Can over doing it cause long term damage

Yes. If you over train mildy and back off enough, you’ll recover ok after a bit. Continue with over training and it’ll take a lot longer to come back from.

“The negative consequences of overtraining are often gradual. The body is quite good at masking the earliest symptoms. But overtraining is a canny adversary. The problems it engenders will triumph in the end, unless changes are made to training, diet, and stress level.

Stage 1 or functional overtraining: The onset and earliest stage, very subtle indicators can clue you in that you’re heading for more serious problems.

Stage 2 or sympathetic overtraining. Brain and nervous system and hormonal imbalances cause a variety of signs and symptoms.

Stage 3 or parasympathetic overtraining. A serious condition, it results in exhaustion, severely affecting the nervous system, muscles, and hormonal levels.

The overtraining syndrome typically results in poor athletic performance, structural injury, such as in the foot, knee, or lower back, secondary to muscle imbalance, and metabolic problems, such as fatigue, infection, bone loss, sexual dysfunction, altered mood states, and brain and nervous system dysfunction. The signs and symptoms go beyond training and competition problems; they can even affect a person’s quality of life, sometimes for many years. More importantly, in the earliest stage many of the problems of overtraining are somewhat vague and indistinct unless a careful evaluation is made”.

My legs feel fine today, despite setting a new PB of 22.18mph yesterday for 84km. 😛

pretty much over training – your RHR stays elevated as your bodys in shock and trying to repair- its not used to the length of exercise.

+1 for this.

Build up slower to your longer ride, a huge jump from under 4 hours – 6.5.

I’m not a sponsored rider but on a race squad. As part of this I get my entry fee for priority races paid for, contribution for travel, some energy gels, free bike service for priority races and up to £90 worth of team kit. Plus i also get free coaching so i’m a pretty happy bunny 🙂

All I need now is a carbon wheel manufacturer to give me some bling tubs to race on 😉

went to see mine last week about an irregularity in my resting heart beat

mintimperial – how did you identify the irregularity in resting hr? do you mean it can jump from say 40 to 70 in the space of a few seconds whilst sitting down taking RHR or that it varies each day or something else?

Slim Jim, our resident (albeit banned) expert TSY says your diet is crap btw.

This thread isn’t the same without iMolly or TSY 😥

Get a bike fit done if you want it to be 100%. I had one done recently, new seatpost, saddle position changed, height raised, new bar and stem = much more comfortable and powerful.

Previously I’d done the heel/pedal thing too. My saddle was raised by 2m or so, inseam measured in at 77.7 and saddle height is now 68.5, but no idea of the ratio used for working it out – all my measurements and my flexibility was taken into account when setting it up.

I had a trek 1.5 as my winter bike. Compared to my nice trek, the 1.5 felt cheap, rubbish and a world apart from my nice trek. It hardly got used as a result.

I have no kids/mortgage and no desire for either, so if it was me, i’d be changing the bike 🙂 Changing wheels and lighter/race tyres will make a noticeable difference if you want to spend money.

<smug unhelpful post> we have a cup to bean machine that makes nice espresso </smug> 😈

ERC 48s finished for the year now. There’s huaghcross on (i think) 22nd July – cx race in Aberdour.

I confirmed their worst suspicions by mentioned as a half joke that ‘it would also make them lighter

LOL! I saw you on sunday btw, heading past Bruntsfield on the bike.

For our month long tour, i had my mtb shoes plus a pair of merrell sandals. Problem with going for sandals/flip flops was a) when it got a bit colder up in the mountains = cold feet and b) some camp sites had bitey insects = wanting to cover up skin completely. So Mustard picked me up some cheap pumps from decathlon one night (after we’d been looking for a decathlon for about 2 weeks during the trip!), they were super light, folded up to nothing and were purple. Not the most stylish but did the job.

PS, coffee at ours soon to catch up?

I’ve been building up to 13/14 hours. Can’t see any further ahead than this week as my coach is on hols. I’ve usually got about 5-6 sessions of cycling per week and i try to do 2 weights sessions as well but don’t always manage to do everything in the plan if my resting hr is up. But i’m building/resting around race dates so that will influence my rest weeks etc.

The only thing i can really say is make sure you active recovery sessions are easy….i’ll have to be on the rollers to sit in zone 1!

TSY is banned but he asked me to tell you to MTFU. 🙂

Depends how much you have been doing. I’m on an easy week just now, but my training plan for this week is 9hr 45! My easy week has my active recovery sessions in zone 1 rather than zone 2 and the time (but not intensity) of some session cut down and 2 sessions as normal.

Edit, only the first line of your post was showing when i first looked at it! Looks like you have been doing similar hours to me – i’m up around 14hrs by comparision. I’d include some active recovery sessions and a proper rest day (stay off your feet as much as poss during that day). But i’m sure TSY will be along soon to tell you that you don’t need to rest 😛

The worst 20-35 minutes of your life, but strangely enjoyable afterwards. I’m getting addicted to them

I thought i’d like them but so far I’ve not – not even when i’ve finished! I just don’t get the buzz that I get from road racing and whilst i can push myself hard, I get mentally bored half way through. But I did enjoy a 2up TT better than a solo one.

