15.5 stone truck driving asthmatic lol

sloweey
sloweey Posts: 89
edited May 2015 in Training, fitness and health
im realistic and know I am never going to be the fittest around lol ...
I've started by doing regular 5 to 10 miles rides 2 to 3 times a week and I'm going to build this up steadily...
at the moment I haven't got any goals I'm just trying to build myself up in my own pace ...
my question is how long did it take some of you to build your own distance up and did you find your average speed was going up as well

Comments

  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    Your doing the right thing and will notice the difference after only a month or so. Give it a few weeks and try longer rides at a slightly slower pace, going from ten to twenty miles is easy enough, getting up to fifty miles takes more out of you.
  • napoleond
    napoleond Posts: 5,992
    Best way I found of increasing distance was joining a club that does a variety of rides. Before you know it you'll be doing all sorts of distances.

    If you aren't yet confident enough to do that, start off by picking a cafe that's a 7-10 mile ride out. Ride there, have a tea or coffee, ride home (avoid the cake or you'll put weight on!)
    Then pick a cafe, say, 10-12 miles away, then 12-15 etc then you'll be doing 30 mile rides. Then start removing the cafe stop...
    Insta: ATEnduranceCoaching
    ABCC Cycling Coach
  • 964cup
    964cup Posts: 1,362
    Not a truck driver, but I was 15st 2 three years ago, in a sedentary job, and am a lifelong chronic (and severe) asthmatic. Now 12st 8, doing about 150-180 miles per week; still asthmatic of course and my peak flow hasn't really moved (because of airway remodelling) but my FTP has roughly doubled. In principle, if you can get your treatment and fitness regime right, you will have better aerobic function than "normal" people because asthmatics, chronic ones anyway, have bigger lungs.

    Correct medication is absolutely critical; many GPs are completely hopeless on this. What's your current treatment regime? Feel free to PM if you don't want to discuss this in public.

    Absolutely +1 for joining a club, but find one that has a variety of groups, and hence riding abilities. Company, encouragement and a bit of competition are all extremely helpful, but falling off the back the whole time or feeling like you're holding everyone up is disheartening. I found two things useful when I started: disciplined measurement (Strava, power metering, peak flow before and after etc) so I could see improvement, and riding in mixed-gender groups, which kept the pace more manageable and gave me something more pleasant to look at... Took me about a year to drop most of the weight and get up to the 'A' group pace. That meant going from, say, 45k rides at 23-25kph average to 75-100k at 28-30kph.
  • sloppyschleckonds
    sloppyschleckonds Posts: 8,019
    sloweey wrote:
    my question is how long did it take some of you to build your own distance up and did you find your average speed was going up as well

    As you lose weight you should be able to improve your fitness being able to ride further and quicker.

    Everyone would be different but just sort your diet out and enjoy cycling.
    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    sloweey wrote:
    im realistic and know I am never going to be the fittest around lol ...
    I've started by doing regular 5 to 10 miles rides 2 to 3 times a week and I'm going to build this up steadily...
    at the moment I haven't got any goals I'm just trying to build myself up in my own pace ...
    my question is how long did it take some of you to build your own distance up and did you find your average speed was going up as well
    I wrote a big long response and then somehow closed the browser inadvertently without posting it :(
    Oh well, I rambled a bit , you're probably better off not hbeing subjected to it. So, the quick version:

    I started riding in early 2011. I was the same weight as you at the time 97 or 98kg having been very inactive with sport for several years. I also have a sedentary job and, as happens to a lot of people I think, I just gradually became overweight and unfit a little at a time so it didn't seem so bad. Then I realised that I really didn't feel that great anymore. So in Feb 2011 I got a bike and started riding similar distances to you, about 15km a couple of nights a week and a bit further at the weekend. Initially the weekend ride was about 20km but gradually increased. My speed and comfort on the bike improved significantly over the first couple of months, I also lost a few kg pretty quickly and started feeling generally better physically. As summer arrived I started doing longer rides. I'd add a little distance onto one of the mid-week rides and kept the other at 15km but tried to ride it faster. At the weekends I rode gradually longer routes but didn't really push it.
    I've since started running too and have done several sportives and duathlons each of the last 3 years and I'm training for a Half-Ironman this August. I'm still not an elite athlete. But I'm very fit compared to the general population and I feel good. I'm still a little overweight to be honest. I lost several kg easily when I started riding but then plateaued and have been around 85.5-88kg for the last 2.5 years. I'm currently trying to lose a bit more with fairly good success. I look fine as I am but performance would improve with some more weight loss and I think it would be a bit more healthy too. Since you mention weight I presume you'd like to lose some of it? Based on my experience it's likely you will lose some relatively easily when you start cycling but that won't continue indefinitely and in the long run diet is far more important than exercise. A combination of the two works wonders!

    Keep up what you're doing.
    If you like to have something to gauge your progress and to see how you're doing when out on the bike, and if you don't already have one, I'd recommend getting a bike computer with a heart rate strap.
    Take advantage of summer to increase your range, but don't torture yourself (unless you really want to :wink: ). If possible get some friends involved too or join a club. Company on long rides makes them much more enjoyable. Also, don't stick to the same couple of routes, this can get boring. Explore!
    You will get faster over time and will also get comfortable doing longer rides. Incidentally bike comfort becomes much more important as your rides get longer. The right position on the bike, a saddle that suits you and decent bike shorts are important (you don't need to spend a fortune on shorts but don't be too cheap either, they'll be worth it!)

    I'd also recommend trying some events. You might well be able to tackle a 50km sportive or charity ride in a couple of months. Having a goal makes life more interesting....

    Have fun.

    P.S.
    Oh look, I rambled on again!
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    I'm asthmatic. I take green and brown inhalers twice a day as well as the blue inhaler when necessary.

    However since I started cycling three years ago my peak flown has improved a lot. I can't remember the numbers but it went from being pretty poor to a recent test where I almost maxed out the meter!
  • Man Of Lard
    Man Of Lard Posts: 903
    sloweey wrote:
    im realistic and know I am never going to be the fittest around lol ...
    I've started by doing regular 5 to 10 miles rides 2 to 3 times a week and I'm going to build this up steadily...
    at the moment I haven't got any goals I'm just trying to build myself up in my own pace ...
    my question is how long did it take some of you to build your own distance up and did you find your average speed was going up as well

    I just looked in my Strava history to confirm details...

    Nov 2013 - 10-12 mile rides (avg speed 10mph)
    Feb 2014 - 15-20 mile rides
    May 2014 - 40-60 mile rides
    Aug 2014 - 40-60 mile rides (avg speed 17mph)

    Now back in Nov 2013, I was >120kg - by Jun 2014 I was sub-90.

    How I did it - ride a route... when it felt sufficiently easy, add on some "twiddly bits". Rinse and repeat.
  • fatdaz
    fatdaz Posts: 348
    Ai_1 - Our stories are almost identical, even down to the half Ironman in August. It's not the Cotswold Classic you're doing is it?
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    fatdaz wrote:
    Ai_1 - Our stories are almost identical, even down to the half Ironman in August. It's not the Cotswold Classic you're doing is it?
    Nope. I'm doing the Dublin Ironman 70.3.
    Good look with yours!

    I'll be fine if I can survive the swim!
  • fatdaz
    fatdaz Posts: 348
    The swim is my strongest suit, it's the run I hate

    Good luck in Dublin, enjoy the Guinness after

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