Help With Training Plan
MattMoore
Posts: 5
Evening all,
Like a large number of people, I'd like to lose weight. I've been eating better for past year or so and have been losing the weight very slowly, but I was content with that.
I've now got a holiday booked in Florida at the beginning of May, and I would like to be in the best shape I can be for this holiday.
With this new found determination I want to get riding a bike again. I've borrowed a bike off of a mate of mine who doesn't need it back for a while so I'm all set. That was until this bout of weather we've had!
Still determined I've purchased an elite turbo trainer, and put a slick tyre on the rear wheel so at least I can get the ball rolling. I've got it all setup this afternoon and done a 30 minute ride, with a couple of 30 second stops in the middle. It actually went quite quickly, what with watching a DVD at the same time. I counted my rotations every now and then, and they varied between 85-90 per minute. My legs didn't feel too bad afterwards, and after a shower I felt great.
Now onto my question, given that up until now I might have hopped on a rowing machine once every fortnight for 20 mins a time, how often should I be on the turbo trainer?
I've been overwhelmed with all of the fitness information that I have been reading the past few days.
Should I be aiming to go on it every other day, with a rest day in between? Or will a gentle ride every day be better for me?
Thanks in advance
Matt
Like a large number of people, I'd like to lose weight. I've been eating better for past year or so and have been losing the weight very slowly, but I was content with that.
I've now got a holiday booked in Florida at the beginning of May, and I would like to be in the best shape I can be for this holiday.
With this new found determination I want to get riding a bike again. I've borrowed a bike off of a mate of mine who doesn't need it back for a while so I'm all set. That was until this bout of weather we've had!
Still determined I've purchased an elite turbo trainer, and put a slick tyre on the rear wheel so at least I can get the ball rolling. I've got it all setup this afternoon and done a 30 minute ride, with a couple of 30 second stops in the middle. It actually went quite quickly, what with watching a DVD at the same time. I counted my rotations every now and then, and they varied between 85-90 per minute. My legs didn't feel too bad afterwards, and after a shower I felt great.
Now onto my question, given that up until now I might have hopped on a rowing machine once every fortnight for 20 mins a time, how often should I be on the turbo trainer?
I've been overwhelmed with all of the fitness information that I have been reading the past few days.
Should I be aiming to go on it every other day, with a rest day in between? Or will a gentle ride every day be better for me?
Thanks in advance
Matt
0
Comments
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More often then 20 mins a fortnight if you want to make any improvementsMattMoore wrote:given that up until now I might have hopped on a rowing machine once every fortnight for 20 mins a time, how often should I be on the turbo trainer?
- this is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string question" I'm afraid.
You are riding just for general fitness and to lose weight rather than for any specific cycling goal?
In which case I wouldn't get too bogged down in heavy interval sessions. If you are using a heart rate monitor, aim for a resistance that gives you a heart rate of about 80-85% of your max. If you don't have one, then gauge by your breathing - it should be reasonably deep and even so that you can still talk, albeit not continuously!
I'd avoid "gentle rides" (HR < 70% max) as these will largely be a waste of time in terms of making any improvement unless you need a "recovery ride" - which you shouldn't at this intensity.
How long and how often you ride will depend on your BT* and what spare time and motivation you have available - ride as often and for as long as you can stomach it - most people tend to find anything much more than 1 hour mind-numbingly dull. Keep it interesting with DVDs and varying your workouts a bit and this will help. 3 or 4 1-hour sessions a week would make a noticeable difference by May I think.
* - Boredom Threshold0
