when does it get easier !
- Thread starter feckem
- Start date
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2wd
Canyon Aeroad CF 7.0 Di2
Keep it up and as has ben said, put a few more miles in and you'll start to feel the benefit.
Just been out on a slightly different route for just short of 6 miles
A week ago I was climbing the one hill I had to get home in the lowest gear possible,now I am challenging myself and moving up a few gears,I've also found another couple of hills to go up
Felt a bit queasy when i got home but it's all part of the fun
Oh and I'm nearly 49 years old,13 1/2 stone and only been riding for 10 days and can definately confirm that putting the effort in does pay off.
Just been out on a slightly different route for just short of 6 miles
A week ago I was climbing the one hill I had to get home in the lowest gear possible,now I am challenging myself and moving up a few gears,I've also found another couple of hills to go up
Felt a bit queasy when i got home but it's all part of the fun
Oh and I'm nearly 49 years old,13 1/2 stone and only been riding for 10 days and can definately confirm that putting the effort in does pay off.
cyberknight
As long as I breathe, I attack.
- Location
- Land of confusion
Young `un
I am 44 next year .
As others have said you will have good and bad days , just go with it and ride to your capabilities on the day and you will see improvement .
Klaus
Senior Member
- Location
- High Wycombe
"Will it ever get easier?"
I ask myself everytime I go out on the bike (not a commuter).
Generally it should get easier over time, whatever your age.
Perhaps it might be useful to do a few longer rides at weekends, somewhere else, with a variety of terrain, flat, up and down hill, etc.
PS. I am 53, 13 stone, only ride weekends, about 30 to 40 mile tours.
I ask myself everytime I go out on the bike (not a commuter).
Generally it should get easier over time, whatever your age.
Perhaps it might be useful to do a few longer rides at weekends, somewhere else, with a variety of terrain, flat, up and down hill, etc.
PS. I am 53, 13 stone, only ride weekends, about 30 to 40 mile tours.
Moodyman
Legendary Member
My commute is quite hilly - 800 feet climbing either way. I used to dread the thought of the hills. But, it took me about a month to get used to them.
I now love hills - not in the same way as coming down, but the thrill of getting to the summit and not being defeated.
byegad
Legendary Member
- Location
- NE England
Assuming the bike has no fault. (A dragging brake could make the difference you mentioned.)
You need to see the doctor and get checked over. Assuming that everything is OK.
Then riding a longer loop a couple of times a week will help build stamina. I usually ride 18 to 30 mile loops and, even at 60 and with a larger waist size than you, wouldn't see anything short of a hill steeper than 20% as a challenge in a 3 mile run. If 3 miles is all you ever do then you'll not get that reserve you need for the days when the wind's in your face and/or you are not feeling 100%.
The suggestion to do a few 10 mile rides is a good idea.
You need to see the doctor and get checked over. Assuming that everything is OK.
Then riding a longer loop a couple of times a week will help build stamina. I usually ride 18 to 30 mile loops and, even at 60 and with a larger waist size than you, wouldn't see anything short of a hill steeper than 20% as a challenge in a 3 mile run. If 3 miles is all you ever do then you'll not get that reserve you need for the days when the wind's in your face and/or you are not feeling 100%.
The suggestion to do a few 10 mile rides is a good idea.
totallyfixed
Veteran
- Location
- The only county without a McDonalds
Is the bike the right size for you? Has anyone with experience looked at how you are riding? This is the first port of call, all the rest is pointless until this is sorted out.
Davidc
Guru
- Location
- Somerset UK
go and do 10+ mile rides in your free time, it will make 3 miles feel like a warm up so you won't worry about it any more
Agree. I've used that method a number of times in the past.
If it's not too steep a hill 3 miles at 10 mph (18 minutes) isn't too seriously slow for a short daily trip to work. It's not a workout, and you probably prefer not to arrive sweaty (unless there's a shower you can use). Keep the high pressure sweaty rides for david1701's suggested 10+ miles rides.
Scilly Suffolk
Über Member
So you've gone from being sat on your arse in the car puffing on a tab to cycling, swimming and going to the gym?
Well, kudos to you! Seriously, I take my hat of to you!
However, I fear that you are falling into the trap that most of us who have reached a certain age have fallen into; and that is being too enthusiastic and trying to do too much at once.
Effective and safe fitness training is built on three things: exercise, nutrition & rest. From what you have written it is clear that you are doing too much of the former and not enough of the latter. If you carry on as you are, you are at risk of over-training which will lead to injury and a lack of progress. In turn this will likely demoralise you and before you know it you'll give the whole lot up and be back in your old, bad ways.
Firstly, go and see your Doctor and get an "M.O.T.": you need to know where you're at before you start. If you have any underlying health problems they will likely be exacerbated by exercise.
Secondly, going from a sedentary lifestyle to the amounts of exercise you are doing is far too much. Cycling and swimming are both aerobic activities (working the heart and lungs) so, at least until you have a reasonable standard of fitness, it should be one or the other and not both (on the same day). Variety in exercise is good: it relieves boredom and works your body in different ways, so if you cycle on a particular day don't also cycle.
Running is a very effective aerobic exercise to burn calories and shift weight: have a look at this training programme; what particularly like about this, is that it is aimed directly at people starting from a low level of fitness and is very gradual. But again, it should be one or the other, not both!
