How Long Does It Take For Legs To Get Used To Cycling?

Hunter84

I know it's probably different for everyone and weight/fitness also comes in to it. I am overweight and unfit but currently losing weight. 2 weeks ago I cycled 8 miles a day for 3 days then had to get my bike repaired. I've cycled the 8 miles 3 days this week so far. It takes me about 29 minutes to cycle 4 miles which isn't great. The problem I have is when I peddle for 20-30 seconds at a decent rate I get a burning sensation in my thighs then I have to coast along not peddling for 5-10 seconds then go back to peddling. There are 4 inclines I have to go up and they aren't that steep but cycling up increases the burning like crazy, I drop the gears when I'm slowing and that helps but as I get to the top I'm going very slowly which is a bit embarrassing when other cyclists are constantly flying past.

How long roughly does it take to condition the legs to get past this burning feeling in the thighs so I can peddle for longer and get faster? Is it just a case of keep cycling and eventually it will improve? I'm enjoying it so far. I've installed Strava on my Iphone so I can monitor any progress I make over the months.

Anonymous

It's a hard one to tell. If you are finding your legs are burning after 20-30 seconds, you'll probably find you're going too fast or you're in a wrong gear.

It's like walking, jogging and sprinting. Different levels of effort to cover different distances. Try pacing yourself more carefully and you'll find yourself pedalling for longer.

As for the hills, I wouldn't worry. What's great is you'll soon see the times drop off on Strava as you improve. It's slow at the very start (we all know the feeling!), gets VERY quick as you get the feel of it and your legs get used to it, weight drops off, fitness improves etc, then you'll see you're fitness plateauing until you can stretch yourself further!

lakesluddite

When I came back to cycling about 5 years ago, I had quite a good level of fitness to begin with, but found it quite difficult as it works muscle groups that don't get much use in other exercises, so I would expect someone who hasn't done that much (or any?) regular exercise to find it tough. It's not a quick fix, nothing is really, but it is one of the best forms of exercise for weight shedding, so just keep going safe in the knowledge that you can only get faster, stronger and ride for longer.

kajjal

It's likely to be a combination of fitness, bike setup and using the gears properly.

Initialised

Pace yourself, do every other day rather than every day.

Try to pedal at between 80 and 100 RPM (Cyclists call it cadence) and use what ever gear allows this.
For most people the peak efficiency will be in this range, the same principles apply for electric motors, turbines and engines.

At low RPM will wear your legs out quicker, this may enable you to climb steep gradients or accelerate quickly, this is usually what causes lactate to build up in the muscles and that burning sensation. I tend to use low RPM when the gradient goes over 10%.

At high RPM your lungs will be the limiting factor but at high RPM you can put down loads of power and it can get you up short sharp climbs without slowing down too much. I do this by dropping from the large chainring to the small chain ring at the front a little bit before the climb then spinning up it.

Bordersroadie

Hunter 84, well done mate, good for you getting out and making an effort to get our weight/health on a better level. You're doing more than the majority of the population.

The burning sensation in your legs is available no matter how much cycling you do, it's just that the point at which it comes on changes!

Seriously, don't over-analyse it, just keep doing what you're doing and gradually, for a given distance/speed, the leg burning will get less. The fact that you're getting the sensation means you're trying and probably an indication that you're getting stronger.

Quite effective is rest, too, don't forget. A hard riding day followed by a rest day to help your muscles to repair/grow stronger is as important as the days you are grinding away on the pedals.

Good luck with it!

fudgey

Well done for carrying on, i read your other thread about your bike so glad thats all sorted now!

I have been riding a road bike for almost 6 months now, mtb for years before that and regarding the leg burn i still get it.

If i get the feeling they are about to go i ease off (usually going up hill) as if i push on and get the burn i know i will struggle to get home. I have no idea if this is the right thing to do or if i should keep pushing to make them burn, as said i will struggle after but maybe thats what you do to build the muscles??

Feel the burn and all that...

Pituophis

When i very first started out I was doing a short ride every evening, and even though not over weight I was exhausted after a fortnight and to be honest, ready to throw the towel in! I cut it down to every other night, and the rest day had a real effect on both my moral and leg muscles. I genuinely started to improve quite quickly (see "normally" :oops: ) after that!
If you are doing your rides back to back, you MAY be overdoing it a bit for your level of fitness.
It is tough, even after a few years but I guess that's why we do it. We just go faster and further. You are making a great effort so don't be disheartened.

