Lost all my fitness in 9 days

[k turner]

I am really dissappointed in myself. My pony went off for some schooling for 2 weeks and did so well I brought him home in just 9 days.

I wasnt cycling to him for feeding during this time as the trainers did all the looking after at their place.

When I tried to cycle to him after he came home, I had lost all my fitness. I was huffing and puffing, sore thighs again, back to square one.

This has been a valuable lesson, as 6 days later I am still not back to where I was. I was managing all the way with only one stop. I will never let this happen again, and in future will cycle everyday no matter what FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, dont want to go through this again. It is agony.

Is this normal?

 

[DJ]

It sounds a bit extreme to me. When I had to stop cycling for about 6 weeks earlier this year due to a torn ligament I could feel my fitness level dropping and certainly when I got back on the bike it did take a while to get back to fitness again I really notice it in my breathing as my lungs are'nt very good!
What I realise is that alot more muscles need to be worked in order to be really fit, some times I get an overwelming urge to do upper body weights and I just have to run off and do them.
and if I can do 8 miles to work no problem then it does'nt mean I can do 20 no problem, I have to work on my fitness in order to maintain it.
So when you are back to your original fitness then start adding more miles or pushing harder on your normal route. That way you will get truely fit.

Good luck.

 

[k turner]

djtheglove - rather like practising for a 5 mile run by doing 20 everyday, so come race day you can sail through.

I have a lot of physical problems and it took me 3 months to be able to do the one mile each way.

I am so fed up I have to go through all this again.

I was using the indoor recumbant cycle daily to stay fit but I was obviously not doing enough.

 

[DJ]

Sorry to hear you are finding it tough, keep at it and it will pay off!

I find it tough too sometimes,.

 

[FBOAB]

Don't let it get you down, it's not the end of the world.

+1 Haven't been on me bike much this week and feel it! Keep at it! You know it make sense.

 

[ianrauk]

Yep, a 13 mile each way commute, coming after a 2 week US holiday binging on crap food, gallons of beer and lounging around a pool, was a killer, din't take long to get the fitness back up though..

So keep at it... you will soon be back in the swing of things

 

[soulful dog]

I was similarly disheartened recently when I was without my bike for a few weeks and when I got it back it felt like I was almost having to start all over again. I put it down to the fact that a) I've not been cycling for that long and, am not likely to ever be particularly fit.

However, although it was still hard work, it didn't take as long to get back to my previous level as it had to start with - so even if you've fallen back, bear in mind you're still fitter than you were before you started cycling!

Everyone's fitness is different so don't let it get you down. Get out there as often as you can, but don't feel the need that you have to go out every day, as then it could end up feeling like a chore - and it is supposed to be fun too.

Good luck.

 

[Crackle]

Yes it's normal K-turner, although all your physical problems are going to compound it as well. As you get more miles into the legs and lungs then if you take a break, it's not like starting from zero you will get back quicker.

Speaking as a bit of a come back king myself I find it's never easy and the older I get the harder it becomes If you've got the excercise bike that's an excellent way of maintaining CV fitness and a fair % of your strength but it won't be a substitute for actual riding.

You just have to dig in mentally now and get back to where you were. You know you can do it because you already have. Once you've got over the disappointment of starting over, you'll find that things get easier quicker - honestly.

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

I hope it's normal because that is what happens to me when I dont ride for a few days. What i do now is eat a lot less when I am not riding, which means I am hungry because my body is expecting another long ride in the morning and wants feeding.
Keep going..all will be well.

 

[k turner]

thanks for the encouragement, glad to see it happens to others as well.

I sold the car when I got the bike because I could no longer change gear and had to pull over in traffic jams.

For those who dont know, I have to get to pony twice a day in winter to feed him, one mile away so two miles twice a day. So it is not just for fun, I cant take any days off. I will be cycling 365 days per year.

I am sure I will be one here when it is snow and ice, asking for advice,

Definately going to do a lot more on the indoor cycle, I think my problem was it didnt have hills built in, so all the Sheffield hills wasnt practised!!!!

I put it up to hard and knackered my knees, so went on to easy again. Which was obviously too easy.

Well we live and learn.

 

[PpPete]

I hope it's normal because that is what happens to me when I dont ride for a few days. What i do now is eat a lot less when I am not riding, which means I am hungry because my body is expecting another long ride in the morning and wants feeding.
Keep going..all will be well.

that'll be the reason he's not half the man he used to be....

 

[Andy in Sig]

I am really dissappointed in myself. My pony went off for some schooling for 2 weeks and did so well I brought him home in just 9 days.

I wasnt cycling to him for feeding during this time as the trainers did all the looking after at their place.

When I tried to cycle to him after he came home, I had lost all my fitness. I was huffing and puffing, sore thighs again, back to square one.

This has been a valuable lesson, as 6 days later I am still not back to where I was. I was managing all the way with only one stop. I will never let this happen again, and in future will cycle everyday no matter what FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, dont want to go through this again. It is agony.

Is this normal?

Don't worry about this as you will get back to where you more quickly than you got there in the first place. Once you are back at your previous levels it could then be an idea to add little side loops onto your return journey so as to make further improvement i.e. become good at doing more than you have to.

 

[Globalti]

You need to exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes in order to gain any benefit.

You lose fitness at a third the rate you gain it.

No amount of training will help if your saddle is too low.

 

[k turner]

Well the fitness came back quick enough, only had to stop twice today and that is in just 10 days.

From Nov 10th or so, after fireworks stop pony will have to go in at night and be let out in the morning, so I will have to start going twice a day.

I am going to start adding in loops now and using home one everyday as well in preperation.

Need to buy lights as well as the ones I got from Lidl broke after 2 weeks.

You were all right the fitness does come back quicker the second time.

Will keep it up now. Dont know what I will do if I get ill and someone else goes for me? I will just have to keep starting over. At least I know it is not going to take 3 months every time.

 

[ianrauk]

it's very suprising how quickly your fitness levels rise when you are cycling a fair distance everyday