Fitness - Where next?

Lateuk

Hello,
I have been riding for the last couple of years mainly on canals and through woods, i now average about 60 miles per week over 4 rides.

When i ride on the flat i average about 15mph without getting out of breath, my normal ride is about 1-1.5 hours.

My question is when i try harder courses where there are a lot of steep hills off roads i get fatigued very quickly and really struggle (usually end up pushing). Is this due to my weight (about 19st) my technique, or just because i am not doing the correct training for this type of track. The majority of my riding is on the flat but i want to be able to get up steep off road hills? (i am 31 by the way)

Thanks

Pagem

you prob lack power. on the flat and cruising along it's easy to maintain momentum since you are a moving body. becasue you are heavy this actually helps you until the terrain goes skywards.

unfortunately gravity is your enemy as it is for all of us. however, becasue you lack a bit of power and are quite heavy you're suffering.

i would carry on cycling but perhaps try some interval training or better yet just keep riding hills and climbs. you will get stronger and you will lose wieght which in turn will make cycling this type of terrain easier and more enjoyable.

i hope this hasn't caome across in a rude or patronising way.

keep it up.

Lateuk

Pagem wrote:

i hope this hasn't caome across in a rude or patronising way.

No not at all, thanks for the reply.

So for hill training should i attempt a tough hill that i can just about manage, then go back down and do it again and again. Or should i just do this once per ride mixed with flat cycling?

Pagem

i think i'd be inclined (pardon the pun) to just go out and have fun and plan a route with 2-3 medium hills. initially plan to ride the hills confidently and steady. when fairly happy with this perhaps start attacking the hills from about half way up. then gradually seek out hills that are totally killer and take the same line of appoach. i wouldn't recommend repeats as you may get bored and learn to totally detest climbs as a gerneral rule!

nferrar

Yeah good advice, whilst interval training would probably see you improve faster it can be boring as hell unless you have goals to aim for (like competitions), interval training just to help with general fitness could be enough to turn you off cycling, then again you might enjoy pain

dunker

on the smaller hills instead of just riding them easy try not to shift into a lower gear and instead attack them then recover on the down side and try to keep doing that. on the bigger hills just try to go up them further each time you encounter them and hopefully you'll find yourself pretty quickly getting to the top, it's working for me not that i have much choice as the island here is pretty hilly.

fireheed

Pick a loop with one or two decent hills in it and by the end of the week try hitting them in a higer gear and/or quicker than before.

I find i tend to look for more hills in my loops these days.

andyturner28

Are you combining riding with healthy eating? If not all the good you'r doing by riding you are undoing by still eating crap. You need a differential of 3500 caleries to loose 1 pound in weight, so i would aim to burn off at least 1000 caleries per ride, and consume no more than 7-800 per day. Others would disagree and say you need a lot more caleries when you ride, but this way has worked for me, and i have lost over 3 stone in 7 months Sorry to everyone that has read my other recent post's in this forum, as i tend to shout it from the rooftops lately, but i am so proud of myself for finally getting in shape after 20 odd years of trying. If you enjoy cycling, it is THE best way of loosing weight IMO. As you loose the weight and your leg muscles get stronger the hills will become much easier. I havn't had to stop or walk in over 5 months.

HTH,

Andy.