My first interval.
Do you know who Larry Bird is?
I’m not sure whether to be flattered or insulted that Sifu thinks I might not know who Larry Bird is. I’m only five years younger than he. Sure, I don’t follow sports, but c’mon, who hasn’t heard of Larry Bird?
Sifu goes on to explain that Larry Bird’s basketball playing improved significantly when he began interval training. Magic Johnson introduced him to it. When other basketball players goofed off during summer, Magic ran wind sprints on the beach.
How does this relate to kung fu? I’ve got a limited amount of time to build up my physical stamina for our upcoming test. Sifu recommended interval training, starting with six reps of four minutes fast pedaling and two minutes of rest pedaling.
So this morning I drove myself and my bike to a nice bike trail (yes I drove, yes I know that’s lame) on the other side of the river. I picked a section that seemed to be less travelled.
I wasn’t entirely sure that I could do six reps. That sounded like a lot. So I decided to do four, then see how I felt. After four reps I did the fifth, then the sixth. It wasn’t that bad. It even felt kind of good.
Next Sunday I think I will actually ride from home to the bike trail.
