Fatigue - Fighting out of it?

Jomox

Hello,

Over 6 years ago, I was highly fit, my natural fitness was superb, I could ride for miles and miles without a break and without even breaking a sweat. I loved being like this, just generally really fit and healthy.

But due t o illness I've not been ridden consistently for some 6 years or so, inthat time I've gotten fatigued, the last 4 years have been pretty much no riding at all. I have still done quite allot of walking exercises though and can walk quite far without to much hassle. Now I am getting back into riding due to having a nice new XC bike to get back into it again.

I should mention in this down time period I've put on allot of weight (Currently 98kg as opposed to about 81kg before) I am slightly overweight however the main fatness is on my belly, my arms and legs are in pretty good shape (And I'm very stocky naturally) But I need to lose some especially on the belly (Which will be hard)

My problem is general fatigue, especially my knee's, I am out of breath very quickly but I feel I can handle the breathing situation okay it's my knee's that are giving me the problem. The first climb can be okay but after that my knee's just really hurt (Mainly in the center) and this results in me needing many breaks usually maximum 5 minutes is enough to solider on again but going back to the climb the pain in my knee's always halts my progress. Of course slow and steady is key but even taking it easy in the climb my knee's just hurt.

Without the knee pain I could keep going and handle the breathing situation (And make myself fit again quicker) but I cannot push myself like this and I need a number of breaks.

Are my knee pains part of generally being fatigued / out of shape or is it potentially another problem I need to look into?

Right now I am just doing short 6 miles (Maximum) rides to get back into it, I usually have some cereal and have juice with me (Blackcurrant) which I need to drink allot of as I get dry mouth really easy due to the medications I'm on. Should I have energy bars to help me?

adm1

Could you be trying to push too high a gear on the hills?

Drop it down to the lowest and try to keep the pedals spinning faster with less pressure.....should be easier on the knees.

Jomox

Thanks for the advise.

That's exactly what I have to do to make it kind of bearable, but the pain is always there in my knee's unfortunately. It's all gradient around here for miles and miles, there's almost no flat terrain around so it's all up and down none stop so you have to work to go anywhere (Long hills mainly also) I get out of breath very easily, but as said above I can handle this with the right techniques, its just the knee's that are killing me.

Do I just need to keep doing these short rides and hope it gets better? It's just frustrating not being able to go to far and requiring all the breaks.

yanktanks

Hi

Until 2009 I was Mr average fitness wise and had no other problems.

I then went down with Chronic Fatuige Syndrome & Fibromyalgia, I have found the best way to beat the Fatuige and pain in the Legs was to start slowly and build up very gently.

in the mean time listen to your body and dont push to hard, Take in Regular rest Breaks and keep the fluid levels up.

I also set my self a long term goal and built up to it and even managed to raise some money for charity on the way, that way you can set yourself realistic targets to acheive and you feel great when you do.

Good luck

Martin

Jomox

Thanks for the information. Sorry to hear about your illness's also.

I guess the key is having little breaks after each climb and keep drinking lots. The bike is fast though so I often want to go faster than my knee's can take, so just need to relax I guess, take it easy and gradually build myself up but it's painful on the knee's no matter how I approach the climb (Low or high gear, going into it fast or slow etc)