How much is too much?

Crapaud

Background
I've been off the bike for several years now and nine months ago I was the least fit that I've ever been. Cardio was poor, I had a weak back, legs and core due to muscle atrophy, a pot belly and I was carrying 2 stone of flab.

A partial solution
I tried getting back on the bike, but couldn't achieve anything meaningful due to such poor fitness: even short runs were difficult and I'd be defeated on very short inclines. All very dispiriting. So I decided to address this by joining the local council gym. A core program, press-up prog and time on a Watt bike got me fit enough to join some of the classes on offer: Metafit (jumping around) classes for cardio/fat burning, FT fitness (pushing, pulling and lifting) classes for upper body strength and a more advanced core prog.

And it's working; I completed a test run on an old 25 mile hilly route. It was a struggle, but I now feel ready to get back on the bike for serious. Yippeeee!

The point of this post

Trouble is that I would want to continue with the classes, 'cause I enjoy them, as well as training for this year's goal of the Pedal for Scotland Sportif (110miles) in September. So the question is: is this feasible or am I taking on too much?

The Plan

Monday
Metafit
Core workout
Bike: long run (starting at 25 miles)

Wednesday
Metafit
Core workout
Bike: intervals on a flat 15 mile route

Friday
Bike: hill climbing (15 miles)
Core workout
Ft Fitness

As the year progresses, obviously, I'll need to change things about and am considering substituting Monday's Metafit for another FT fitness class and Wed's to a spin (suicide) class around the end of Feb/March. Later as the cycling improves I'd change the spin class for something else (not sure what yet).

What do you think?

sloppyschleckonds

What do you do Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays?

Crapaud

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19775853#p19775853]SloppySchleckonds[/url] wrote:

What do you do Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays?

Work

But then I also work Wed and Fri afternoon/evenings.

AK_jnr

As you work the other days and I assume cant ride, that plan wont be too much. Definitely dont give up the classes if you enjoy them.

ravey1981

110 miles is achievable given you have 9 months to prepare. Don't worry to much about structured training as such, just ride your bike as much as you can. Enjoy it, don't let it become a chore because you're focused on "training". If you know any other riders go out with them if possible, especially if they are a bit quicker than you as it will spur you on and it makes going out on those wet sh1tty more likely as you wont want to be the one to give in.... Fitness is gained and lost quite rapidly I find. Keep doing the classes you enjoy, ride the bike and you'll be fine.

Crapaud

Cheers, Guys.

AK_jnr and SloppySchleckonds, I'm self employed so have the luxury of, to some degree, deciding when to take time off. However, any time off is lost income, hence I need to make the most of any time I do take off and that's why everything is crammed into relatively short time periods.

ravey1981, I don't do training as such. I've tried it before with training plans, logs, HRMs etc, but they just seem to suck any enjoyment out of any activity. I do create arbitrary goals as motivation, but don't put myself under any pressure to achieve them; as long as I see that there's progress, I'm happy.

I'd considered joining a club, but they usually ride at inconvenient times for me. I do know some other cyclists so I'll see if I can recruit them. Good suggestion, thanks.

I'll, maybe, just have to give it a go and adapt as I go along.

nigeldoyle

Have you got an indoor trainer? You could then squeeze in a 45 minute high intensity workout on the weekend. I do all of my intervals on my trainer regardless of what the weather is doing. Better and more focussed results doing them on a trainer.