Gutted with myself - fat quitter

andrewlwood

Went on the Evans ride this morning down to Dorking, to try the new Cannondale out on something a bit more scenic than London roads.
Ride started out with a hill - one of those fairly steep ones that just keeps coming, and that I never really recovered from. The flats were great - not difficult to motor along at between 17 and 20 mph - but any kind of incline after that (and there are LOTS in that part of the world) very quickly became a slog. In the end I did about 15 miles of the 30 mile route and took a shortcut back to the station, and went home. Including rides to and from the station, I did about 25 miles today. My heart rate was up around 165 bpm for most of the two hours I was out for, thanks to those blo0dy hills.

I'm a big bloke, in both the good and bad way - 5'9, 100kg, mix of muscle and tub, and I'm cycling again after a 4-year hiatus, and loving it. My 8-mile commute takes me less than 25 minutes, and in the past I've happily completed 70-mile days. But today was horrid, and I'm determined not to let it happen again. Any tips?

Mithras

Tape "PAIN is Weakness Leaving the Body" to your bars! Or some other motivational quote you can identify with!

Escargot

Don't beat yourself up man We all have naff days so just take it on the chin and move on.

Maybe you tried to hit the hill too hard and then stuffed yourself up for the rest of the ride. I did something similar last weekend with a mate and it took ages to recover.

Not been riding long enough to give any decent advice but maybe taking it easier up the hills will help. I'm up to about 70 miles now and have found that I can kill myself off very easily if I try to nail the hills too early. Probably obvious to the more experienced riders but I've found it really tricky pacing myself when I want to bomb arround everywhere :oops:

Anonymous

I would refer to myself as something like 'Fat Quitter' until I could nail that route in an hour and a half.

Takis61

I think you've had all the good advice, we all have bad days, and possibly you weren't pacing yourself well enough considering the hills - it takes a little practice not to blow too early, if you killed yourself on the early hills maybe your legs just gave up.
If it happens again, turn around & change the route - after all, part of the beauty of the bike is you decide where you want to go ?
Secondly, practice hill climbing, it does get easier, not that it helped me today as I huffed & puffed up Ditchling Beacon & got passed & dropped by a seriously fit roadie half my age.
Lastly, I'm same height, obviously can't judge bone structure, but I did the Burgess Hill Sportive in March & had to walk the hills, I weighed 84kg in January.
I'm now 78kg & doing it again next week - let's see if I can get up the bastards this time. :twisted:

Crapaud

andrewlwood wrote:

... I'm a big bloke, in both the good and bad way - 5'9, 100kg, mix of muscle and tub, and I'm cycling again after a 4-year hiatus, and loving it. My 8-mile commute takes me less than 25 minutes, and in the past I've happily completed 70-mile days. But today was horrid, and I'm determined not to let it happen again. Any tips?

I'm not long back after ~2-3 years so I can sympathise.

I read your post as saying that you're just back into cycling, ie this is not just an off day. IME the head remembers past glories and doesn't appreciate that the body is no longer capable of fulfilling them. It's very demoralising!

I set out a 30 mile hilly route: first 3rd was uphill, 2nd was rolling hills, 3rd dropped back down to home. At first I could only do the first third and I was knackered, turned around and freewheeled home. The first time I completed the route, my legs blew at 2/3s (no bale-out) and had to stop twice. On the rolling hills it was a slog uphill and I had to freewheel down the other side to let my legs recover.

I persevered and at some point - a tipping point - it all came together and I could push to the top of a hill with fresh(ish) legs and then belt down, gathering momentum to carry me halfway up the next one.

I started back around 2 months ago and last week completed a 100 km route with lots left in the tank.

TL:DR: work on your endurance base - long slowish rides - and alternate with some short, intense, hilly rides. Your fitness'll come back quicker than you think. Keep at it.

GavH

I'm the same height as you but almost 25 kgs lighter. Being bigger you'll always have that working against you on a climb. If I were you I'd try to assess how much of your 100kg is muscle and how much is lard and then try to do something about that ratio. Couple that with continually giving it a go, becuase you WILL get fitter and you'll be making big gains in no time at all.

The main thing is just DO NOT give up.

andrewlwood

Thanks everyone - I've been able to put it all into perspective a bit more. What gives out first is my heart - breathing so hard that I can't continue.
Yes, the aim is to get fitter, shed weight and get the heart back to where it should be. Nothing else for it, looks like I'm just going to have to keep plugging away at those hills!

