Help Please - Getting Frustrated
hothead
Posts: 123
Hello, I am going on the turbo at home after work and feeling I am doing well and getting fitter. Situation is completely different when I am out on the road. This morning is a great example. After about 1/2 mile I came to a slight drag, the top of my legs feel so heavy it hurts then takes everything out of me. is this pointing to me being really unfit? I am starting to get really annoyed and its putting me of going out. I must look a sight struggling up the smallest gradient. I am 30 so feel I should be able to do better. As I said on the Turbo I do 60 min interval sessions as well as spinning and feel great but on the road my legs are wood! Any idea what this is all about and more important how do I sort it so i can enjoy going out and not done by 1 - 2 miles.
Frustrated and tired!
Frustrated and tired!
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Comments
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hothead wrote:Hello, I am going on the turbo at home after work and feeling I am doing well and getting fitter. Situation is completely different when I am out on the road. This morning is a great example. After about 1/2 mile I came to a slight drag, the top of my legs feel so heavy it hurts then takes everything out of me. is this pointing to me being really unfit? I am starting to get really annoyed and its putting me of going out. I must look a sight struggling up the smallest gradient. I am 30 so feel I should be able to do better. As I said on the Turbo I do 60 min interval sessions as well as spinning and feel great but on the road my legs are wood! Any idea what this is all about and more important how do I sort it so i can enjoy going out and not done by 1 - 2 miles.
Frustrated and tired!
It takes about 10 minutes or so of riding before you are properly warmed up so that could account for your heavy legs after 1/2 mile.
On the other hand riding on the road where there are drags and climbs requires a different technique and mindset than riding a turbo indoors. Both have their place for training but what you are experiencing is not unusual if you only use the turbo. There is nothing wrong with you that more riding on the road won't solve.0 -
Totally agree with Mike, in my case at least 10 mins easy spinning along to get warmed-up on the road. A hill after 1/2 a mile would make my legs go to jelly.
Assume Turbo-bike is same as used on the road so positional set-up is the same.
Also riding on the road is not the same as the turbo, wearing more kit, having to balance, have wind resistance, invisible inclines, more concentration, slightly more tense even...all saps a bit of energy. On the Turbo I tend to 'sit heavily' on the saddle, whereas on the road often I notice I am slightly 'off' the saddle, not quite so bolted to it.
Also time of riding makes a difference, do you Turbo at a different time of day relative to meals and overall fatigue..I'm riding Sunday evenings with a couple of guys 2 hours after a roast dinner...needless to say the legs are like planks and I ain't setting any records.
Keep at it but allow 10 mins to get everything up to speed.0 -
hothead wrote:Hello, I am going on the turbo at home after work and feeling I am doing well and getting fitter. Situation is completely different when I am out on the road. This morning is a great example. After about 1/2 mile I came to a slight drag, the top of my legs feel so heavy it hurts then takes everything out of me. is this pointing to me being really unfit? I am starting to get really annoyed and its putting me of going out. I must look a sight struggling up the smallest gradient. I am 30 so feel I should be able to do better. As I said on the Turbo I do 60 min interval sessions as well as spinning and feel great but on the road my legs are wood! Any idea what this is all about and more important how do I sort it so i can enjoy going out and not done by 1 - 2 miles.
Frustrated and tired!
If you are new to cycling,and if you go out on a regular basis,then it will get easier / faster [you choose
]. It may be a slow process but it will happen if you persevere.Look upon it as a challenge.Do not compare yourself to other cyclists that whizz past you.
Just do your own thing and most important of all....enjoy it.
No matter what,you are at least going to be in better shape than if you give up!!!
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Sounds a bit like the people you hear that can "run" 10 miles on a running machine in the gym, when they try to run for "real" outside, they're knackered after a couple of miles. Nothing beats the real thing!!!0
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travel as light as possible.... hills are easier if your not carrying 2 bottles of water.
take in lots of water before you set off an hour prior, then you will need the toilet, after that take in a bit more, then go for your cycle. make sure you have plenty of cereal, which normally has added Iron, which your body needs to dissolve lactic acid.
Breath a few breaths more than normal before you get to a hill, so theres a slightly higher concentration of oxygen in your blood stream to dissolve that first hit of lactic acid produced from the hill.
whatever pain you feel is good. this will signal for your body to build more muscle in that area of the body over night, after a few weeks you will be mr fit and ready to go for it!
also try and stay close to the back wheel of the rider in front, its remarkable how much easier it is to travel being in there slip stream...
as you get older you do of course slow down slightly....(not always etc) so use a higher gear, and slower pedal turns. grind about in a higher gear, instead of spinning like no tomorrow.0 -
Eat My Dust wrote:Sounds a bit like the people you hear that can "run" 10 miles on a running machine in the gym, when they try to run for "real" outside, they're knackered after a couple of miles. Nothing beats the real thing!!!
i dont know why people do 10miles in a gym... must be so boring. dont you enjoy a change in scenary, and maybe seeing the odd person you know etc.
instead of a tele and a few digits in front of you telling you the distance...
i use towns where i live to know how far i've done.0 -
hothead wrote:Hello, I am going on the turbo at home after work and feeling I am doing well and getting fitter. Situation is completely different when I am out on the road. This morning is a great example. After about 1/2 mile I came to a slight drag, the top of my legs feel so heavy it hurts then takes everything out of me. is this pointing to me being really unfit? I am starting to get really annoyed and its putting me of going out. I must look a sight struggling up the smallest gradient. I am 30 so feel I should be able to do better. As I said on the Turbo I do 60 min interval sessions as well as spinning and feel great but on the road my legs are wood! Any idea what this is all about and more important how do I sort it so i can enjoy going out and not done by 1 - 2 miles.
