Help needed with fitness training

Shakes1987

Hey all,

Lemme set the scene before I start asking questions!

Ive been going to the Coed Llandegla MTB forest fairly regularly since last summer, we often do the red routes these days, with the odd misadventure into the Black route..

My main problem comes with the differences in levels of fitness with some of my friends, I often end up lagging behind with the eventual necessity to walk up the sleeper climbs.. I can sometimes last a good 20-30mins before this happens but sometimes i can become very tired very quickly!

To try and catch up with my friends I joined my local gym to try and build my fitness and have been going every day for the last couple of weeks, my usual routine being:

30min cycle on my MTB there and back,
20mins on rowing machine (only displayable info being 630 cal/hr, 28 strokes/min)
30mins on an excercise bike on a 'cross-country' programme setting my weight at about 90kg (when I ony weigh 69kg) averaging at 23miles per hour for this length of time
20mins on a cross trainer with about 130 strides/min (same setting as excercise bike)
20-30 reps on a pectoral weight machine (8kg weight afaik)

I'm a 6'2'' 21-year-old and rather skinny, only a little flab :P , my main problem seems to be lack of muscle..

What I really want to know is, What could I do to improve my routine to make me better prepared for Llandegla and other MTB routes? I'm usually very tired after this routine, but am I excerting myself enough to increase my fitness? Are there any specific foods I should eat before i visit the gym and what should i drink during this training (I usually drink plain ol' water)?

My gym membership includes free access to the swimming pool also

Thanks in advance for any help you might chuck my way!

ratty2k

There are only really two steep climbs there IMO, some do go on a bit longer....
The double steep on the red run, come out of singletrack, over road and straight up. and the other on the black run, along with the longer climbs on it.
1. Food, do you ride empty or fuelled ready to go? Some flapjacks or even jelly babies can work well.
2. If it is the steeper ones you are struggling on, try bigger resistance, ie bigger gears on the ride to and from the gym... Muscles should build pretty quick, but you need to force every so often rather than spinning...

bails_89

get in the pool bro,maybe twice a week. yourl be ripped in no time.

good luck

jmillen

My initial reaction was to this sentence

"every day for the last couple of weeks...."

Don't forget the importance of rest days. Your muscles need time to repair and grow stronger. They can't do that if you're exercising them 7 days a week so its very important to build rest days into your routine even if you don't feel like you really need one...A gentle swim can help cure that urge to do something, but keep it slow.

As for general riding fitness, imo there is no substitute for just banging the miles in...(varying your distance & pace between rides will really help here)

davidmiller

What jmullen said - it sounds like you are trying too hard. Two rest days per week is really good and that will allow you to work really hard on the exercise days. also, try to get as much variation in your routine as possible.

Do you have a Wii by any chance? I'm having a lot of fun (!!!) with My Fitness Instructor at the moment.

DM

tlw1

time on bike. Just get out and ride, aim to do a few decent climbs. Get to the top & then back down and start again.

Jetlag

jmillen wrote:

My initial reaction was to this sentence

"every day for the last couple of weeks...."

Don't forget the importance of rest days. Your muscles need time to repair and grow stronger. They can't do that if you're exercising them 7 days a week so its very important to build rest days into your routine even if you don't feel like you really need one...A gentle swim can help cure that urge to do something, but keep it slow.

As for general riding fitness, imo there is no substitute for just banging the miles in...(varying your distance & pace between rides will really help here)

+1 for all of this. To get better at cycling, you really need to cycle, but I do think that running and swimming will help.

SilverSenator

Pick up a copy of Mountain Bike Fitness Training by John Metcalfe. It's about £7 off Amazon and covers pretty much everything you need to know about getting fit for MTBing.

Shakes1987

Cheers for the tips guys I've done what you said and had a few rest days to help my body recover a bit, gonna hit the pool and gym first thing tomorrow morning!

ill try and find a more adventurous route to the gym too, but I'm not so big on road cycling, especially on my MTB, the tyres just stick to the road like glue!

Shakes1987

p.s. I've ordered the book too