Fit for what though?

I’m actually the ‘bike fittest’ I’ve ever been right now (I’m 42). But it has come at a cost as my strength is right down. I suspect my MX/enduro fitness is far from its best too (not that it matters as that’s not what I do at the moment).

I’m looking forward to doing a lot less riding after SITS and getting my strength back.

But in general, having a sport of some kind does let you set personal ‘fitness’ goals. Whether that kind of ‘fitness’ is anything more than a joint destroying waste of valuable loafing time is another thing…

tsy… yep it’s only once a week though but now I’m starting to remember some of the sequences I can practice on my own so I do a bit over the park tagged on to the end of a run.

wear ? at the moment I wear long shorts, well just above the knee length which have lycra shorts lining.

Kev

Fitter now than I was 10 years ago, mainly since I started signing up to stupidly long races – you either take the cycling more seriously or die in the attempt.

Age 27 – 6’3″, 18st 10lb, resting pulse 74, blood pressure ‘High’, cholestorol ‘High’ according to doctor.

Need to do something about it so start cycling again – fast forward 20 years

Age 47 – 6’3″, 15st 4lb, resting pulse 48, blood pressure 120/80, cholestorol 3.7

I can safely say I am fitter now and it is mainly due to cycling, on and off road.

i certainly looked fitter four years ago than i do now despite having driven pretty much everywhere and smoked a good deal of drugs.

i had a physical job (chippy), went kiteboarding two or three times a week (very good work out for upper body, stomach and the legs – hurt a lot, too). i even drove to go riding, but rode a lot less than i do now.

now i just ride. i very rarely use the train when getting about locally. my legs are much stronger, my lungs are maybe better since i’ve stopped smoking, but i’ve deveolped some insulation around my waist and my upper body strength has pretty much all but disappeared.

i can ride all day long, but struggle to do one proper sit-up.

hopefully things will change come september when i start chippying again. hopefully there is a shit load of snow in winter so i can go snowkiting, too. that’d be nice.

so no, biking hasn’t made me fitter, IMO. it’s helped me retain a level of fitness i’d have otherwise lost since leaving the UK.

Thanks Kev… I’m trying to find something that doesn’t bunch up during certain asanas.

I am probably aerobically fitter now than I have been for many years as I have been cycling regularly for the last 4 years and I gave up smoking 16 months ago.

However, I do notice that bruises and bumps take longer to heal up than they did 20 years ago.