Back to home
Free previewspinintermediate

Spin pyramid: climb and descend

This indoor cycling workout builds endurance and challenges your anaerobic threshold through a pyramid interval structure, progressing and regressing through challenging efforts.

Illustration for the Spin pyramid: climb and descend spin workout
45 min ~450 kcal bike

Train safely

This workout is general fitness education, not medical advice. Skip movements that hurt, scale loads to your level, and stop if you feel chest pain, dizziness, or joint pain. If you're pregnant, recovering from injury or surgery, or have a heart, blood pressure, or musculoskeletal condition, get clearance from your physician before starting.

The workout

warmup

Warm-up

  • 1.Easy spinning300s @ very lightGradually increase resistance every minute, cadence 80-100 RPM
  • 2.Cadence drills180s30s high cadence (100+ RPM), 30s moderate (80-90 RPM), repeat 3x
main

Pyramid Intervals

  • 1.Hard effort (Zone 4)60s @ challenging · rest 60sCadence 80-95 RPM, RPE 7-8
  • 2.Hard effort (Zone 4)90s @ challenging · rest 75sCadence 80-95 RPM, RPE 7-8
  • 3.Hard effort (Zone 4)120s @ challenging · rest 90sCadence 80-95 RPM, RPE 7-8
  • 4.Hard effort (Zone 4)150s @ challenging · rest 90sCadence 80-95 RPM, RPE 7-8
  • 5.Hard effort (Zone 4)120s @ challenging · rest 75sCadence 80-95 RPM, RPE 7-8
  • 6.Hard effort (Zone 4)90s @ challenging · rest 60sCadence 80-95 RPM, RPE 7-8
  • 7.Hard effort (Zone 4)60s @ challenging · rest 60sCadence 80-95 RPM, RPE 7-8
cooldown

Cool-down

  • 1.Gentle spinning300s @ lightCadence 60-70 RPM, bring heart rate down
  • 2.Static stretching (off bike)180sFocus on quads, hamstrings, glutes

This session features pyramid intervals, which means you'll gradually increase the duration of your hard efforts before decreasing them. This structure is excellent for developing sustained power and improving your ability to recover during shorter rest periods.

Warm-up

Start with a gentle spin to get the blood flowing and prepare your muscles for the work ahead. Focus on smooth, circular pedal strokes and gradually increase your resistance and cadence.

  • Easy Spinning: Begin with very light resistance, focusing on high cadence (80-100 RPM) to warm up your legs. Increase resistance slightly every minute.
  • Cadence Drills: Incorporate short bursts of higher cadence (100-110 RPM) with light resistance, followed by a return to moderate cadence (80-90 RPM).

Workout

The main set consists of pyramid intervals. You will climb up the pyramid by increasing your work duration and then descend by decreasing it. The goal is to maintain a consistent output during your 'hard' efforts, approximately Zone 4 (threshold) heart rate or a perceived exertion of 7-8 out of 10. Your recovery periods should be active recovery, keeping the legs moving but at a very easy effort.

  • First Climb: Focus on building your effort gradually through each interval. Each 'hard' segment should feel challenging but sustainable. Think about pushing through the pedals and pulling up.
  • Transition to Descent: Once you hit the longest interval, you'll start to decrease the interval duration. This is where fatigue might set in, so maintaining form and power is key.
  • Breathing: During the hard efforts, try to maintain deep, controlled breathing. During recovery, focus on bringing your heart rate down and catching your breath.

Cool-down

Ease off the resistance and allow your heart rate to gradually return to normal. This helps to flush out waste products from your muscles and promotes recovery. Finish with some light stretching off the bike, focusing on your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.

  • Gentle Spinning: Reduce your resistance significantly and spin at a comfortable pace (60-70 RPM), allowing your heart rate to drop.
  • Static Stretching: Off the bike, perform 15-20 second holds for each major leg muscle group.

Coaching notes

  • Resistance and Cadence: For the 'hard' efforts, aim for a cadence of 80-95 RPM with resistance that makes it challenging to maintain. During recovery, reduce resistance and drop to 60-70 RPM.
  • Perceived Exertion: A 7-8 out of 10 means you can speak a few words at a time, but holding a conversation would be difficult.
  • Listen to Your Body: If an interval feels too hard, reduce resistance slightly. The goal is consistent effort, not burnout.

Scale it

  • Easier: Reduce the duration of the 'hard' intervals by 15-30 seconds or increase the duration of the recovery periods. Maintain a slightly lower perceived exertion during the hard efforts (6-7 out of 10).
  • Harder: Increase the resistance during the 'hard' intervals, or slightly shorten the recovery periods. You could also aim for a higher cadence within the challenging resistance levels.

Save · log · unlock more

Create a free account

Save workouts to your library, log completions to track progress, and browse the full library and course catalog.

Create free account