Saddle up to this Badass Cycling routine, torch calories!

The treadmill routines I've posted continue to be popular, but recently a Badass Fitness reader asked for a cycling version. Whether you've got a bike inside your home gym or love the bike at your local gym, this indoor routine is one I've done more than a few times with my Spinning classes over recent months.

It is challenging, but know yourself and start where you can then work up to your max. Cycling, indoors or out, is a great calorie torcher. And because indoor Spinning uses lots of tension and speed drills, it is one of the most efficient calorie burners for the time spent. It also will tone your legs and Badasses like few other cardio workouts. So get to it! (Note: This is to be used with an indoor Spinning or upright bike, not the recumbent bike.)

The music mix below goes with the routine. So 'song 1' is song 1 on the mix. But you don't have to use these exact songs, just find ones that have a similar beat pace and also are of roughly the same length of time.

Badass Spinning Challenge

1. Warmup at light tension and a fast steady pace, in the saddle.
2. Continue warmup, but add a little tension and if you've cycled before, come in and out of a standing run.
3. Sprint intervals: Add slightly more tension, about a quarter turn on the bike's tension wheel. Find a pace that is 60 percent of your max speed. That's your base. Every 30 seconds, sprint for 15 seconds at 80 to 90 percent of your max. Back off to your base pace for 30 seconds, then sprint again for 15. Do this for the whole song.
4. Sprints with tension, seated. Add a turn on the wheel. You should be at about 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 for tension, a medium hill, with the same base pace as the previous song. On the chorus when the music speeds up, add one turn or half-turn and pick up your speed. Hold it until the chorus ends, then return to base pace.
5. Steady stair-step climb. From the tension and pace of the previous song, add half a turn and try to keep the same pace or just slightly slower. Every minute, add a quarter turn while trying to maintain the pace. We're really climbing now!
6. Climb to the top! Take one turn off the tension wheel and flush the legs out a bit for 30 seconds. At 30 seconds, add a quarter turn and come into position 3 climb position (hands at the end of the handlebars, butt over the middle to back of the saddle, shoulders dropped toward handlebars). Climb here out of the saddle for 30 seconds, then add a quarter turn and drop to the saddle. Climb here for 30 seconds, then come back into position 3. Add a quarter turn and repeat the cycle for the duration of the song.
7. Flat road! Take most of the tension off and enjoy the fast pace of a flat road, seated.
8. Seated sprints with tension. Find medium tension and a pace that is 60 percent of your max. That's your base. On the chorus, add a half turn and sprint in the saddle. After the chorus, take the half turn off and go back to base pace. Repeat pattern throughout song.
9. Seated climb, seated and standing. Add a turn and climb one minute in the saddle. Add a half turn and climb the next minute in position 3. Sit, add a half turn and climb another minute. Add a full turn and climb in position 3 to the end of the song.
10. Seated fast with light to moderate tension. Lighten the tension to slightly more than a flat road. Flush your legs out and race to the finish line! This is an endurance test. Try to hold a steady pace for the first 3 minutes, then back off into a cool down pace.
11. Finish cool down! Take all the tension off now and keep the legs going at an easy pace. Take deep breaths in and out, getting control of your heart rate.
12. Stretch!

Badass Spinning Challenge Mix

1. ABC, Jackson 5, 2:58
2. Into the Hollywood Groove, Madonna, 3:44
3. Black Horse and the Cherry Tree (Remixed), TK, 4:57
4. Your Movement, The Shackeltons, 4:12
5. Use Somebody, Kings of Leon, 3:51
6. The Way You Make Me Feel, Michael Jackson, 4:57
7. If I Were a Boy (Lost Daze remix), Beyonce, 5:08
8. Vertigo, U2, 3:15
9. Could You Be Loved, Bob Marley, 3:57
10. Ecstasy, Rusted Root, 5:02
11. 1,2,3,4, Plain White Ts, 3:18

Coming tomorrow: The Badass Foodie delivers the best way to eat your daily veggies!