Willing to be a guinea pig for someones fitness experiment

Anonymous

Don't know if I will regret this but.....

I am a hardtail MTB rider.

I am 6ft and 14st. Resting HR is 57bpm.

I am willing to partake in a fitness schedule if anyone out there is willing to help.

Thing is I need a little help and advice also and it would be good coming from someone, say a sports science student on this regarding a fitness routine.

I am looking to do an endurance/ordnance survey event on May 10th that will mean hulking my Hardtail (14.4kg) bike around hills and trails for approx 5-6 hours.

I will probably regret this.... I've spoken with my local gym fitness instructor however they are more interested in the treadmill and dont do cycling.

Any help from someone who is willing to do a schedule for me then that would be cool.

Thanks in advance

Graeme

owen_MTB

Erm im no expert but...
Sort out a training timetable, around 3 times a week if possible. One long ride, one short fast one and another to do with a specific area you need to improve on I.E Hills.
Secondly sort out a diet. Up the carbs for energy (too many will leave you feeling lethargic however) up the protein for recovery and have a small balance of fats, fibre etc.
Gym work maybe, work with squats, and leg presses with arounf 12-15 reps and around 3 sets. The treadmills will also help, as they will improve your recovery time and all round cardio. Core stability also, crunches, press ups, anything like that.
Thats just my first ideas, ill let everyone else sort something better

shamus1975

owen_MTB wrote:

Erm im no expert but...
Sort out a training timetable, around 3 times a week if possible. One long ride, one short fast one and another to do with a specific area you need to improve on I.E Hills.
Secondly sort out a diet. Up the carbs for energy (too many will leave you feeling lethargic however) up the protein for recovery and have a small balance of fats, fibre etc.
Gym work maybe, work with squats, and leg presses with arounf 12-15 reps and around 3 sets. The treadmills will also help, as they will improve your recovery time and all round cardio. Core stability also, crunches, press ups, anything like that.
Thats just my first ideas, ill let everyone else sort something better

This advice sounds pretty sound to me also make sure you take plenty of energy drinks/gels etc with you to keep you going id advise you to take a single use gel every hour as it takes about a hour to absorb so dont wait till you bonk or it will be to late.

owen_MTB

shamus1975 wrote:

owen_MTB wrote:

Erm im no expert but...
Sort out a training timetable, around 3 times a week if possible. One long ride, one short fast one and another to do with a specific area you need to improve on I.E Hills.
Secondly sort out a diet. Up the carbs for energy (too many will leave you feeling lethargic however) up the protein for recovery and have a small balance of fats, fibre etc.
Gym work maybe, work with squats, and leg presses with arounf 12-15 reps and around 3 sets. The treadmills will also help, as they will improve your recovery time and all round cardio. Core stability also, crunches, press ups, anything like that.
Thats just my first ideas, ill let everyone else sort something better

This advice sounds pretty sound to me also make sure you take plenty of energy drinks/gels etc with you to keep you going id advise you to take a single use gel every hour as it takes about a hour to absorb so dont wait till you bonk or it will be to late.

along with a good drink of water every half an hour, thirsty or not, drink!

Jimi_08

Definately agree with owen_MTB

I just wrote a thread with some guy looking to take protein. First look at your weight and your food intake by your weight in pounds multiplied by 15. This is your personal calorie intake for each day then for that you need 1 gram of protein per pound of weight. Keep a diary of what you eat because as with enduro's its all about energy, so high carbs.

Once the food is sorted consistent riding is the key, as owen_MTB said 3 rides a week, aim not for distance but quality riding, good turn over and comfortable pace being able to ride progressively i.e. maybe 1-3 hour rides each time and gradually increasing. In the gym you might target your leg muscle aiming to hit the glutes, quads, calf muscles with squats, power cleans for overall body and bar bell lunges. Possibly even plyometrics but with a partner if a beginner.

The Northern Monkey

Jimi_08

First look at your weight and your food intake by your weight in pounds multiplied by 15.

That makes no sense what-so-ever.

Jimi_08

Sorry forgot to read as was busy, in the sense of your own weight i.e. 200 pounds x 15 = 3000, giving you your daily calorie intake.

The Northern Monkey

You saying that is your normal intake? If so, then thats rubbish!!

Jimi_08

Im not saying thats my normal intake, it is an example. The recommended calorie intake for a male is 2500 calories, but what is suggested to work your own out is your weight in pounds x 15 to give you your own calorie intake.

