My “Weakest Link” Interval Workout

There’s plenty I need to update everyone on, including not one, but two race recaps (!), but that’s something for another day. Today is a quick post about a challenging workout I created that’s quickly becoming something I look forward to every week.

I love game shows. This isn’t exactly breaking news, because longtime readers will remember a few years back, when I was a contestant on a game show – and I’ve been on two others, long before I started blogging.

I watched the original US version of “Weakest Link” back in 2001. I even auditioned for it, going to a cattle call audition in a hotel ballroom in Novi, Michigan, when I was a college student. (I didn’t make the cut.) I was very excited to hear that the show was being revived. It’s a good, fast-paced trivia show, and I’ve always found the new host, Jane Lynch, to be very funny.

Because I knew I’d want to watch every week, I decided to make “Weakest Link” a show that I could only watch during a workout. This is something I’ve done in the past, and it’s a good strategy, because it makes me look forward to exercising, as that exercise is linked to an entertainment experience that I really value.

This time, though, I upped the ante, and created a high-intensity interval workout based around the show’s format, using my Schwinn Fitness Classic Cruiser exercise bike. Here’s how it works:

My typical workout is 45 minutes, and without commercials (because I fast-forward through them on my DVR), “Weakest Link” is about 42 minutes. Perfect! I just make the final three minutes, after the show ends, my cool-down.

There are six main rounds of game play during each episode, ranging from 1 minute, 40 seconds in length to 2 minutes, 30 seconds. During each of those rounds of game play, I kick up the intensity to high and pedal my brains out, all while shouting answers at my TV.

That’s a total of 12 minutes, 30 seconds of high-intensity action. But I’m not quite done yet! During the final round, I pick one of the final two contestants that I want to win, and whenever they are asked a question, I switch it into high gear. This is the final push – roughly five high-intensity sprints, each 20-30 seconds in length, alternating with 20-30 seconds of moderate work, while the other contestant is answering their questions.

All in all, I end up doing approximately 15 minutes of high intensity, and 30 minutes of warm-up, recovery, and cool-down during each episode. The 45 minutes flies by. I’m a sweaty mess at the end, and I’ve watched one of my favorite shows – now that’s what I call multi-tasking!

Keep it up, David!

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