Fat, unfit 41 yo planning to climb everest........advice ple

andyfromletchworth

ok not everest but i have tonight signed up for the white rose classic 80kn route, my own personal everest if you like.

I gave up smoking in october after 27 years - and have a commensurate level of fitness.

As of yesterday i weighed 16'2 body fat 30% BMI 30. But am determined to change things. I bought an Allez 3 years ago which has been much underused however i really do enjoy cycling so i have set the WRC as my target. Do i have any chance whatsoever of making it round ??????

I would be really gratefull if you could pass on any pearls of wisdom for training etc or point me in the right direction. (there is almost too much info on this site!)

I work full time, have two young kids, live in otley and work in wakey so time is tight but i am very determined to achieve this, many many many thanks in advance.

andy (was from letchworth now in otley!)

geoff_ss

The only answer is miles, miles, miles. Steady and not too hard to start with but regular and relatively frequent. I 'm retired now but I was at my fittest when I was commuting a minimum of 27 relatively flat miles every day. The 13.5 mile journey to work took about 45 minutes (my record was 39 minutes but that was on a stripped down bike with a chuff wind). It was the basis for all my fitness.

For a couple of years a guy who lived in Sheffield left his bike in my garage and drove to our house, left his car, and rode into Derby with me. He was trying to keep fit for car rally driving Can you do that or something similar? If you can incorporate a bike ride into your daily routine it's a tremendous help. I didn't realise just how fit I was at the time until I tried to regain a little of it last year.

Once you have that base fitness you can explore the hilly and spectacular terrain around Otley.

Geoff

meagain

"Steady and not too hard to start with but regular and relatively frequent."

IMO also the key to it. Got to become a habit, I think. After about 5000 miles in 2004 and 7000 in '05 and '06 (very few days over 20 miles) dropped back to maybe 1500 last year. And boy does it tell!

Fit I am not, but at nearly 60 (and 50 years of smoking), "regular and frequent" made a very considerable difference.

Good luck!

nasahapley

Hi Andy,

I used to live near Letchworth and now live in Ilkley - quite different isn't it? I'm familiar with most of the WRC route from my rides out into the Dales and the 80k route looks a cracker. If you don't know the route I'd suggest having a pop at some of the climbs beforehand - I think the biggies are Norwood Edge and the climb from Beamsley to Langbar. Norwood is near the start and not too steep, but the Beamsley-Langbar one is near the end and gets a double-chevron on the OS map - I went that way yesterday, first time on the bike in a month, and even with a tailwind it's no joke! If you can get up these before the big day you'll have no problem.

Good luck!

pneumatic

Glad you're not going up Everest; I think we should all agree to leave it in peace (after we've taken out all the rubbish).

Equally glad to hear that you've set a target, though. I started this caper 9 years ago after a sedentary decade and it as changed my life. I've done things I never dreamed I would be capable of.

Get the family on your side. Give up something else rather than them to create training time. Do extra stuff round the house during the hours of darkness. Persuade them that a fit you is in everyone's interest.

Go out riding in rubbish weather (except ice) and you'll see that it is not really that bad.

Ride regularly but don't overtrain. Take a few days off from time to time. It's great when you get back on again.

Make it your priority to be able to do the distance but don't worry about speed; you'll get that on the day from the adrenalin rush of riding with others.

Hills take a while to acclimatise to. Don't kill yourself on them too soon. Get off and walk if you need to.

Keep at it; the fitness sort of creeps up on you.

andyfromletchworth

cool answers cool people ty ty ty 8)

milese

Once you get into it you'll hopefully get enough of a buzz from noticing your personal improvements in fitness and weightloss that you'll keep going and get stronger, fitter and lighter!

As said, dont over do it. Good luck.

Carbon_

Well I did the Lake Taupo 160km with a previous best of 74km so if you take it slowly enough, like me, you should be able to do it no probs

Rich Hcp

I'm from Hitchin!

I go from Hitchin through Ickleford and Letchworth and across to Willian.

Then along the Willian Road to little Wymondly, across the old Stevenage Road up past the Blakemore, turn right at the top, then left.

To the Codicote Road.

Then you either go up to Preston and around the Villages or back home or to Old Welwyn.

The Welwyn route is 30 miles

It took a long tim to build up to it!

I did an hour 3 times a week around Preston and longer at weekends.

The key is miles of varied terrain and building up slowly

Good luck

John C.

It was when I hit the big 4 0 that life had to change, I drank to much, I smoked , I weighed in at 11 1/2 stone which for 5'4" is a lot to much. I now do several 100 milers a year and I'm signed up for the Fred Witton. If I can do it . You can too. There are some lovely hills around you but unless you can get a mountain bike gear set up on your bike leave them alone for a while and just get the miles in, then as you get fitter go for some of the smaller hills, but pushing your bike up hills is a sure way of you not going out next time.
The other thing is get some decent kit to wear, keeping warm is the key thing this time of year so go for a wind stopper top, decent longs, over shoes and good gloves. I know I look like a prat (My wife tells me this frequently) but I can ride in the snow staying warm all over without sweating on the big climbs.
You will go through good days and bad, but stick to it,
Just as a last comment 10 years ago I had a breath test at my doctors because I used Ventolin, and my lungs were those of someone 10 years my senior, I've just been tested again and my breathing is of someone younger than me by a couple of years. Also my blood pressure was borderline with needing drugs to control it, now it is in the normal range.
And if you have a bad day now, just think of those sunny days up ahead when if you are fit you'll be able to take full advantage of.