Just finished season 5. Think 3 and 4 were my favourites. 5 was a bit disappointing.

Definitely possesses the “well…. . It’s midnight, we’ve watched 3 episodes already. Fancy another?” quality

+1!

Try focusing on hamstrings and glutes – they are likely to be weaker than quads from cycling. Plus step ups and downs too. Also one legged dips, in fact, do single leg stuff for pretty much everything otherwise you’ll never sort the imbalance as the stronger leg will end up doing all the work.

In other news my foam roller does seem to be helping my knee after all, despite my scepticism that ITBS was the cause.

Can i say i told ya so?! 😀

Some chicken for breakfast Handful of cashew nuts mid morning
Chicken and salad for lunch Handful of cashew nuts mid afternoon

BoardinBob, you will turn into a chicken or cashew nut! 😛

I watched The Grey last night. Was bored stupid and as for the ending 🙄

Nuun for me.

OP, are you just making a general question or do you have a design in mind?

/helpful post/

I find chamois creme helps heal up bruised or chaffed lady bits so it might work for you? *the things you learn when touring for a month*

New shorts might help if you’ve had the ones you’ve got for a while.

Its great fun – my first night ride finished about 2am, having riden from Edinburgh – Ballinluig – Edinburgh. Crossing the forth road bridge about 1am ish was great. Beware of the potholes if you are riding in a bunch.

Warmer clothing is a must.

The saddle discomfort wasn’t from using the drops, it was because i was creeping forward on the saddle instead of sitting on my sitbones. The bike fit has mostly fixed it, though i’m very aero on the drops (but not in pain) So if i can get my knee fixed, i’ll be grand!

Is this a function / related to your shoulder width, anyone

Solo, yes. Its according to how wide your shoulders are…hence my tiny 36s!

Its difficult to say what caused the knee pain: the saddle height was initially changed (up quite a bit) and saddle position too, then the bars/stem, and cleats. Cleats were done last of all and that’s when i felt the first discomfort. Saddle height has now gone down a bit, but the pain is on the inside of my knee. Cleat position changed a bit and new pedals. I was reluctant to change the position of my cleats at the first bike fit but relented. It was all done with lasers and measuring angles etc to my flexibility rather than just this is what someone somewhere has said the bike should be set up like.

what was it that inspired the bike fit?

Some saddle/soft tissue discomfort. But now i wish i’d not gone as i can live with the discomfort and would rather have it any day than knee pain and back to the physio! Although the rest of the bike feels good with the shorter stem and teeny tiny 36 bars with very shallow drops. I guess i’ll see tomorrow if its any better after a few days off the bike, ice on the knee, new pedals and changing the cleat position.

Mol/TSY, i’m not losing sleep over my training. Its just different to me making it up. The wallpaper/decorating reference is quite apt.

I do the training plan and follow my coaches advice because i want to get better. If i just wanted to carry on getting shelled out the back of chaingangs and dropped when the pace went above 20mph, i’d carry on training myself. But I want to get fitter/faster for racing so i’m out of other options as i don’t have the knowledge to coach myself in the best way.

I don’t hate training this way, but its not the same as going for a ride with your mates. I don’t feel guilty for missing a session these days but i do feel a bit like i’m letting my coach down if i decide its too wet and cold to go out – that’ll be every day atm then 😉

My bike fit on the other hand was stressing me out, but having spent 5 hours and £200+ to then have pain from something that wasn’t there before….well, im sure anyone would get annoyed at that, plus then having to potentially pay for physio and having an injury from it.

What’s been interesting to note is that already (3 weeks into my plan) my resting heart rate is lower already and i’m feeling much more comfortable at race pace (36-37kph). If my knee wasn’t giving me grief, i’d say my performance has improved tons already.

Hate gyms

I love the gym and working out with weights. I’d rather miss a ride than a weights session!

PS, mol, get yourself a foam roller. You can’t stretch your IT bands properly, foam roller or massage is the only way. Did you figure out your VMO muscle?

Mol, its on my training plan; A 20min warm up raising hr to 10beats below lowest zone 5a number. Then ride 1.5miles out and back keepig hr 9-11 bpm below lowest zone 5a number.

TSY, Get your hr zones set!! It wouldn’t be that hard an effort in that zone and you should def be able to go harder/faster.

It does take away the enjoyment 100%…being coached isn’t that enjoyable compared to my own self coaching. That’s why i asked for club runs to be included otherwise i’d be riding on my own 6 days a week looking at my hrm all the time for intervals/cadence/hr zones etc. But the plan won’t work if i ignore what zone i should be in! The club runs are a chance to work on skills, ignore the hrm and have some fun.

I’m just not that interested in the bike fit science as i don’t believe in the one rule for everyone for all aspects of the fit; my cleats were set up to my measurements/flexibility but my inaccurate way of setting them up was better than science as i didn’t have knee pain before and now i do! Plus the last one took nearly 5 hours instead of 2 so its mentally tiring too. Maybe i should have a bottle of red wine before the fit?!

