had the bonus of an extended lunch break and thought id have a whizz round my new found xc loop which is currently around 12 miles. tis a bit windy today and i havent been out on the bike for a week or so. Had a really bad ride. my legs felt like lead, the bike felt like it was made of lead and really didnt enjoy it. to top it off the final descent was spoilt by an unsually high amount of ramblers getting in my way
now my question is really about fitness.

there really is nothing like “bike fitness”.

i currently run 15 – 20 miles a week and weight train 4 0r 5 times a week and consider myself prettty fit but still every time i get out on the bike which is a bout twice a week i feel knackered and dont seem to be getting any “bike fitter”
maybe i should just ride more and run less but its much easier to get out for a quick run here and there than it is to get the bike out

does anyone else do lots of different types of exercise and still remain bike fit or should i just ride more even if it is short road rides etc and quit the running lark

I find running helps my biking, but then I am a stander-upper when it comes to grinding up hills. Guess it is horses for courses.

over training perhaps?

Perhaps the total workload is overdoing it and you just feel it on the bike more?

Weight training that much is unlikely to have any positive benefit for cycling IMO, just adding unnecessarily bulk you’re then dragging up the climbs.

over training, not sure. i only usually do 1 session a day and have a rest day a week. i also look after my nutrition really well and get plenty of rest.
when i say weight training i usually train for endurance so light weight lots of reps so this wont add any bulk really.

get a road bike, its just as quick to pop out on one of those than go for a run and your fitness will noticeably step up a notch

jonny m – Member

over training, not sure. i only usually do 1 session a day and have a rest day a week. i also look after my nutrition really well and get plenty of rest.
when i say weight training i usually train for endurance so light weight lots of reps so this wont add any bulk really.

Weights 4 times per week- do you do the same muscle groups etc. each time or do different sessions(i.e. upper body one day, lower another)? 4 does seem quite a lot to me?

Re: bike training- Cross training with running etc will definitely work for general fitness (i.e. will train your heart and lungs the same no matter what type of exercise you do) but will not necessarily train your muscles in the same way- so in my opinion you need to train on the bike if you want to get more “bike fit”!

Running is good for bike fitness up to a point IME. For me, running over 20 miles per week starts to hinder my cycling – i can be very fit CV wise, but running changes my leg muscles to the point where my cycling suffers.

I think it comes down to a balance between running and cycling and depends on what your goals are. Depending on whether i’m training for a road or running event, i’ll change the ratio of cycling to running or vice versa.

You could try cutting your weight sessions down to 2 or 3 times a week, and fit in an extra ride. I weight train twice a week, would like to do it three times if i had the time but with running and riding, there’s no spare days of the week! I reckon you would still get the benefits from weights if you cut it down to 3 times a week. Do you do any weights that benefit your cycling at the gym?

i ride, run (when injury free), swim and do some excercises with a swiss ball and wobble board. cycling comes first, thats what i compete at, everything else is secondary. i have sometimes let the other stuff take over and cycling suffers for it. this isn’t a problem and at certain times, its preferable. but if i want to ride well then most of my energy has to go into riding.
you said it yourself, theres nothing like “bike fitness”. i would cut back on the other stuff and ride more frequently and often harder. i’m sure you are allready fit, but fit for running and weight training.

Make a concerted effort to pace yourself more? If you blow up then it’s hard to recover.

drop the weight lifting in exchange for body weight stuff, press ups, hindu press ups, marine press ups, horse stance, squats, burpees, star jumps, tuck jumps, V-sits, sit ups, leg raises all that kind of stuff. Can be included into a run round a park too if you want. Much more beneficial to cycling than lifting weights.

and yeh… don’t try to do everything all in one week or it’s too much. Take a couple of days off and I expect you’ll reet ready to go again.

I find that cylcing about 80miles a week and swimming twice a week is enough, or if I swim once a week I’ll do some of the circuit training listed above – drop a bike ride and go for a run instead… quality not quantity yer see…

Kev