Last year I was something of a cookie monster. Maryland cookies are awesome, and it is (as I’ve mentioned elsewhere) physically impossible to leave cookies in an open pack, uneaten. Scientists are stumped, unable to conduct any experiments to find the cause of this problem - whenever they open a pack of cookies to conduct some experiments, the cookies are eaten before any tests can begin. C’est la vie.

I don’t mean to imply, either, that cookies were my only vice. Yorkies were often found … well, actually, the wrappers were often found … around my desk. (In fact, if you really want to see the sort of snacks I used to eat … it’s not pretty, but I’ve written a list of the 10 snacks I miss most.)

This may go some way to explaining away a few of my many extra pounds.

When I started writing this blog, I knocked the snacks on the head, mostly. I still indulge occasionally, but it is rare now - I view chocolate and snacks as rare treats.

Today, I brought such a treat into work - chocolate covered coffee beans. These things are awesome. I’d advise against just eating a handful - if you do, you’ll be bouncing off the walls in no time.

I also think they’re (as snacks go) reasonably healthy. A little dark chocolate is good for you, and even though the merits and faults of caffeine are still discussed at length, I’m still of the opinion that coffee is good for you. You can’t eat too many of these things, either, or you’ll go crazy with caffeine-madness.

Which got me thinking about snacks at work. Obviously, snacks should be avoided as a rule, but presumably some are better than others? Are there snacks that are good for you? Snacks that actually benefit you? Should you eat fruit between meals? Dried fruit? Nuts? Seeds? Steak?

Do you snack? What do you eat, if you snack between meals?

Before I get started, I just want to acknowledge Cool Running’s Couch-to-5K Running Plan as the inspiration and source for this plan. Essentially what follows is a simple conversion of the Couch to 5k Running Plan into a plan someone can use to achieve something similar on a bike.

Ultimately, the goal is to provide a simple, structured plan to get someone up and off their couch and cycling for about half an hour three times a week. I’ve called it the Couch to 8k Cycling Plan, but really the distance isn’t too important - it’s the time you should be focussed on. The Couch-to-30-Minutes-Cycling-Plan just isn’t that catchy though :). If your pace means you do 10k in 30 minutes, then this plan is your Couch to 10k plan.

You will need:

1. A bike. Duh.
2. With a speedometer.
3. A place to ride.
4. Some sort of device to measure the passage of time (in seconds).

A quick note on number 3: I’d recommend starting somewhere relatively flat. The first few weeks are about waking your body up and getting into a routine - no sense taking the chance you’ll discourage yourself. An exercise bike would be ok, but there’s nothing quite like getting outside to really make you feel like you’re doing something constructive.

The plan is, much like its inspiration, a very simple one, involving three rides a week. Each week the rides get slightly harder, and if you feel like a week was tough, repeating it is never a problem. The ultimate aim is to get you cycling for about half an hour, three times a week. How long you take to get there is entirely dependant upon what you are comfortable with.

In the same vein, if you find the plan easy, try to avoid skipping ahead. The worst thing you can do is push yourself too hard too fast. If you try something, and fail, or you injure yourself, that might put you off, and that’s not the idea at all!

On With the Plan!

The plan is based on intervals, with the ultimate aim being to go cycling regularly (three times a week) at a pace that suits you - faster than a gentle family ride, but slower than your all-out sprint. Each run (at least in the beginning) involves cycling at one of two paces - a slower pace, equivalent in exertion to a brisk walk, and a faster pace. The faster pace should be strenuous, but if you’re incapable of speaking, you’re going too fast.

I’ve set these paces at five and ten miles per hour respectively in the plan below, however these are a suggestion - try and find paces that suit you (and feel free to share what works for you in the comments!). The slower pace doesn’t have to be half of the quicker pace, but the slower pace should be slow enough that you can catch your breath between the quicker sections.

Important! Make sure you warm up before each ride. A brisk five minute walk or medium-paced cycle should do the trick, and some stretches beforehand will reduce your chance of injury.

What Next?

Once you’ve finished the plan, the idea is to keep cycling regularly for half an hour, three times a week. You can increase the time and/or distance, but 30 minutes of basic exercise like this is the minimum most people should be doing to keep themselves healthy.