I’m not a fan of “one-off” workouts. I’m all about training in a well planned system for superior results. I mean, have you ever talked to me?

While training plans are always best, sometimes it’s fun and totally appropriate for you to test yourself with a really hard single workout. It can be used as a measuring stick for the future or a way to see who ends up in the bathroom first: you or your buddy.

Also, if you only have a short amount of time and want to smash yourself (ie, maximize your time), this will be a good option for that, too.

Equipment needed for maximum destruction… I mean, progress:

Assault Bike or Woodway Curve***

Do a solid warm-up (if you need ideas here’s How to Warm-up in a Hurry)

Once you’re ready to go, hop on your bike or treadmill and go…

:45 as hard as possible (watch your watts and/or speed to ensure maintaining your peak) combine with 90-sec Active Recovery (jogging or light-ish biking)

REPEAT 6 times

Alright, so I know the above workout looks pretty benign. It is NOT. Please use good judgement before deciding if this is a good workout match for you.

If you’ve tracked your output via speed or watts and maintained your peak output, you can effectively leave the gym knowing your body is well on it’s way to recovering to a state that is more healthy and useful than when you walked in! 

Closing thought: if you’re not messed up the rest of the day, you didn’t actually give it your all and need to try again next week. Hey, sometimes we have to teach our body how to work. It’s okay, but just know this one is a killer.

***Lots of equipment can work like a traditional treadmill, spin bike or a VersaClimber. You want to be able to see some sort of measurable for your work and recovery periods. I would not recommend elliptical or stepper.

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