21
H
ILL
The
HILL
workout features intervals of intense aerobic activity separated by intervals of lower-intensity. Interval training
has been scientifically demonstrated to yield greater cardiorespiratory improvement than steady-pace training.
During the Hill workout the difficulty level of intervals increases gradually, as the profile diagram below illustrates.
Each workout session includes the following phases:
1
Warm-up
gradually brings the heart rate into the lower portion of the target heart rate zone, increasing respiration and
blood flow to working muscles.
2
Plateau
i
ncreases heart rate to bring it is within the target zone. To check the heart rate grasp the handpulse sensors
or wear the telemetry heart rate chest strap.
3
Interval Training
is
a series of hills and valleys. During this portion of the workout, the user is confronted with a
series of successively steeper hills, each separated from the next by a valley or recovery period. Again, check the
heart rate to ensure that it has remained within the target zone.
4
Cool-down
allows the body to begin removing accumulated by-products of exercise, such as lactic acid, which build
up in muscles during a workout and contribute to muscle soreness.
Effort and recovery periods are simulated on the display console by columns of red lights in the workout Profile window.
Each column represents one interval and 20 intervals make up a workout. The columns move from right to left during the
workout. The higher the column, the higher the resistance. The intervals are all of equal length, and interval duration
depends on the overall duration of the workout.
1 to 9 minutes:
Because workouts with durations of less than 10 minutes are insufficient for the
HILL
workout to
complete all four phases adequately, the profile is condensed at various stages.
10 to 19 minutes:
The interval durations are initially set at 30 seconds for a 10-minute workout. For every additional
minute of workout duration intervals lengthen by three seconds. Thus, a 15-minute
HILL
workout features 20 intervals of
45 seconds each.
20 to 99 minutes:
All intervals last 60 seconds. As minutes are added, additional hills and valleys are presented beyond
the initial four of the interval training phase. The additional hills and valleys will follow the form of the first four, dropping
back down to the level of the very first hill encountered and progressing in height every two minutes until the highest hill
is reached again. This process repeats until the end of the duration.
R
ANDOM
The
RANDOM
workout creates a terrain of hills and valleys that varies with each workout. More than one million different
patterns are possible.
M
ANUAL
The
MANUAL
workout sets an intensity level that does not change automatically. While the workout is in progress, increase
or lower the intensity level as desired, using the arrow keys.