Frustrated and tired!
To put all this in perspective: I am 51,a smoker [alas but am determined to quit!!!] and my normal, days off work, twice weekly run, is between 30-50 miles and I actually like cycling up hills.I go out of my way to include them.OK,not Tourmalet/Ventoux but I enjoy the effort it takes.I am not a pretty sight going up some of the 'nastier' ones around the Lothians.I look wistfully at the younger,team kit clad lads and lassies powering past and wonder if..... Nah
.
As long as you stick at it you will be fine.I started,4 years ago,just like you so if I can you will.You may not be the new Robert Millar so just get in touch with the effort and enjoy.0 -
Ah - That glorious slide back to the season of monotony and freezing to death in the garage on the rollers!
My wife bought me a Polar training watch / heart rate monitor, which I find pretty essential for roller training.
My interval training generally consists of an hour (12 reps) of:
10 minutes at elevated heart rate, keeping it within a very tight band
2 minutes, all-out shifting down through the gears
spin back down to original training level elevated heart rate.
I also remove my clip-ins and fit loose toeclips for those slippery winter months, which means I have to put more effort in, albeit in a slightly different way.
I have the luxury of a summer bike, so it's a great feeling to jump aboard and smash all my records in my first "summer run" - There's nothing quiet as great as cheating my splits by changing bike for the summer!0 -
To put all this in perspective: I am 51,a smoker [alas but am determined to quit!!!] and my normal, days off work, twice weekly run, is between 30-50 miles and I actually like cycling up hills.I go out of my way to include them.OK,not Tourmalet/Ventoux but I enjoy the effort it takes.I am not a pretty sight going up some of the 'nastier' ones around the Lothians.I look wistfully at the younger,team kit clad lads and lassies powering past and wonder if..... Nah .
As long as you stick at it you will be fine.I started,4 years ago,just like you so if I can you will.You may not be the new Robert Millar so just get in touch with the effort and enjoy.[/quote]
PICTIT how long did it take you to feel stronger, you said you have been riding for 4 years so interested to know from scratch how long it took people to feel comfortable :?0 -
hothead wrote:To put all this in perspective: I am 51,a smoker [alas but am determined to quit!!!] and my normal, days off work, twice weekly run, is between 30-50 miles and I actually like cycling up hills.I go out of my way to include them.OK,not Tourmalet/Ventoux but I enjoy the effort it takes.I am not a pretty sight going up some of the 'nastier' ones around the Lothians.I look wistfully at the younger,team kit clad lads and lassies powering past and wonder if..... Nah .
As long as you stick at it you will be fine.I started,4 years ago,just like you so if I can you will.You may not be the new Robert Millar so just get in touch with the effort and enjoy.
PICTIT how long did it take you to feel stronger, you said you have been riding for 4 years so interested to know from scratch how long it took people to feel comfortable :?[/quote]
Well,I have always done a lot of walking and did even more as I got 'into' photography 8 years ago so that would have been helpful I suppose ?.When I started cycling it was just to extend my 'range' for taking photos [I dont drive] so it was only a means to an end and not the main 'hobby'.However it gradually became a hobby in its own right and the camera and lenses were getting left behind !! .
Back on topic though :roll: I found that my 'progress' was gradual.At first I found it hard to pedal non stop for more than a 1/2 mile or so without freewheeling to catch my breath [cigaretttes? :twisted: ].I took advice from these,and other,forums and took it in a sensible manner.I built up distances as my body felt able to cope.A couple of months of REGULAR 2/3/4 times a week rides and I was doing a 20 mile,with some hilly bits, as my normal, day off work rides.This on a hybrid with suspension fork and 38 tyres.
Others will tell you the same ,ie once you get over the initial 'f**k,this is going to kill me' you have two options:cycling just becomes less of a struggle/effort. Or it is always an effort because as your fitness level rises you push yourself/go further to the point where,though it is still an effort,it is within your 'zone' to do and enjoy,and your average speed creeps up .
A few years ago someone on here offered the advice to a 'newbie' to not 'fight' hills,not to look at them as a barrier to a good ride.A long hill for me ,because of my low speed going up it, is a time to let my mind wander and before you realise ,it's up into the 52chainring ,down to the wee cogs and whizzing down the other side .
My mileage for this year stands at 2485 miles,so barring misfortune will crack 3000 miles for the first time.That has been my goal for the past 3 years but,due to illness/one badish fall ,it never happened.I do a few 50-55 mile runs a year but 30-35 is my norm at least once a week with some nice hills in there.My average speed is a lowly 12mph but I am just glad to get out in the lovely countryside around Mid/East Lothian.
I now ride a 'Comfort Road Bike',a Specialized Sequoia Elite .Its much better at it's job than I ask of it but thats another side of cycling.Drooling over nice bikes
Just be patient.Its not the best time of year to start outdoor cycling but it really will get easier and I feel very confident that you will look back on this time and wonder what the 'panic' was about!!
John.0
