Basic Questions

bfreeman0

ok have had an increased interest in mountain biking over the past few months, and wanting to get fitter and healthier so need to ask you know it alls :P some questions.
How often should I go on ride per week which will get results in a few months?
How far should I push myself (miles? injuries?)?
Any tutorials on here about basic downhill or 4x skills?
Well thanks to anyone in advance, really want to start coping with ramps and stuff lol

supersonic

To start with have a glance through the Health and Fitness forum: lots of posts on training regimes.

bfreeman0

supersonic wrote:

To start with have a glance through the Health and Fitness forum: lots of posts on training regimes.

Thanks

Phinx

Fitness = Food. Changed my eating habits myself and started working out in the gym again. Before i dropped it because of the exams. Honestly, i didn't go vegetarian or anything, just got rid of some junk and now i can obviously how much more energetic i am, my mood went up and hope soon to see physical improvements. And with positive mood and energy supplies, you won't notice how those miles fly.

bfreeman0

Phinx wrote:

Fitness = Food. Changed my eating habits myself and started working out in the gym again. Dropped it because of the exams. Honestly, i didn't go vegetarian or anything, just got rid of some junk and now i can obviously how much more energetic i am, my mood went up and hope soon to see physical improvements. And with positive mood and energy supplies, you won't notice how those miles fly.

lol its going to be a lot easier to cut the junk now that my courses have finished until september . Thanks for the advice, getting some really quick replies all helps.

Wacky Racer

I went out 3 evenings a week and one half day at weekends to get myself to a decent level of fitness, 12 months on and I've lost two stone, toned right up and my fitness levels have improved massively. I wasn't badly overweight, but I knew deep down I was carrying more than I should be. I was advised when I first started to push hard one day, then rest for a day, and so-on, and I still do the same now, works for me. To aquire fitness also means you have to rest the body properly and at the correct intervals.

Eating right will also help, as will additional forms of exercise. I run occasionally as well, and get to the gym on the odd occasion for upper body as the bike leaves your arms way behind the legs. I always let an injury heal before I push myself again, I have learned the hard way by chancing things too soon and put myself further back.

bfreeman0

Wacky Racer wrote:

I went out 3 evenings a week and one half day at weekends to get myself to a decent level of fitness, 12 months on and I've lost two stone, toned right up and my fitness levels have improved massively. I wasn't badly overweight, but I knew deep down I was carrying more than I should be. I was advised when I first started to push hard one day, then rest for a day, and so-on, and I still do the same now, works for me. To aquire fitness also means you have to rest the body properly and at the correct intervals.

Eating right will also help, as will additional forms of exercise. I run occasionally as well, and get to the gym on the odd occasion for upper body as the bike leaves your arms way behind the legs. I always let an injury heal before I push myself again, I have learned the hard way by chancing things too soon and put myself further back.

So I guess 3 days a week would be sufficient depending on injuries and illness, awesome, weird how my dads been biking all these years and i used to hate it, now that I am allowed (he built the bike lol) to go out on my own that i've started to love the sport.

Rory75

I took up mountain biking in January 08. Went from 15 stone to 12.5 within 6 months. I rode a loop twice during the week and once on a weekend. I graduallly built up the miles. The loops during the week ended up being 13miles of almost climbing but saved the weekend for around 20 miles of mixed terrain that included some good fun sections. I always made sure I was enjoying my riding as this keeps the motivation going. By September I rode my first 75k marathon which I'll admit was hard but i managed it in 6 hours.
Now my fitness is pretty good, riding a harder loop twice during the week and getting some good epic rides and visits to trail centers on a weekend. At present hitting 40-50miles on a weekend to train for a 100k marathon I'm doing for charity. But also having some entertaning rides with my mates so that mountain biking is always fun and enjoyable.
Still stuck at 12.5 stone, never got round to cutting out the beer and takeaways

bfreeman0

@Rory75 Thanks for tips, lol you got to have some other pleasures in your life and not just biking even if they are unhealthy :P,
Going on a 12-14 mile trek and then halfway through stopping at chicksands again, going to try the moderate rated downhill track...did it before but I swear it's harder than the severe 4x track that I managed a couple of months ago lol