Hunter84

Thanks for all your messages. Glad I found this forum, lots of great advice. So far my times on Strava have been about the same. I'm 2nd or 3rd last on most routes to my work out of 280. Will be good over time to see it rise as I hopefully improve. This morning was a bit better, I took everyone's advice and tried to pace myself more and go at a steady speed rather than the short bursts going fast then slow that I was doing. I bettered my time on one of the inclines I've been finding hard which was nice. Will be interesting to see how a Monday-Friday week of cycling impacts my weight loss. I weigh in every Saturday morning and have on average lost about 2-3 pounds a week.

fudgey

Keep at it.

Dont worry about everyone elses times. I predominantly use strava just to keep an eye on what i do.

It wont take long before you start getting pb's on each ride.

redbikejohn

Ref the weigh in - you might put on " weight " at some point but it'll be muscle. Get a scale that measures your body fat using body scan

keef66

If as you say the pain is mainly in your quads, it may mean that your saddle's too low. As a rough check sit on the bike and rest your heel on the pedal. Your leg should be nearly straight when at the bottom of the pedal stroke. That way, when you're pedalling normally with the front part of the foot over the pedal, there's a bit of bend in the leg at the bottom of the stroke. That should mean you get a bit more help from your glutes.

And / or you're pushing too high a gear; as suggested earlier, try to spin the pedals at 80 rpm or higher

surrey_commuter

as a newbie cadence/spinning did not mean much to me until I was told to always look to change down (as car drivers we look to change up) . This will automatically get your rpm up.

Lambretta_Special

Hunter, well done to you.
I have recently started biking again on my mtb and decided to buy a road bike.
I gave up smoking 14 month ago but this time I used ecigs as my past attempts on gum saw me balloon in weight and smoke again.

My advice would be to take your time at first and enjoy the riding. Slow down or take a break if you feel the need. Keep it enjoyable and not a chore.
Dont worry what others think its you that matters

You will get good advice off knowledgeable peeps off here as I did .

Good luck and safe riding

tangled_metal

I've been cycling all my life but have had periods with very little riding. Just started commuting April / May and have been doing it ever since. Plus weekends. I'm not commuting.every day but typically 2 or 3 days per week with at least one weekend ride of over 1 hour. My commutes are 7.1 miles and I take 26 to 34 minutes to do it. I've also been going slower this past 2-3 weeks for some reason.

Anyway despite all those years riding I've only just learnt that dropping a gear or two can end up being faster. Dropping the gear makes it easier to turn the pedals. This allows you to increase rpm. I think it means it is easier to maintain the higher rpm than keeping the lower rpm in a higher degree.

Apart from higher rpm or cadence (forget about putting a figure on that just drop the gear until it feels like the pedals are running away from you) there's also having a rest day. Your muscles get stronger or more efficient when they repair which is when your not doing much. The recovery day.
There's also the rate of perceived effort. This is the scale of what activity feels like. The optimum point in that is the effort level that gets you feeling it but still able to hold a conversation. That is when you make a conversation in short bursts. When I tried to take up running it was like the op with cycling. I used to jog as fast as I could but still being able to sing or hum a tune. This is was February along.a very quiet country stretch of canal. I'd run in the dark without head torch. No-one around so when I needed to check my pace I'd just hum or sing a bit of my favorite tunes. It's a good check that you're not pushing too hard.

Above all just enjoy your rides whatever pace you manage. Fitness comes.

Hunter84

This is my 3rd full week cycling, legs are still sore but the burning sensation in my thighs isn't as severe as it was. You guys weren't wrong about the rest days, I don't cycle on Sat and Sun and definitely feel better and stronger on the Monday mornings. My journey times seem to be about the same but feel I'm cycling slightly faster but keeping a steady pace throughout.

Philby

You might think about doing some exercises that increase the strength in your quads - squats are a good exercise for this, as is sitting against a wall with your legs bent at 90 degrees (sometimes called a ski-sit). Also don't forget to stretch after your ride which will help loosen the muscles. Taking time off will also allow the muscle fibres to repair which over time improves our fitness as the muscle fibres tear during exercise and repair when we rest.

Chris87

It never gets easier, you just go faster.