# how to get my fitness levels up



## The Newbie (23 Mar 2015)

Hi Im pretty new to cycling and I'm really wanting to try and get my fitness levels up. I have recently completed a 28 mile run and crikey I could of one passed out and come the end, my legs were trembling. Tonight I done 10 miles and I was fine. I am ideally looking to get my fitness levels up enough to manage a 38 mile round commute to work a couple of times a week, does anybody have any tips? I.e. Training and what foods are best?


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## vickster (23 Mar 2015)

Ride more  lose some weight if you need to, make sure the bike is set up right, spin don't grind the pedals...all the things I need to do


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## Saluki (23 Mar 2015)

^^ What @vickster said. Just ride, it'll come.


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## MikeW-71 (23 Mar 2015)

Yep, it gets better. Ride more, avoid heavily processed foods. Eat proper food, pasta, rice, potatoes, veg, chicken, fish, eggs. Cut way back on alcohol, or stop it altogether. Keep riding.

It won't be that long before you'll be doing that commute twice a week.


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## SatNavSaysStraightOn (24 Mar 2015)

Ride more...


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## screenman (24 Mar 2015)

Take up swimming, I thought I was fit until I did that. Seems I was just cycling fit, Vicster's advice is very good.


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## Berk on a Bike (24 Mar 2015)

Ride your bike. Then ride it some more. If that doesn't work, ride it more still. And then some more.


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## Scotchlovingcylist (24 Mar 2015)

screenman said:


> Take up swimming, I thought I was fit until I did that. Seems I was just cycling fit, Vicster's advice is very good.



Yeah I thought I would be fine taking up running due to being bike fit, how wrong I was


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## Citius (24 Mar 2015)

Are we talking about cycling fitness? Just cycle. Regularly.


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## Drago (24 Mar 2015)

Exercise more, eat sensibly, get a solid 8 hours sleep every night. It's pretty straightforward really, requiring only determination.


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## helston90 (24 Mar 2015)

Ride whenever possible- I'm always amazed that if I don't get a proper ride in for whatever reason so long as I used the bike to nip to the shops/ parents/ town etc. I can keep on top of my fitness even with these short 4/5 mile blasts.


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## Joshua Plumtree (24 Mar 2015)

Just keep riding your bike - has anyone else mentioned that?


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## Citius (24 Mar 2015)

Joshua Plumtree said:


> Just keep riding your bike - has anyone else mentioned that?



Radical suggestion. Some people mentioned swimming earlier...


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## Cuchilo (24 Mar 2015)

Snooker is good training for bike riding . That and chess .


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## surfdude (24 Mar 2015)

ride to a cake shop 14 miles away and eat some cake for energy so you can get back .


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## Joshua Plumtree (24 Mar 2015)

I also find wrestling with my inner ape helps to keep my fitness levels up.


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## screenman (24 Mar 2015)

How fit do you want to get, I swim 5 hours a week and cycle 4, there are a lot of people fitter than me.


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## Citius (24 Mar 2015)

screenman said:


> How fit do you want to get, I swim 5 hours a week and cycle 4, there are a lot of people fitter than me.



I would guess he's talking about bike fitness (just a wild guess) - so if he is starting from a low level and wants to improve on a bike, then 'cycling' has got to be right up there as one of the best ways to get fit on a bike.


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## mattobrien (24 Mar 2015)

Push harder


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## Dayvo (24 Mar 2015)

Swimming and skipping will help. Also a sensible diet and suitable amounts of rest/sleep. 

And make sure your tyres are well inflated


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## User16625 (24 Mar 2015)

Dayvo said:


> Swimming and skipping will help. Also a sensible diet and suitable amounts of rest/sleep.
> 
> And make sure your tyres are well inflated




If he is aiming for fitness then surely its better for his tyres to have a bit of rolling resistance? Having them well inflated is a bit like a roider buying weights made from carbon fibre.


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## Citius (24 Mar 2015)

Don't be letting tyres down for any absurd 'fitness related' reason. Just inflate them to the correct pressure and leave them alone. Let's not be discussing tyre pressures in a fitness thread. Whatever next.


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (24 Mar 2015)

Ignore the bluster about skipping,swimming and bedroom gymnastics, go ride your bike


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## Berk on a Bike (24 Mar 2015)

Joshua Plumtree said:


> I also find wrestling with my inner ape helps to keep my fitness levels up.


To be fair wrestling any kind of ape will do your fitness the world of good.


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## Dayvo (24 Mar 2015)

Newbie!

As I mentioned above, use cross training as a supplement for your cycling fitness.

http://bicycling.about.com/od/trainingandfitness/a/crosstrain.htm

http://bicycling.about.com/od/trainingandfitness/a/crosstrain.htm


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## Citius (24 Mar 2015)

Dayvo said:


> Newbie!
> 
> As I mentioned above, use cross training as a supplement for your cycling fitness.
> 
> ...



The argument for cross training in a cycling context is pretty weak, to be honest. Might be useful if you want some kind of 'all-over' conditioning, but pretty darn useless if you only want to get 'cycling fit' - for which, the best type of exercise is - yep, you guessed it - cycling. 

Cycling exercises the muscles and physiology which are used in, er, cycling - so suggesting an alternative if you only want to get 'cycling fit' is gonna be tricky,


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## screenman (24 Mar 2015)

T.M.H.N.E.T said:


> Ignore the bluster about skipping,swimming and bedroom gymnastics, go ride your bike



Which is very good advice if all you want is cycling specific fitness. I also found just being a cyclist was not enough for me after 50 years of it.


