Quite unfit and a litttle overweight advice please!

litwardle

Hi!
Sorry if this is a re-re-re-re-post.

I'm 26, 5'9" & 14.5 stone. I'm getting back into cross country/trail riding. I used to do a lot of trials a few years ago and a bit of trail riding last year. Apart for walking the dog I havn't really had much excercise. ( Oh, i did jog a mile with the musis a few months ago and nearly threw up in the park!)
I rode to work for the first time the other day. It's just under a mile and a powered it. I was proper knackered though when I got there & top middle of my chest felt tight. I recovered after a few minutes.

Can anyone suggest any suitable ways to increase fitness. I'm fairly confident that my fitness level will rocket once I get out there and ride, but I don't want to over do it to start off with and end up killing myself!!!!

Lee

endurojcb

Try this mate: http://www.mtb-marathon.co.uk/training/8.php

Do the new to mountain biking programme, and if you find that too easy then jump to the regular one. It's a 16 week programme and you'll be fit as a fiddle by the end of it!

litwardle

Superb, thank you for that. I don't have a cross trainer but I suppose that 30m on our local family trail would do the job.

I will start on Monday!

ride_whenever

Generally little and often. And vary the work, you want a mixture of levels of effort with not more than a fifth of your riding being above 75% effort.

Try and go for a 30-45 blast every night, and take one evening off a week for recovery. One of those should be as fast as you can.

litwardle

Thank's for the advice gentlemen. I'm looking foreward to starting on Monday. I'll let you know progress!

litwardle

Well, I did my first 30 minutes tonight. I rode at a medium level where I was breathing heavy and could feel the legs working but not going mental. I was really glad I had my camelback though! My god, I was to put it mildly, totally shagged! I came back at 7pm and as I write I can still feel the burn at the nop of my chest and the top of my legs.

It's quite sad that a half hours ride could really shag me. I used to ride miles all day when I was younger and attak climbs with everything I had and it would only take me a minute or two to recover. Hopefully I'll get back to that after the 16 weeks.

One other thing is that my legs were numb they were so cold! I was in shorts that came just above my knees when riding so all the cold air just blasted them. (I live by the sea so very windy where i rode). Need some longer shorts I think!!!

Lee

Ricey77

Hi Lee,
You are fairly near me, i'm in Woolacombe !!
Good luck with the getting fit, i started about 6 weeks ago, managed to shed half a stone !!
The best advice i can give is build it up slowly, and enjoy your riding !

Nick.

endurojcb

litwardle wrote:

One other thing is that my legs were numb they were so cold! I was in shorts that came just above my knees when riding so all the cold air just blasted them. (I live by the sea so very windy where i rode). Need some longer shorts I think!!!

Lee

LOL, it can get a bit nippy, especially with the weather as it is right now. It'll warm up real soon though so you won't have to worry about it. Leggings or trousers are for wimps though. Shorts all year round!!! YEAH!!!

You'll notice your fitness improving within 2-3weeks if you stick with it. Your lungs will open up nicely so you'll be able to take in more oxygen, and you'll get to love that leg burn too! Keep it up :!:

litwardle

Thanks you for that both! Quite strange really, even after that first ride I can feel a greater lung capacity. Well, maybe not greater but when breathing deeply they fill with less effort (if that makes sense).

Nice job on the half stone Nick. Bet it's great to see the improvements! Hopefully when I'm a bit fitter we''ll have to hit a trail together.

I think I'll be a wimp on Thursday and have my legs covered! One thought I have had is the fact that I had a pack on my back. must have been about 6K. Basically had my work clothes, multi-tool, pump, spare tube and a 1.5Ltr bladder. Think I'll just have the bladder next time!

Looking foreward to Thursdays session!

ride_whenever

EnduroJCB wrote:

Leggings or trousers are for wimps though. Shorts all year round!!! YEAH!!!

Seriously no, you should keep your knees covered until it gets about 18 degrees c or so, if it is too cold the fluid in your knees doesn't work properly and you can bork them royally.

endurojcb

ride_whenever wrote:

EnduroJCB wrote:

Leggings or trousers are for wimps though. Shorts all year round!!! YEAH!!!

Seriously no, you should keep your knees covered until it gets about 18 degrees c or so, if it is too cold the fluid in your knees doesn't work properly and you can bork them royally.

To be fair, I do normally wear my RaceFace FR Knee/Shin pads anyway, which keep my lowerr legs and knees pretty warm anyway.

