10 years gone and now a fatty

sssstelvio
sssstelvio Posts: 15
edited January 2012 in Training, fitness and health
From 1990 to 2000 I did loads of cycling, audax, sponsored rides etc.
Then along came children, now they are 7 and 10 and we are starting to get out a bit again as a family.
However having lost all my base fitness and carrying ahem more "load" I want to regain some decent fitness. I know there is no substitute for hours pedalling but i cannot do hours pedalling. So would lower miles/less time at more resistance do the trick, ie use an MTB on the road.
My instinct and experience tells me it would.

Comments

  • doyler78
    doyler78 Posts: 1,951
    You are thinking in the right direction in that more consistent training is more important than big miles infrequently however the MTB one isn't useful as you don't need it to add resistance you get that by selecting the correct gear to allow you to go as hard as you can cope with or planned to. You are wanting to get road bike fit therefore training on that bike will help you get used to riding the road bike again. That's not to say you have to use the road bike all the time. Just use the bike that you will use most often as the bike you mainly use.

    I think you will be pleasantly surprised at just how quickly you will get back to a level you are more familiar with. Good luck with it.
  • Tom Butcher
    Tom Butcher Posts: 3,830
    You could use a mountain bike or a road bike - it's time at a given effort that is important. You may find it easier to put more effort in on a mtb - or the added speed may give you more motivation to push hard on a road bike - but ultimately it's about the effort you are putting in and for how long.
    it's a hard life if you don't weaken.
  • ut_och_cykla
    ut_och_cykla Posts: 1,594
    Look at how much /what you eat too! just cycling (especially if you're short of time) won't be enough to slim down much. The great thing is maybe you could at least get the 10 year old to tag along sometimes - off road - perhaps even the 7 year old & wifey too? Save the hard sessions for when you are alone though! Think about whether you can include more cycling/general exercise into your life - every little bits helps - e.g walk/cycle your journey to work shops etc
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Road bike and do some hill repeats. You can expend a lot of energy in a short time doing hills.

    And keep a food diary and be honest. Weigh / measure things rather than guess.
  • sssstelvio
    sssstelvio Posts: 15
    thanks guys.
    as for hill repeats I live near the Lakes/dales/trough of Bowland/pennines, so plenty to go at.
    I always loved climbing but was always very slow.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Ooh you lucky bugger! I'm properly jealous!
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    keef66 wrote:
    Ooh you lucky bugger! I'm properly jealous!

    Jealous? Why? It's dead easy to get fat. I'm really good at it.
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Me too. Still eating the leftover christmas chocs :D

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