Resistance training (hefting weights in the gym) is good to include in your programme; once we pass forty the rate at which calcium leaches from our bones accelerates: aerobic exercise doesn't address this, weight-bearing exercise does. But again, don't over do it: a full body workout once or twice a week is plenty. Gym fascists who boast of hitting the gym every day are either i) doing a split programme that targets different areas of the body on different days or ii) ill-informed idiots.
Thirdly, you need to know how many calories you need on a daily basis if you're to adjust your diet to lose weight; try this weight calculator to get a broad idea of your target weight and this calorie calculator to establish your needs. Do two calculations, one using your current weight and one using your target weight.
To begin with I suggest you start checking your current diet so you know if you are over-eating (gaining weight) and if necessary adjust your diet to maintain your current weight. After a month or so gradually reduce your calorie intake in stages allowing your body time to adjust to each reduction, until you are at the right level to maintain your target weight.
Eat more, smaller meals to stop your metabolism in a steady state rather peaking and troughing: have a snack three hours after a meal and a meal two and a half hours after a snack (three of each should see you through the day); Breakfast should be larger than Lunch which should be larger than Dinner. This will stop more fat being laid down and avoid you feeling hungry.
Finally, you need to rest your body. Most people who take up exercise also have an idea of diet & nutrition, but most will neglect to rest enough. Exercise provides the stimulus, nutrition provides the fuel, rest provides the opportunity. You are definitely doing too much at the moment: your commute is taking you longer and you have picked-up an injury, I rest my case...
From what you've written I suggest that you should be exercising no more than every other day, with weekends off, ie three times a week. For example cycle to work on Monday, go to the gym on Wednesday and swim on Friday. After a month/six weeks you might like to add a weekend bike ride into the mix or maybe cycle on Fridays to and swim at the weekend.
If I only impress one thing upon you, it is that you need to take it slow: it took you forty-four years to get to where you are now, you can't change that overnight! For a truly inspirational read I suggest you check-out gb155.
Best regards,
Jim.
Well, kudos to you! Seriously, I take my hat of to you!
However, I fear that you are falling into the trap that most of us who have reached a certain age have fallen into; and that is being too enthusiastic and trying to do too much at once.
Effective and safe fitness training is built on three things: exercise, nutrition & rest. From what you have written it is clear that you are doing too much of the former and not enough of the latter. If you carry on as you are, you are at risk of over-training which will lead to injury and a lack of progress. In turn this will likely demoralise you and before you know it you'll give the whole lot up and be back in your old, bad ways.
Firstly, go and see your Doctor and get an "M.O.T.": you need to know where you're at before you start. If you have any underlying health problems they will likely be exacerbated by exercise.
Secondly, going from a sedentary lifestyle to the amounts of exercise you are doing is far too much. Cycling and swimming are both aerobic activities (working the heart and lungs) so, at least until you have a reasonable standard of fitness, it should be one or the other and not both (on the same day). Variety in exercise is good: it relieves boredom and works your body in different ways, so if you cycle on a particular day don't also cycle.
Running is a very effective aerobic exercise to burn calories and shift weight: have a look at this training programme; what particularly like about this, is that it is aimed directly at people starting from a low level of fitness and is very gradual. But again, it should be one or the other, not both!
Resistance training (hefting weights in the gym) is good to include in your programme; once we pass forty the rate at which calcium leaches from our bones accelerates: aerobic exercise doesn't address this, weight-bearing exercise does. But again, don't over do it: a full body workout once or twice a week is plenty. Gym fascists who boast of hitting the gym every day are either i) doing a split programme that targets different areas of the body on different days or ii) ill-informed idiots.
Thirdly, you need to know how many calories you need on a daily basis if you're to adjust your diet to lose weight; try this weight calculator to get a broad idea of your target weight and this calorie calculator to establish your needs. Do two calculations, one using your current weight and one using your target weight.
To begin with I suggest you start checking your current diet so you know if you are over-eating (gaining weight) and if necessary adjust your diet to maintain your current weight. After a month or so gradually reduce your calorie intake in stages allowing your body time to adjust to each reduction, until you are at the right level to maintain your target weight.
Eat more, smaller meals to stop your metabolism in a steady state rather peaking and troughing: have a snack three hours after a meal and a meal two and a half hours after a snack (three of each should see you through the day); Breakfast should be larger than Lunch which should be larger than Dinner. This will stop more fat being laid down and avoid you feeling hungry.
Finally, you need to rest your body. Most people who take up exercise also have an idea of diet & nutrition, but most will neglect to rest enough. Exercise provides the stimulus, nutrition provides the fuel, rest provides the opportunity. You are definitely doing too much at the moment: your commute is taking you longer and you have picked-up an injury, I rest my case...
From what you've written I suggest that you should be exercising no more than every other day, with weekends off, ie three times a week. For example cycle to work on Monday, go to the gym on Wednesday and swim on Friday. After a month/six weeks you might like to add a weekend bike ride into the mix or maybe cycle on Fridays to and swim at the weekend.
If I only impress one thing upon you, it is that you need to take it slow: it took you forty-four years to get to where you are now, you can't change that overnight! For a truly inspirational read I suggest you check-out gb155.
Best regards,
Jim.