Thanks again!

Takis61

cycling...puff..up hills...puff...is ferking.......hard....work !
Dammit, fell off !

bompington

Winston Churchill wrote:

Never give in — never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in

Lance Armstrong wrote:

Pain is temporary. Quitting is for ever*

*I think this quote pre-dates the tour of Ireland

Bhima

Everyone has bad days.

Perhaps you didn't eat/drink enough...?

Either way, don't quit - this sport is all about overcoming pain. A few months down the line, you could be doing the same route and fly round it like it's nothing.

Pokerface

I raced on Sunday and got dropped so many times I thought I was a hot potato! Wanted to give up on lap 3 (of 5). Told myself I'd never get better if I kept quitting every time I got dropped or it got hard.

Stayed with it to the end. Came dead last. Except for all the other people that dropped out.


So - might have been slow, but at least I finished. Not everyone could say that.

I just told myself I would plod on at my own pace but finish no matter what.

GiantMike

I had a nightmare yesterday after 60 miles when I'd normally be fine up to 100. Stopped for a Kit Kat and an OJ and forced myself to continue. Probably not the best thing to do but I was determined not to stop.

will3

andrewlwood wrote:

Any tips?

Take yourself and your bike by train to a point [insert desired distance here] away. Take no means of cheating. Ride home. Simples
That way you have no way of quitting, other than crawling into a hedge.

dennisn

Bhima wrote:

Everyone has bad days.

Perhaps you didn't eat/drink enough...?

Either way, don't quit - this sport is all about overcoming pain. A few months down the line, you could be doing the same route and fly round it like it's nothing.

+1 Literally "everyone". H*ll I've had bad months and maybe even a year or two somewhere back in time. You're not alone. Hop back on the bike and just try and enjoy yourself.

gazza_d1

My tip is to mark out a regular route which you can do fairly regulary in a reasonable amont of time, and if you do not record any other, record your data for this route - ave mph, time, etc. You will then see how you progress, and how you get fitter.

Mine is a 15 mile loop up the coast and along the tyne, which is slightly bumpy, which now takes about an hour. I track my rides with Nokia sports Tracker on my phone.

The first time I did this route, I could barely make the climbs, and was having to drop to the granny gears (really embarrassing) I can now crack round at a reasonable pace, and have dropped 25 minutes from my original time. Still sometimes feel like crap on the ride, but then when I compare back I can see how I am improving - still got a very long way to go though.

BTW I'm mid forties, and about 3-4 stone overweight, not some racing whippet! So I know how hard uphill stretchs are!

vorsprung

If you really are 5 foot 9 and a 100kg then your BMI is 32.65

This means you are obese and would have to loose a quarter of your body mass to get to a "normal" weight range

It is not surprising you cannot ride a bike up hills

No offense intended, it's just basic physiology

GiantMike

I'm 5'9" and 78kgs and I'm borderline obese! I think the BMI categories were written in the 1830s when people lived off dust and bread scraps.

mikeq

BMI is useless as it does not take account of body composition

vorsprung

Regardless of your composition, in the case of the original poster I think that 100kg and 5'9" is likely to cause difficultly when cycling up hills.

I'm sure that Sir Chris Hoy has a higher BMI than me and I'm sure he would beat me up any kind of hill but this is not the point. The OP is clear that they are not an athlete of any sort. It is obvious that the problems described are due to a low power to weight ratio

vorsprung

GiantMike wrote:

I'm 5'9" and 78kgs and I'm borderline obese! I think the BMI categories were written in the 1830s when people lived off dust and bread scraps.

The BMI categories are just a very broad brush

If you are a rugby player or a cycling track sprinter then your BMI will show as "overweight" even if you are at the peak of physical perfection

5'9 and 78kg isn't obese. It's just- by a small amount- into the overweight region

5'9 and 100kg is a different matter

Takis61

Hey, I'm 5'9" & 78kg, where did the obese come from ? BMI is just between 25 & 26, so technically overweight (true in my case) but it could also be down to heavy muscle ?
I agree, BMI is a guide but not the be all & end all

GiantMike

Takis61 wrote:

Hey, I'm 5'9" & 78kg, where did the obese come from ? BMI is just between 25 & 26, so technically overweight (true in my case) but it could also be down to heavy muscle ?
I agree, BMI is a guide but not the be all & end all

You're right. Just overweight, but not obese. There goes my low self-esteem again....

mikeq

vorsprung wrote:

Regardless of your composition, in the case of the original poster I think that 100kg and 5'9" is likely to cause difficultly when cycling up hills.