ChrisLS

...one other thing Lee...enjoy it! Have fun it's not a punishment

litwardle

The first ride felt like a punishment alright! I was riding into the wind for a lot of it which didn't help. My next one is tomorrow so I'll make sure my knees are covered ( I don't want borked knees!!!) and put my Mp3 player on to gee me on a bit.

Cheers for the helpfull posts guys!

Lee

Cps

Have you got a computer for your bike ?

they are a real help to monitor your progress ride by ride

Ave Speed
Time
Distance covered
etc...............................

re time to get back to prior fitness levels - it too me about 10 weeks to roll back 20+ years
so I reckon you'll do it in well less than 16 weeks


also I've got to say he encouragement posters on this forum give to others on this forum is just great !!!!

litwardle

Hey CPS,

Yeah I have the bike hut one with all the features (the £40 ish one). They are superb. It's a shame it dosn't give you an average RPM. Well, I don't hink it does anyway) I was thinking of buying a small wrist heart monitor. WHen I used to go to the GYM it was really handy as I could keep my heart at the level where Cardiovascular was being worked and not under/over. ANy thoughts? Or just get out and ride!

It's a long story but I didn't get out on Thurs night. Pain in the Arse. I did however but in half an hour on the excercise bike. (the routine says turbo trainer) I wanted to do that on my bike outside as I don't have a turbo trainer. I need to get by body used to the geometry of the bike. Never mind.

Next one is Sunday for an hour, so I hope the weather is good. I have my Mum up from Dorset today for the weekend but I really must do the ride.

Thanks for the posts guys, it's a great help, and to others I'm sure.

Lee

endurojcb

Keep it up Lee! I started my training on tuesday too after 10 weeks out with a torn vastus medialis tendon just above my knee. I had 8 sessions of physio to help with it. My knee still clicks sometimes on the downstrokes but it doesn't hurt any more.

Just got back from my hour and a half session. God it was windy. Did it at an easy pace and still managed to clock up 26km (mainly bridleways) according to my computer. Am cream crackered now tho!

iPods are the way forward when you're on your tod. I was meant to be going out with a mate today but as usual he dropped out last night. It takes a lot of mental strength to get off you @rse when the weather is pants and go cycle by yourself. ASt least when you're with a mate it's a bit more interesting.

Anyway, 30 mins X train for me 2moro down the gym. 15 mins on the X trainer and 15 rowing I reckon! All using the legs and arms in a different way!

Anonymous

litwardle, you sure your 14.5stone? I'm 5ft 9" but I weight 12.5-13stone and I look about same figure as you from what I can see :?

TheBoyBilly

Can I interject on this one please chaps? Re: Heart rate - if say 100-120 bpm is the limits of the fat burning zone,what happens when you go up to say, 125? or fall to 95? The reason I ask is I am after losing some weight too and have just been given the use of a Polar F6 HRM. Any thoughts appreciated.

litwardle

Hi guys!

Yeah, I know it's been ages. I have been riding to work a bit but havn't don much in the way of training. What with the crap weather, hard work, no biking mates I let it slip afer a few days. I'm really crap at following things thorough. Hopefully after speaking to a few people on here there may be a possible meet to hit a few trails. It's always easier when you have some riding mates to push you foreword!

Lee

Noel PT

Can I interject on this one please chaps? Re: Heart rate - if say 100-120 bpm is the limits of the fat burning zone,what happens when you go up to say, 125? or fall to 95? The reason I ask is I am after losing some weight too and have just been given the use of a Polar F6 HRM. Any thoughts appreciated.

The body works in three different energy phases and they are all kick in at different intensities and require differnt fuel. High intensities use creatine phosphate, intermediate use glucose and the low intesities use fat. Its not as simple as that, but is that what you are refering to?

To be honest, you should always be working fairly hard, unless you have just started out in training. Working in the fat burning zone to loose weight doesn't work

If you would like to use your heart rate monitor properly, drop me a pm and I will give you a proper idea of ranges and some books to reference.

Noel

litwardle

Hi All,

I had my third session of the week today. Following the plan laid out earlier in the thread. Each ride I have covered about half mile more in the same time, and the AVS has gone up. Riding at a heavy but constant pace I AM working hard but feel like I could work harder. I'm scared to over-do it though after the other week (I hit hearvy riding for the first time in months and passed out!) Should I just keep following the plan and then up it after a few weeks or increase a little now. My legs seem to be suffering more than my cardio though! No pain no gain as they say!

Lee

litwardle

willhub wrote:

litwardle, you sure your 14.5stone? I'm 5ft 9" but I weight 12.5-13stone and I look about same figure as you from what I can see :?

I'm 13.2 stone. 5'9". 27 years.

Lee