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During weekends I'm doing a lot of sports, e.g. snowshoeing in the winter and biking and hiking during summer. I personally think, my condition is slightly above average, but the problem is, I now reached a point where I want to make tours that are beyond my condition limit. That means, the tours that are now getting interesting for me have too many kilometers and especially altitude difference. (To get a feeling: 1000m (climbing) while biking and maybe 2000m while walking is okay for me but not considerably more).

Now I have approximately 1 hour per workday of free time which I spent for work out, mostly running. I would like to use this hour a little bit more focused on strengthening my condition, but I'm not sure what to do. So are there any recommendations how I can use 1 hour per day to strengthen my condition especially for hiking and biking? Is running a good option?

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  • Did I read that right that you can walk twice as far as you can bike? Generally for a given distance, bicyling is a lot less effort.
    – freiheit
    Mar 6, 2012 at 23:29
  • High intensity interval training?
    – VPeric
    Mar 7, 2012 at 1:19
  • @freiheit No that's wrong. I was changed with the last edit, but I can bike approximately 1000 meters and walk 2000 meters. I'm not talking about the distance but the altitude difference.
    – RoflcoptrException
    Mar 7, 2012 at 7:19

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If the duration of your workout can't be changed, your other option is to change the intensity .

If you need to improve your biking, the best way to do that is... by biking. But if you can only run during your workday break, you can try, for instance to incorporate hill-work or inclines into your runs (either with real hills, or on a treadmill that inclines).

You can also try adding some resistance exercise to your workouts if you just want to build strength. Squats, and lunges for the legs, mainly.

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  • That's sounds great. I could do other things than biking, e.g. going in the gym, but I can't go biking because there are no hills here. I'm particularly interested if it is a good idea to go running every day for one hour or if this can be counterproductive. And if a combination of running and something else is more productive.
    – RoflcoptrException
    Mar 6, 2012 at 21:35
  • I don't think an hour a day of running is overdoing it, for most reasonably fit individuals, but it really does depend on the individual. Just be alert for signs of overtraining, you know your body best. Also, adding something other than running will help build strength, and perhaps just as important, can relieve boredom if you get tired of doing the same thing all the time.
    – DictatorBob
    Mar 6, 2012 at 21:37
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    @Roflcoptr could you try a stationary bike at the gym? You can add a lot of resistance to those to simulate hills, maybe.
    – Lauren
    Mar 7, 2012 at 17:03

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