YOUR ACTION PLAN

What?''' A fat-burning program for guys who want to have the option of training inside and out.
Why? Australian Sports Commission research indicates that cycling is the fourth most popular physical activity in Australia, plus cycling will significantly reduce your risk of developing lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

Who? Allan Peiper, a professional cyclist for more than a decade and the coach to 2008 Tour de France stage-winning cyclist Mark Cavendish, has devised this precision, fitness-boosting, muscle-building, fat-zapping workout.

How? In the first week pick an interval plan (from the four outlined here) and do a long ride of about an hour. In the second and third weeks, pick two intervals and do 1-2 long rides. Always have at least a day's rest between each interval session. In the fourth week, pick three intervals and do a long ride of 90 minutes to really put your foot down against fat.


PYRAMID POWER

In the gym
Warm up for five minutes on a medium resistance so that your cadence is high and your speed is low. Next, change to a resistance that's six levels below the bike's maximum and increase by one notch every three minutes. Flick back to your warm-up pace for five minutes to warm down.

On the road
Start with the biggest gear in the front and the back of the bike. Change down from gear number 19, 18, 17 and so on in three-minute intervals. At the end, flick it onto your easiest gear and ride for another five minutes.

WHY? "Gradually increasing your workload makes your entire system work progressively harder, which eventually stops you from burning calories from carbs and start burning calories from fat," says Peiper.

UPHILL BATTLE
Flat roads are inviting, but you benefit most if you vary the terrain. A study in the Journal of Sports Sciences found the exertion required in a five-kilometre hill climb equals 40km on the flat.

In the gym
Warm up for eight minutes, then set the resistance to high and keep cadence - the number of revolutions of the crank per minute - in the mid range for 30 seconds. Then increase cadence and lower resistance for 30 seconds. Repeat 10 times.

On the road
Do this interval on its own or as part of your long ride. Find a hill that will take you 10 minutes to get up. Ride for 30 seconds in a small gear, at a medium cadence, then ride for 30 seconds in a big gear, at a high cadence.

WHY? "Do these intervals sitting in the saddle to build your strength," says Peiper. You will get better gains from doing these outdoors, but the indoor circuit will help rev up your heart rate and burn off fat.

SPEED AND RECOVERY

In the gym
Do a five-minute warm-up in exactly the same way as you did for the Pyramid Power intervals. Do three, 10-minute intervals with the resistance set to high, maintaining a high cadence. Separate these with two minutes of recovery time at a higher cadence, but with a low resistance. Progress to two bursts of 12 minutes with three minutes of recovery, and finally move on to three, 12-minute bursts with three minutes of recovery time.

On the road
Do the same work and recovery ratio but set your bike's gears to 15 for the periods of work and 20 for the periods of recovery.

WHY? "Alternating bursts of speed and recovery are a great way to improve your overall energy system," says Peiper. "These high-pace intervals will help build aerobic strength and endurance."

SPRINT TO THE FINISH

In the gym
Warm up for five minutes at medium resistance so your cadence is high but your speed is low. Set the resistance higher and keep your cadence as high as you can for 30 seconds. Then leave yourself a five-minute recovery period by dropping the resistance. Repeat six times.

On the road
Do a 30-second sprint every five minutes by lowering your gear to a level at which you know you can generate the most speed. Pick out a point about 200-300 metres ahead of you, then sprint towards it as fast as you can. Get your heart rate up as high as possible, then drop down to a bigger gear so that you can recover.

WHY? "This helps beat the boredom and offers you a wide variety of structure in your training to allow different areas of your fitness to be enhanced," says Peiper. You'll build all-around fitness, while burning fat.