Cardio: Energy boost and improved fitness
I do cardiovascular work for two reasons of equal importance...
For the betterment of my fitness
For the post-workout increase in mental energy and well being
I usually do some intervallic type stationary bike work. I feel like if I push myself as hard as I naturally tend to, I'll be very tired afterwards... I feel like that's what you need to do to improve your fitness, but I'm missing out on the mental boost.
My question is how to ensure that I'm staying within a proper range to improve my fitness, and still get the mental boost... Or at least within a range, where my body will eventually adapt and I will start getting the boost again.
I only do an hour of cardio, usually every other day, but would like to eventually start every day like that.
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You are supposed to be tired after an interval workout. It should take you a few days to recover.
Interval workouts are great, but to get the best benefit from them you need to give yourself enough time between workouts to really recover. I recommend only twice a week at the most to give yourself ample time to recover. If you switch to working out every day, I'd still recommend only twice a week. Don't work out too hard the remaining days or you won't recover well enough.
Another note about intervals - the workouts should be really high intensity, but short. If you have an hour, I'd say 15 minute warmup, 20 minute interval workout, and then a 15 minute cooldown.
This approach seems counter-intuitive at first, but it does work.
To ensure a proper heart rate range, I would invest in a heart rate monitor. There are several, but, since you ride a bike for the most part, you should look at a chest band with an accompanying watch. A heart rate monitor can assist you in maintaining a heart rate to reach your goals.
Take a warm shower after your interval training. Spend time in the shower, soaking your tired aching muscles. That will reduce the tiredness and increase your alertness.
Once done, have a light snack. And then, drink some herbal/green tea.
Some also take multivitamins after all that(depending on the time of the day).
You should be refreshed to continue your day.
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