After 10 years of not really doing any proper cycling (use to be a keen roadie) I decided in April to get back on the saddle. 10 years of inactivity take its toll. Like 4 stone overweight !!!!

So far I have lost ¾ stone and getting out on the bike about 3 times a week, mostly road but sometimes on the mtb. I’m finding that I get my hear pumping better on the mtb and an am getting the leg strength back with the road work. Getting out on the mtb is a bit like the interval training I used to do.
I’m managing to do 20-30 mile runs pretty slowly (14mph average). Climbing is still an issue with so much redundant weight, having ti drop gears even in small hills is a pain.

Anyone else in a similar position or has actually managed to get a lot fitter. I’m feeling like I am not getting anywhere fast, was hoping to loose a bit more weight and be able to do bigger runs by now!

How long did it take to get comfortable on a ride again?, i.e. not feeling like you are dying towards the end of a run, especially Ae forest runs.

I know I have made some progress just feeling like its not enough.

Cheers

Hmmmm. I still have days where I can’t breath, speak or walk after a bike ride. But that is just pushing yourself beyond your limits.

The best thing for pushing yourself and improving your fitness, is find a group to ride with who are fitter than you and try and keep up with them for the ride – but let them drink more when you make it to the pub.

I try and always ride with someone off road, i feel like a fish out of water when on the trails so i like the support/advice from others.

Not so easy on the road trying to organise riding partners, but your right, might be worth looking at joing a club and forcing the pace a bit, just dont want to have a heart attack.

It sounds like you’ve done fairly well – you’re getting out regularly and lost a bit of weight. 14mph over 30 miles mtb I would have thought was pretty good.

I got back into riding in March after a long lay off (not ten years though) and pushed myself quite a bit (actually, a lot) quite quickly. I was determined to ride every day and I did. That in itself was a significant factor in getting fitter but I think the big thing was pitting myself against some climbs. Not necessarily huge climbs, but if there’s a few of them on a regular ride then steadily you’ll get stronger on them.

I have found that when I start to feel an improvement, it fires me up to do more.
I went through a bit of a fitness surge two years ago and lost three stone over three months. I changed my diet as well as increasing my effort with the exercise. Less weight on me meant that I was quicker up the hill, had more energy and therefore would ride further, over more hills. I had been riding steadily before the weight loss which meant I was probably starting from a good base level of fitness. But I was really boosted by the improvements.

I’m sure you’ll get there.

loosing 3 stone over 3 months is very impressive, i dindt expect to loose all the weight but i was hoping for a bit more.
Just to clarify im 14mph over 30miles on the road not off road, the longest trail i have done is Dalbeatie, and i think i averaged 7mph!

Off road about 20km os about my limit before i really start feeling knackered.

I just feel i have gone backwards over the past month, even tho i have actually increased the amount of riding i am doing.

Trying to loose weight and exercise (hard) regularly is difficult to get right. It’s case of eating enough (on the bike and afterwards) to recover but not enough that the exercise is pointless. Your lack of lustre may simply be down to the wrong or not enough energy going into the tank to ride on, and this effects mood as well as physical performance. After about 45 mins of riding I start eating on the bike, not huge amounts but enough to maintain energy.

I stopped counting miles and speeds off-road as there are too many variable facotrs (I used to be slightly obsessed with it when I trained on the road) and tend to count hours and effort now. A HRM will give you a rough idea of calories and effort if you don’t already use one?

If you are riding regularly, its best to follow some sort of plan that has hard days and easy days and a rest day(s) as well as a low level week 1 in every 4 or 5.

Thanks, eating while out os probably something i should be looking at. i usually stick some dilute jucie in the bottle and get what i can from from that, probalby need something more.

Did 25miles on Friday and 23 yesterday, but was knackered, it seems that time definatly slows down how fast you can recover. I really need 1 to 2 days between cycles whuch 10 years ago i just didnt need.

I guess the winter will really be the tester, trying to still get out when its cold and raining.

Your right its a hard balance to increase workrate while trying to loose weight.

p.s. anyone got a training programme 6 month or so.