comfort food meal.

Stretching

Finally got to some stretching.