Solo, i’m buying beets and juicing them at home and adding in lemon juice too. I’ve tried adding in other things, celery, ginger, carrots, apples etc but it just makes the juice much longer and i struggle to drink it all. So now its just a mug of beet with lemon, down in a oner with something to take away the taste afterwards!

TSY i’m going back to get the bike fit sorted, maybe on saturday pm but i’m racing on sunday…i find the whole fit thing stressful/tiring and not sure its best prep for racing. But then with knee pain, i’m not in much shape to race properly either… I can only see as far ahead on my training plan as Sunday so not sure if/when i have another 3mile TT to do. How did you find it, and did you keep to the right HR zone or did you just go flat out?

Active recovery, lol TSY you stole that from me! :p I have one session per week of active recovery (in zone 1 which for me is 121-152). What did you think of the rest of the zone info?

Nope, i did some unstructured jumps instead. It was freezing and i got an ice cream headache from descending in the cold. I’m struggling with knee pain since my bike fit and getting quite stressed out over it 😥

Solo, so its your fault its raining and i got soaked on my commute then? 👿

Phil, get someone to show you how the TRX straps work; the straps are adjustable so for the press ups vid i posted, adjust the straps to just below knee height. Really focus on your form/what your back and abs are doing as most blokes i see using it are all over the place. The most i can do of them is 10 before i feel it in my lower back and have to stop.

For things like pull ups/lunges/jumping squats, i have them on the shortest setting. Its also worth noting that for floor based exercises, the further away you are from where the strap is attached to the wall/ceiling, the easier it is. For standing ones like pull ups, the closer to where the strap is attached is harder.

My first audax was like a race but i later found out that a lot of club riders use it as an early season tester before the season kicks off (it was in March i think) Everyone set off in small groups, i was in a bunch of about 15, 5 of which i knew. You need to be self sufficient, know the route since there’s no signs/directions (unlike say sportives). The card was small, about pack of card size, and was mostly signed in places like cafes and at the top of a long climb out the back of the guys boot. Get food and drink in the cafes/shops next to them when you are getting the card signed. Everyone went at their own pace, most people were friendly and helpful expect for a few. There wasn’t much riding in chaingangs (that i saw anyway), just more bunch riding/wheel sitting.

If you need advice during it, seek out the older blokes who have been riding audaxes for years.

Sorry, I meant i start taking it 4-5 days before a race and daily from then til the race. There’s varies studies about it and the amount needed per day. Some i’ve read suggest that if you want to take larger doses then take 3 days before a race. I can’t drink that much of it, so i have less over a longer time period.

Hmm, a jack knife should be straight legs yes, but the youbtube video says its press up to jack knife so i used that name but its not with straight legs. Its the same as in the video ^^. I do add dumbells from time to time when doing them, ouchie! My shoulders/arms have changed shape since i started doing more press ups/pull ups/body weight exercises and ditched the weights…i’ve lost a lot of weight from that area.

Tricky, i can go faster/harder for longer when i take it. I think its used differently by the body at race pace compared to just a training session. Do something different or fun then for motivation. And def get back into the chaingangs as it doesn’t feel like training. The pace of our chaingangs has noticeably gone up each week! The Tuesday night run i do is like a race pace chaingang but thankfully they re-group at the top of the hill as i can’t climb at the speed they do! 😯

anyone tried this beetroot larky?

I’m taking zipvit beet capsules atm and always take beetroot 4-5 days before a race (i juice about 200-500ml beets with some lemon squeezed in) It is seriously disgusting but it works.

Into a side plank??

Yup but instead of arm by side, its straight up in the air.

Plank is great for core. Once you have mastered the olympic rings phil, put your feet in them and do press ups into a jack knife. My core has never been better as a result of these! Having issues linking sorry 😳 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdiq4NPSvGY

phil, i’ve seen huge improvements using the TRX and also press ups into a T position. If you don’t have TRX at your gym, do you have olympic rings – TSY tried some of the stuff my PT set me using olympic rings instead of the TRX and IIRC it worked just as well.

for Advanced level as a guy the 3 miles needs to be done in under 8 mins.

And for a girlie? I’ve no idea how long it’d take me but i’m meant to time it. I guess i’ll be doing another one to measure progress at some point. It’ll be weather dependant – no point doing it if there’s a massive headwind one way and then i get blown back and can’t keep my hr as high as it needs to be.

Actually i’ve just looked at my zones and my hr only needs to be around 174…that’s less than a race or the recent TT I did so maybe not that nasty after all. BTW i have some good info on hr zones i can send you if you like? Its broken down into my 7 zones (what they are) plus what happens to your body/fuel burnt etc during each zone.

solo, not sure why philly does his in that order but years ago i used to do weights and then spinning or a run. I wanted to get the most out of my weights session so i did it first when i was fresh. Now i’m trying to fit in more of my training plan, i’d still do it that way round.

I pushed myself a bit harder last night at the gym and did a few more press ups in a T position and am a bit sore this morning.

On my training plan tonight is either unstructured jumps or a tempo time trial which sounds erm, interesting – a 20minute warm up then 3 miles with hr 10b below zone5a. Got the women’s road race championships on Sunday so i shall mostly be doing active recovery and or resting after tonight 8)