Fitness and how long does it take to get used to it

[Scuddy]

Hopefully, some of you may have seen my post introducing myself, I am James, I am unfortunately 40 years old, 5ft 7 and 15 stone.

I, in a mad freaky frame of mind, and having gotten hold of a mates Trax mountain bike, (Halfords) decided I would attempt to lose weight and get back into cycling. The Trax mountain bike was a bit (at the time I thought) heavy, and therefore when I was offered some rockshock forks for it, for nowt, agreed. Unfortunately the old forks came off, the new forks were the wrong size, and the old forks had mysteriously on the way off, apparently, cross threaded the headstock nut, and the forks, and i was a tad annoyed being left with no bike.

OK, the Trax bike was free, so nothing gained or lost really, my mate felt guilty, and I started looking into actually buying a bike. I work 1.68 miles from work, and its a mid to high steep climb.

So, I went with the cyclescheme that my employer is part of, and got myself a raliegh Urban 2.

I get to a wall at about 8 miles at the moment, slow down for a mile, and then go back to 10mph average.

I wonder how long it will take, if Im riding five nights a week, for 10 miles + and when my ass will quit the ouchy shouting its doing.

Any advice gratefully received

James

 

[Scuddy]

i should add, how long till the wall goes further away

 

[gary in derby]

Hi James/scuddy
welcome to the mad house, oh to be 40 again? not on your nelly, 50 next year and fitter than i was at 40. only been back in the saddle again for 6 months. im also overweight but it is coming off. i started out 6 months ago doing 6miles at 10mph on my mtb. now got a tricross and doing 30-40 mile rides at ave 14mph. still get a little saddle sore at times but doesnt last long. the trick is to make sure you rest in my opinion. im sure others will come and tell you whys and wherefores later. just have fun, enjoy the freedom.

 

[Globalti]

At 40 you've still got a fair bit of testosterone buzzing around in your body so building muscles in the right places shouldn't be too difficult! Wait until you're 56!

I can tell from your post that you've caught the cycling bug so now you need to feed it. Riding slowly up short hills is great, especially the bit that comes afterwards but as any honest mountain biker will tell you, there are better ways to build fitness. What you need is consistent hard riding and you will only get that from riding on the road at close to your maximum ability. They say that exercise doesn't begin to benefit you until after 20 minutes and I would say that an hour of riding at a brisk consistent pace will benefit you greatly. That Urban 2 is a pretty good choice as it combines the comfort and gearing of a mountain bike with the speed of a road bike. Pump the tyres up to their maximum, find a flattish bit of country and get out there. When you get off the bike you should feel absolutely beasted; eat plenty of proteins and carbs and take three or four days to allow the body to recover before doing any more hard exercise. Cut down on snacks and beer and you'll see the weight dropping off. Your waist will disappear and your bum and thighs will grow. If you must ride to work, take it easy and allow the muscles to recover before the next big effort; that's when the body builds muscle fibre in the legs and heart and fitness and strength increase.

One hint: if you find it difficult to avoid snacking after supper, go up and floss and clean your teeth; I find this helps me to avoid those evening sweets and biscuits. Also cut down the size of the portions you eat; this doesn't hurt because you soon become accustomed to the smaller meals. If you must eat puddings, stick with fresh fruit - there's nothing nicer than a big sweet juicy navel orange after a meal.

 

[Nosaj]

I was 37 when I started cycling, a bit taller than you but 1.5 stone heavier oh and an ex smoker of approaching 18 years although to be fair the last few of those years was stopping and starting for period of time. I was not particulalrly fit, to say the least but distinctly remember breaking the 10 mile barrier. That was 2.5 years ago. I am now around 12 stone in my clubs evening weekly 10 (I won't say compete in, but I do participate) and looking to do my first Novice club road race at the beginning of June. When I very first started if someone said lets go sign up for a 75 mile ride I would laugh in their face now I check my Diary.

Best way to do it at first is just build up a decent base level of fitness, forget about speed, average speed, intervals, FTP, Heart Rate zone training etc just for now. Just concentrate on getting out on your bike and building up the miles and enjoying it. Try and add on a long ride at a time convenient to you and add 10% to that mileage each week. In no time at all you will be up to 40-50 + miles long ride each week. With your commuting that will give you an excellent base to then add on the fun things.

The walls do move much further away quite quickly the only trouble is that you find you hit them at a slightly higher speed.

 

[kelvin davies]

What a great post, I am nearly the same frame as yourself, but lucky I am only 28: Sorry. I too find it a struggle to build my fitness up and to overcome the painful bum. Thank you for your post, it is ever so re-assuring

Kelvin

 

[paulw1969]

Hi and welcome to the madhouse that we call cycling!
Take your time, enjoy the riding and dont get too hung up about times etc..............no chance you have had it now if you are anything like me...... you have the bug and every mile/mph increase means everything .
I'm 43, 13 plus stone and the same height....stopped smoking after 20 years in Jan, got my bike in March i currently commute 15 plus miles a day and i keep breaking my own PB's and my general fitness is improving all the time. I also throw in the odd twenty miler....it would be higher than this if it wasn't for injury/back problems.
Just a word of warning, do take it easy and listen to your own body i have been set back by pushing myself too hard and getting myself injured which has set me back somewhat from where i wanted to be . Take it easy and build up the distance over time.
I did my first ten mile at approx 10 mph.......i now average between 15 and 16mph so to answer your question not long to get the figures up.
n regard to the sore arse....padded shorts are the answer they help loads.....shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks for your backside to adjust.....short rides rather than longer ones will help here.

 

[kelvin davies]

Can you get padded shorts which don't look like you are wearing a fanny pad? Not sure if that is the best description.

Kelvin

 

[Dave 123]

James, I'm sure it took years of careful and diligent neglect to get yourself out of shape? The good news is that you can reverse this in a matter of months!
People in this parish will be supportive

 

[Sittingduck]

Can you get padded shorts which don't look like you are wearing a fanny pad? Not sure if that is the best description.

Get simple padded cycling shorts and wear baggy shorts over the top. Decathlon and Sports Direct are your friends.

 

[paulw1969]

Can you get padded shorts which don't look like you are wearing a fanny pad? Not sure if that is the best description.

Kelvin

nope

dont worry about it.....just cycle faster and no-one will notice.....well thats what i choose to believe

 

[kelvin davies]

Thank you guys. How much can I expect to pay?

 

[Scuddy]

Cheers people, appreciate the comments and the advice, which I am taking on board. If when I got the bike, someone had said to me, that i would be able to do 20+ mile rides within a few days, I seriously would have laughed at them.

I went out and did this :- http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/JamesMcCartney/88k7hq7jt65lbga5

21.1 Miles - I also weighed myself this morning and found that I have dropped 2 more pounds to 14 stone 12 (I started out with eating differently, not snacking, watching the calories, walking the dog for 5-6 miles at 15 stone 10) So pretty pleased so far

 

[stephen.rooke]

i started at 16.5 5ft 9 stone a few months ago. could barely do 4/5 miles.

now im 15stone and have done 2 45 mile rides this week and a 20 mile ride. i actuall find 20miles boring now as its too short . keep at it and the fitness will come,.

make sure your bike is all set up correctly as any faults can make it harder and demotivate you,

i find now that i generally have more energy in normal day stuff i.e. work

 

[stephen.rooke]

once you get over thinking of distance all the time youll be find youll quickly build distance