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## Citius (24 Mar 2015)

screenman said:


> Which is very good advice if all you want is cycling specific fitness. I also found just being a cyclist was not enough for me after 50 years of it.



No argument with that - except the fact that the question was (presumably) about cycling fitness.


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## Dayvo (24 Mar 2015)

Citius said:


> The argument for cross training in a cycling context is pretty weak, to be honest. Might be useful if you want some kind of 'all-over' conditioning, but pretty darn useless if you only want to get 'cycling fit' - for which, the best type of exercise is - yep, you guessed it - cycling.
> 
> Cycling exercises the muscles and physiology which are used in, er, cycling - so suggesting an alternative if you only want to get 'cycling fit' is gonna be tricky,



Fair enough, but the OP is a newbie to cycling, not a seasoned cyclist preparing for an audax. 

Of course getting on his bike will eventually give him the fitness he desires, but general fitness, breathing techniques, suppleness of joints and muscle strength (in back, shoulders, arms, glutes etc) will aid his cycling. 

Once he's achieved the desired/suitable general fitness, then he can up the ante. 

I'm just offering my opinion, which is what the OP is after.


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (25 Mar 2015)

The Newbie said:


> Hi Im pretty new to cycling and I'm really wanting to try and get my fitness levels up.





screenman said:


> Which is very good advice if all you want is cycling specific fitness. I also found just being a cyclist was not enough for me after 50 years of it.



Ride a bike........


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## tyred (25 Mar 2015)

Fill the panniers up with bricks


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## Sittingduck (25 Mar 2015)

Just go out and try the commute. 19 miles each way is only a set of 19 mile rides a number of times a week and you can manage 10 milers ok. If you're knackered after day 1 - take a day off. If you're ok, continue. You will soon get fitter by attempting it. If your goal is to ride longer rides at speed then it will take some time but just doing the commute a few times a week is going to be a good start.


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## Mrs M (25 Mar 2015)

Kettle bells and gym ball.


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## vickster (25 Mar 2015)

To add weight to the bike?


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## Mrs M (25 Mar 2015)

Core strength.
Gym ball worked for me. Was the turning point for me trying to get fit after accident.
Still to find out if the kettle bells change your body shape. Will report back once mine have been liberated from the wardrobe and put into action.


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## Citius (25 Mar 2015)

Mrs M said:


> Core strength.
> Gym ball worked for me. Was the turning point for me trying to get fit after accident.
> Still to find out if the kettle bells change your body shape. Will report back once mine have been liberated from the wardrobe and put into action.



So - if you want to get bike-fit, working on core strength and a gym ball is better than riding a bike?


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## Mrs M (25 Mar 2015)

To get bike fit riding the bike as much as possible must be key.
But getting core strength will help enormously on the bike.
I am no athlete by any stretch of the imagination but this is what worked for me.


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## Citius (25 Mar 2015)

You can get core strength gains on a bike as well - by definition.


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## Mrs M (25 Mar 2015)

Yep, in fact after 3rd op surgeon recommended cycling. 
Being a fair weather cyclist  if it's snowing or cold and windy, I'm happier indoors wobbling about on the gym ball.


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## Hacienda71 (25 Mar 2015)

Eat, ride, sleep, repeat.


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## Mrs M (25 Mar 2015)

Practice/protein? Like Mo Farra


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## ianrauk (25 Mar 2015)

Simple. As others have said. Just ride and ride some more.


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## vickster (25 Mar 2015)

Mrs M said:


> Practice/protein? Like Mo Farra


Ugh but that involves Quorn according to him


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## Mrs M (25 Mar 2015)

Quorn free zone here


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## roryo07 (25 Mar 2015)

Cutting out alcohol is the hardest thing for me to do!!


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## vickster (25 Mar 2015)

Sweets for me.  I've not had an alcoholic drink since 3rd January 

And staying uncrocked enough to ride a bike often enough to get bike fit


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## uclown2002 (25 Mar 2015)

vickster said:


> Sweets for me.  I've not had an alcoholic drink since 3rd January
> 
> And staying uncrocked enough to ride a bike often enough to get bike fit


I bet you couldn't keep up with me when it comes to sweets!! I have no off-switch


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## vickster (25 Mar 2015)

uclown2002 said:


> I bet you couldn't keep up with me when it comes to sweets!! I have no off-switch


Mine is not good...I recently opened a bag of maltesers...I may need to leave the house!


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## sir adrian dangerous (25 Mar 2015)

If I'm pushed for time I sometimes do hill repeats. Pretty boring but good for fitness.


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## matiz (25 Mar 2015)

Hod carrying got me superfit but I ended up to tired to ride my bike


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## Rob3rt (25 Mar 2015)

sir adrian dangerous said:


> If I'm pushed for time I sometimes do hill repeats. Pretty boring but good for fitness.



If you are bored whilst going hill repeats, you are not doing them right!


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## uclown2002 (25 Mar 2015)

So the (serious) advice to the OP so far is:-
Ride more, lose weight, eat better, sack alcohol,start swimming, get 8 hrs sleep, eat cake, skipping, inflate tyres, don't inflate tyres, cross training, kettlebells, gym balls, core strength exercises, and hill repeats.

Might have missed a few suggestions.

Has OP been back?


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## sir adrian dangerous (26 Mar 2015)

Rob3rt said:


> If you are bored whilst going hill repeats, you are not doing them right!


I meant no change of scenery.


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## Citius (26 Mar 2015)

sir adrian dangerous said:


> I meant no change of scenery.



It's not about the scenery


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