I'm sure that Sir Chris Hoy has a higher BMI than me and I'm sure he would beat me up any kind of hill but this is not the point. The OP is clear that they are not an athlete of any sort. It is obvious that the problems described are due to a low power to weight ratio

sorry should have clarified that

BMI is useless for determining if you are obese or not

johncp

BMI is not "Useless" - it may not be appopriate for individuals who are genuinely very fit or who are into bodybuilding or train hard for other explosive events, but for the majority of the population BMI is a good indication of the effect your bodyweight is having on your general health and likelihood of dying sooner than you might. Taken in conjunction with waist measurement it gives a very good assessment of the state of your body composition in relation to health. Even if you can get round the Marmotte in 8 hours, if you are two stone overweight according to BMI, then you are more likely to die sooner than if you were at "ideal" weight.

bompington

Johncp wrote:

BMI is not "Useless" - it may not be appopriate for individuals who are genuinely very fit or who are into bodybuilding or train hard for other explosive events, but for the majority of the population BMI is a good indication of the effect your bodyweight is having on your general health and likelihood of dying sooner than you might. Taken in conjunction with waist measurement it gives a very good assessment of the state of your body composition in relation to health. Even if you can get round the Marmotte in 8 hours, if you are two stone overweight according to BMI, then you are more likely to die sooner than if you were at "ideal" weight.

Actually the research evidence shows that waist size, pure and simple, is a more effective predictor of "weight-related" problems like heart disease: >36" and you're in trouble.

Takis61

I think BMI is a good start & a wake up call for some people when they start to worry about their weight.
As I said, I'm down from 84kg to 78kg since January & everyone says how fir & slim I am - but I know where the bulges are & I've still got 24% fat.
Well below the 36 inch waist though, and as bompington says, this is crucial, it's what the Govt. are using to alert people to the risk of diabetes.

carrock

It's not so much that you're unfit, it's more that you're probably 25kg heavier than when you were cycling a few years ago

If you lost the excess weight, and at 5 ft 9 you should be 75kg or less, you'd bloody fly up the hills

By the way, I'm 5 ft 11 and 100kg, and I'm trying to get to 80kg for the same reason- went up honister pass and thought I was having a heart attack, and I do gym classes, body pump so am reasonably fit.

And as for chris hoy- he's about 85kg of muscle- and he wouldn't get up mt ventoux very easily either

In summary, anyone over 90kgs who blames their hill climbing ability on lack of fitness, should drop a few pounds, as well as improving base endurance

Takis61

Totally agree, got the Burgess Hill Rumble Sunday & wish I'd dropped another 2 kilos....still, I'm 4 down from March when I had to get off & push !

carrock

I was at seatolller at the cake shop earlier in the summer, 2 guys on ribble carbon jobbies rolled up, one guy was about 11 stone, the other guy must have been 19 stone if he was an ounce- and I'm sure they were talking about going over honister....so it can be done- but I think the amount of stress it puts on the bike, not to mention the knees, hauling 130kg up that gradient at that weight, is not good for bike nor man.

ThreeLionsBrian

carrock wrote:

It's not so much that you're unfit, it's more that you're probably 25kg heavier than when you were cycling a few years ago

If you lost the excess weight, and at 5 ft 9 you should be 75kg or less, you'd bloody fly up the hills

By the way, I'm 5 ft 11 and 100kg, and I'm trying to get to 80kg for the same reason- went up honister pass and thought I was having a heart attack, and I do gym classes, body pump so am reasonably fit.

And as for chris hoy- he's about 85kg of muscle- and he wouldn't get up mt ventoux very easily either

In summary, anyone over 90kgs who blames their hill climbing ability on lack of fitness, should drop a few pounds, as well as improving base endurance

5,10 Was recently 100KG (previously well above that) now 94 heading for 80KG (in my dreams) can't stop eating, as soon as the buzz evaporates i am looking for food. i can't cycle 24/7 trouble is i can eat 24/7 :oops:

I climb like an anchor too but i get there in the end (slowly)