Tiredness

gazzola dad

Wouldn't mind a bit of advice.

Have got back on the bike after almost 15 years of minimal activity.

Yesterday I went out and did and incredibly slow 25 miles, it took about 2 hrs 15 mins. Today I feel wrecked. Other "minor" problem is my weight, I've ballooned to over 18st during my time off the bike, and at 5'8" and 58 that's heavy. Didn't push things yesterday, but am still surprised at how tired I am. In the past I've always felt able to manage some sort of recovery ride the day after, but not today!

Anyone out there suffered anything similar?

mm1

Yup. Had a few years off with family stuff and injuries and my first ride back was 15m at about 12mph inspired by watching the Athens Olympic road race - after which I ate everything in the house and fell into a coma. 3 years later I bettered my 30 year old 10m TT pb. Keep riding little and often, just turning the pedals at whatever pace feels comfortable and you will be astonished a how quickly you improve. In the words of the song, don't push it don't force it, just let it come naturally.

JayKosta

What you describe is typical.
The IMPORTANT thing is to do it again, AFTER you have rested and recovered!
Beyond age 35-40, recovery takes longer - so don't be surprised that you need rest days.

I use a mixture of whey protein and a carbo drink (e.g. Gatorade) immediately after completing an exercise session.
The protein is to help rebuild muscle, and the carbs are for refueling. Low-fat chocolate milk is also very good for this.
The first 30 minutes after the session is the ideal 'window' for recovery nutrition. Other 'quick to digest' foods will work just as well, but I like the convenience of a nutritional drink.
Then awhile later have a regular meal.

During my rides I drink Gatorade for carbs and hydration.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

sloppyschleckonds

JayKosta wrote:

I use a mixture of whey protein and a carbo drink (e.g. Gatorade) immediately after completing an exercise session.
The protein is to help rebuild muscle, and the carbs are for refueling. Low-fat chocolate milk is also very good for this.
The first 30 minutes after the session is the ideal 'window' for recovery nutrition. Other 'quick to digest' foods will work just as well, but I like the convenience of a nutritional drink.
Then awhile later have a regular meal.

During my rides I drink Gatorade for carbs and hydration.

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

The guy is 8 stone overweight, the last thing his body needs is that after a ride. He needs to keep hydrated and get his body burning fat for fuel.

kajjal

Just listen to your body if it needs a couple of days rest then let it have it. When I was in my 20's and very fit going up mountains on a mountain bike, rest days and eating good food were very important. Until you lose the weight just be careful not to over do it. Fitness and weight loss will come quickly enough.

steve6690

Been there. It'll be a couple of weeks before you start to feel stronger IME. Don't overdo it and make sure you eat plenty of good proper food.
I found it was impossible to exercise away a crap diet so I only started losing weight when I cut out unnecessary calories.

JayKosta

Regarding SloppySchleckonds' comment -
"The guy is 8 stone overweight, the last thing his body needs is that after a ride. He needs to keep hydrated and get his body burning fat for fuel."

---

Yes, to lose weight, calorie intake needs to be reduced.
But after a long exercise session some nutritional refueling is needed. The exercise has damaged some muscle tissue, reduced the amount of blood sugar, and also reduced the glycogen stored in the muscles and liver. Refusing to do some refueling, and to rely on 'stored body fat', might work if complete rest time was available, AND with a very great amount of self-control and dedication. More likely it would be a miserable experience, never to be repeated...

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA

blackpoolkev

Sugar/ carbohydrates will help you feel more energetic on your rides. The more energetic you feel the harder you will work. The more you work the more your muscles will get used to processing sugar.
It may sound counter-intuitive to neck sugar while trying to lose weight but it works if you use it to graft on your bike.
Lucozade Sport (not the lite version) or any similar supermarket own brand equivalent should be fine. Water it down a bit during warmer weather.

marcusjb

Another one for just ride little and often, listen to your body and don't push it too hard quite yet.

Fitness and your weight loss will come.

Eat a good, balanced diet full of real food.

Don't stress about all the talk of recovery rides, protein shakes and all that stuff. For most riders, and certainly beginners, you don't need to get hung up on this stuff. It is great that people want to emulate the pros, but it just isn't necessary for most people, who are not competing at a high level, and all this over complication is a barrier to new riders.

It really does come down to eating well, and riding little and often to start with.

meanredspider

Firstly, it's great that you're doing this - well done.

Secondly, I was somewhere similar about 8 years ago - overweight and terribly unfit. I thought I'd start by running and found I couldn't do more than about 100m without needing to stop for a breather. I kept at it and it wasn't long before I was running 11k going up a steep, long hill for half of it. I then started to commute by bike doing a 30-mile round trip. These days, I'll happily do century rides.

Don't let your eating derail you. Don't fall into the trap of eating more than you're burning because you're tired and hungry. Slim back the portions and embrace a bit of hunger as being a sign of really making progress.

Mix up the riding a bit. Do some short quick rides but also do some slow longer rides between them (these should be really slow and easy). Most of all, as above, do get out and ride. And enjoy it.

Good luck!

top_bhoy

I'd forget about doing the 25 mile efforts for a while until you've adjusted into regular exercise. Get out on the bike a minimum of 4 times a week for around 30 minutes each effort. As time passes, you'll be able to extend the time and/or distance you are completing. You'll know when you can do the 25 mile efforts again. The last thing you want to attempt is to go from zero to hero overnight....and watch the diet. That is the prime consideration to losing weight.