improving fitness

hdollabbott

hi there iam a newbie on her so be gentle with me lol

the question i was hoping you could all help me with is this i go out with my local mountain bike club on the tecnical stuff i can keep up no problems but when they shoot off like whippets up the firetrack i cant keep up !! i currently do body attck twice a week and try to run once a week but i think i will need to rethink this my youngest has just started nursery so i have a few hours in the afternoon i could fit something in but were do i start???

help me please

heather x

stumpyjon

Best way to build up fitness for biking is to ride (or use an exercise bike, but that can be pretty soul destroying). Even managing some road miles will help. It'll build up the appropriate leg muscles and improve you cardiovascular fitness as well. Little and often is better than heavy sessions less frequently. You don't want to over stress your muscles, you want to push them and then ease off to let them recover and build up. Go at it too hard and they just recover from the exercise rather than improve.

When you're out with the club make sure you eat properly. I know it sounds stupid but I've only just realised how important it is to keep fuel levels topped up whilst riding. Best thing to do this are carbohydrate rich foods such as bananas or flapjacks etc. Chocolate is OK but the energy boost isn't very long lasting.

Other thing to consider is the sports specific energy products. I've been using the SIS stuff recently. (bigger) Tescos do a starter kit for £ 11 which includes instructions and different samples of the bars, gels and powders.

alphaanne

Hi there,
Another obvious option is spin classes....they are ace...Few years ago before i had a mtb I went to two or three classes a week and when i finally got on a bike noone believed id not had one before....I just kept going and going )

Also if your short on time then a 45 min interval training session on your bike will help...combine sprints and hills in 1 min bursts with a few mins easier riding in between....really getting you out of your comfort zone )

ride_whenever

I'd also look into a club that looks after novices a bit better, from the sounds of things they're not really keeping an eye on you. Do they at least wait at the ends of runs for you?

hdollabbott

hi there thanks for the replies

yes they do wait for me but just feel its always me they are waiting on lol

will try spining classes i think and just getting out on my bike hopefully by the spring i will be one of those wippets lol

thanks again
heather

hdollabbott

hi there thanks for the replies

yes they do wait for me but just feel its always me they are waiting on lol

will try spining classes i think and just getting out on my bike hopefully by the spring i will be one of those wippets lol

thanks again
heather

miss notax

Definitely spinning classes

I was exactly the same as you (and probably am again now seeing as I havn't done ANYTHING for months now (except move house) :oops: ) and it really did make a massive difference. You do need to do at least 2 a week though, or it doesn't seem to work.

It makes such a huge difference, it really is worth it!

hubba

Time and effort of the only healer..

took me a year to manage keeping up with the group over all terrain..

nothing comes without hard work and time, you just need to keep going out and make sure like someone else has said at leas twice in one week will keep the levels up..

someone allways ahs to be last so don't worry, someone new may join and then you won't be at the back, or like over time you can work your way further up the field..

i think everyone who is at the back is concious of holding other people up yet in reality the people at the front are welcome of the break while the people at the back catch up..

and best thing to do is make sure when you catch up they all startt off again (so you don't rest too which brings on your fitness faster)


good luck !