The Northern Monkey

I be eating 3375kcal per day according to that!! (i'm 16st)
Even after a ride, gym or rugby i'd struggle to eat that much.... especially when having a balanced diet.

I eat around 2500kcal/day, as part of a healthy diet.

We did a dietary recall in my degree, and I was eating on average 1000kcal/day and wondering why I was always tired! I've upped my intake (I regularly check my calorie intake) and i feel much better, but have increase slightly in weight.

The NHS say a diet of 500kcal ( :shock: ) is perfectly fine if your wanting to lose weight. (again as part of a healthy diet)

Jimi_08

The idea is so you work out your own personnel intake, Its not to suggest people are going to agree with the idea, thats why everyone gives their own advice and opinions. Back when I was rowing a couple of years ago our diet was all worked out for us by a nutritionist and if you had to put on weight then you either did it or moved over for someone to take your place. If you think about how much the average RDA is for a male at 2500 so may say 2300 this does not include the average person physically working out for say 3 hours one day and 1 hour the next. It does not take that into account, while you make struggle eating that many calories a day another person might not thus being a general idea. Not everyone is going to eat 2500 calories a day some eat more some eat less.

The Northern Monkey

yea, i'm in my final year training as a nutritionist.....


Only an elite athlete would require such a high amount of calories. You need to think of the application of your theories... recreational cycling is completely different to rowing.

Jimi_08

Thats why it is a general, there was no suggestion that this was tailored to rowing, I merely stated when I was rowing it was given to us then and I had it given to me in other sports I have done from bob skeleton to athletics. Im not a qualified nutritionist nor are you yet so we both have much to learn. I do not argue with what you say, i suggest like many others, the idea of a forum where people can suggest and talk, aid and offer advice. We all have different training methods and views yet as a collective people offer them to one and other so that they might benefit, if you don't agree with something speak up, as you have, however as stated just because you don't eat more than 2500 calories this does not say that the next person will be the same. If you are to put on weight what do you do? You eat more, by increasing your intake, if you want to lose weight then you either exercise or possibly decrease your intake or modify to change what foods you eat.

But do you consider that the RDA calorie intake as an average (2500) does not look at energy expenditure as two people can eat the same RDA but have different levels of activity during the day so one might need more calories a day to fuel this.

The Northern Monkey

Yes, but you have no idea what the OP's expenditure is.... so a national average as a baseline is more suited....
much better than saying "you need to eat x amount of calories" without any basis for your assumptions.

Surely it makes sense to use the national average as the basis, and educate the OP that as his exercise increase, so may his calorie intake. (do we even know that he can measure his intake?!)

Using such a specific application on a subject that you haven't even seen, or properly measured intake and expenditure could do more harm than good.

Jimi_08

I Agree but the subject is however a participant as he was willing. I did not suggest at any point he needed to increase his calories i merely stated as other people suggest in this particular forum you could possibly look at your intake and see whether you are fueling your body enough a way of calculating this is ....

I did not say he had to go out and do it or else, there was me offering advice just as you offer me advice on how to approach this OP.

I agree with the last paragraph of yours, but as you should be stating in this surely if there was to be such an increase or decrease in diet someone with knowledge should and would be consulted i.e. a doctor and nutritionist, not a bunch of guys on a forum. The idea of this is its an opinion and doesn't have to be agreed with but there will be those who do, thats the idea.

dingdongdee

Gman,

There must be basic fitness programs that you can tailor to your needs similar to those used by people who decide to run a marathon for the first time. Do an internet search.

By a book or two e.g E.G. The Cyclists Training Bible by Joe Friel and inform yourself.

If you are serious about making real improvements then find someone who has actually trained someone and prepared them for competition.. you will learn more doing this than you can imagine... it'll cost you but if your serious it's sooo worth it.
Avoid confusing and contradictory info on forums if you find it confusing and contradictory!!

Get your diet right... this is so often neglected by so many people. I won't go into detail here as I have not coached competitive cyclists however start with writing down what you eat, when you eat it. You need a baseline diet and then you can add or take away.. with what you plan to do it will probably be add. Stick to un-processed foods and avoid simple sugars apart from during and after exercise and your energy levels should go up which will help you as you increase your training volume.

Don't worry about calories. Look at your body fat levels in a mirror and assess your energy levels. A portion of fish and chips can have up to 2000 calories but you may as well eat lard. I have trained with a diddy guy of 5'5'' and he is super lean and eats 4-5000 calories per day in the off season.

HarryJ

Hello friend, you would be well suited to a strength training program, have you considered it? Increasing maximal strength will make everything easier, including endurance.