Former elite athlete turned smoker back to elite athlete
Watt the hell?
Posts: 2
Hi all,
First time poster here, and thought this would be the appropriate place to post my story here.
I'm a 23 year old from Canada, and one of 2016 new years revolutions was to get back on the bike. I've since then rekindled the love of road biking and it has turned back into an obsession I use to have when I was 15-16 years old.
A little back ground on me: Through out my younger years and teenage years I was an elite athlete. I was training to make the NHL (professional hockey) and played the absolute highest level of hockey you could play for your age group from about 11-16 years old. Just as reference: I was 5'9 155 pounds and biked a lot, my running stats were: quickest mile 4:25 Quickest 5K 15:30-16:00mins and my biking stats were around 33km/h avg speed on rides ranging from 40-60K on average. (i know avg speed doesn't mean much) I also had incredible leg and core strength from dry land and weight training days for hockey specific purposes.
Around 15-16 years old, i had to give up the biking and running to put on weight for hockey. I was simply too light and would get tossed around by the 6'2 225lbs flying monsters. all the biking and running would lean me out like stupid and i just couldn't put on weight so i had to stop. I hit the gym with my trainer and bulked up to about 180-185 pounds over a summer. Long story short, the hockey route didn't work out and instead I went to school to study. I was a pretty good student and graduated with a degree in finance but picked up some bad habits during my time in university. Picked up smoking (about 2 packs a week) and drinking. Pretty much I was on your typical "bro" diet of consume whatever you want during 4 years of school. and weighed in at peak about 195 pounds. Since graduation i told myself its time to get on the health train again and start biking.
So that brings me to today. I started biking again basically the end of april (spring time here) and have since lost about 13 pounds in the last month. I'm hovering around the 180-185 mark now. The goal is to get to about 165. To be honest though, im not concerned about the weight, more about my cardio.
Another one of my new years revolutions was to cut back smoking. although I have not quit completely I am at about 3-4 cigarettes per week or about 1 cigarette every other day thus a significant reduction. I know its not good to smoke but eh, the addiction is real and I like to smoke. I will get over it eventually.
This brings me to my questions and concerns about my health:
Being an elite athlete for my early years my biggest struggle was my brain telling my body "you can't do it" and thus the challenge was all mental. After years and years of training and practice, the mentality changed and the body caught up and i was able to perform at an elite level. However, since then after the smoking and drinking etc, my mind now understands the suffering and fatigue and i can easily push through the pain, but I am worried my body is not up to par and can't keep up. Essentially, my mind is far ahead of my body in terms of fitness and my body is playing catch up. (im sorry if i explained that very poorly)
Is it ok to get back into training for fitness after smoking for 4-5 years? I'm worried im going to damage my heart or lungs?
Lately I've been feeling a little light headed on the bike after giving it some gas. sustain 330w+ for about 5 min intervals. im worried my lungs/heart aren't efficient enough to deliver the blood/oxygen it needs to the muscles? perhaps its the heat? (biking in about 27-32 degree weather)
Although i've never done an FTP test, my garmin and power meter say my FTP is 235w (around 2.7-2.75watts/kilo). Strava estimates it around 223w. To be honest, I think i can smash those numbers if i actually went for a proper FTP test. I would guess its closer to 250w. At the end of the day i couldn't really care less about those numbers and just providing them as reference. I would however like to get into some crit racing in 2017 as the explosive nature of the race is very similar to hockey with quick bursts of power, so i feel this would suite me well given my background. I would obviously have to crank up my training program and start producing much higher numbers if i wanna win any races though.
I guess what im trying to ask is...has anyone else smoked and then got back on the fitness train? how did you guys feel? what did you do? Is it ok to get back into a hardcore training program after living an unhealthy lifestyle for 4 years? Are their any recommendations you have for someone in my position?
Feel free to ask if you require more info, i'd like to think im pretty transparent with my fitness data et all. Looking forward to your responses and enjoying the forum. Cheers!
First time poster here, and thought this would be the appropriate place to post my story here.
I'm a 23 year old from Canada, and one of 2016 new years revolutions was to get back on the bike. I've since then rekindled the love of road biking and it has turned back into an obsession I use to have when I was 15-16 years old.
A little back ground on me: Through out my younger years and teenage years I was an elite athlete. I was training to make the NHL (professional hockey) and played the absolute highest level of hockey you could play for your age group from about 11-16 years old. Just as reference: I was 5'9 155 pounds and biked a lot, my running stats were: quickest mile 4:25 Quickest 5K 15:30-16:00mins and my biking stats were around 33km/h avg speed on rides ranging from 40-60K on average. (i know avg speed doesn't mean much) I also had incredible leg and core strength from dry land and weight training days for hockey specific purposes.
Around 15-16 years old, i had to give up the biking and running to put on weight for hockey. I was simply too light and would get tossed around by the 6'2 225lbs flying monsters. all the biking and running would lean me out like stupid and i just couldn't put on weight so i had to stop. I hit the gym with my trainer and bulked up to about 180-185 pounds over a summer. Long story short, the hockey route didn't work out and instead I went to school to study. I was a pretty good student and graduated with a degree in finance but picked up some bad habits during my time in university. Picked up smoking (about 2 packs a week) and drinking. Pretty much I was on your typical "bro" diet of consume whatever you want during 4 years of school. and weighed in at peak about 195 pounds. Since graduation i told myself its time to get on the health train again and start biking.
So that brings me to today. I started biking again basically the end of april (spring time here) and have since lost about 13 pounds in the last month. I'm hovering around the 180-185 mark now. The goal is to get to about 165. To be honest though, im not concerned about the weight, more about my cardio.
Another one of my new years revolutions was to cut back smoking. although I have not quit completely I am at about 3-4 cigarettes per week or about 1 cigarette every other day thus a significant reduction. I know its not good to smoke but eh, the addiction is real and I like to smoke. I will get over it eventually.
This brings me to my questions and concerns about my health:
Being an elite athlete for my early years my biggest struggle was my brain telling my body "you can't do it" and thus the challenge was all mental. After years and years of training and practice, the mentality changed and the body caught up and i was able to perform at an elite level. However, since then after the smoking and drinking etc, my mind now understands the suffering and fatigue and i can easily push through the pain, but I am worried my body is not up to par and can't keep up. Essentially, my mind is far ahead of my body in terms of fitness and my body is playing catch up. (im sorry if i explained that very poorly)
Is it ok to get back into training for fitness after smoking for 4-5 years? I'm worried im going to damage my heart or lungs?
Lately I've been feeling a little light headed on the bike after giving it some gas. sustain 330w+ for about 5 min intervals. im worried my lungs/heart aren't efficient enough to deliver the blood/oxygen it needs to the muscles? perhaps its the heat? (biking in about 27-32 degree weather)
Although i've never done an FTP test, my garmin and power meter say my FTP is 235w (around 2.7-2.75watts/kilo). Strava estimates it around 223w. To be honest, I think i can smash those numbers if i actually went for a proper FTP test. I would guess its closer to 250w. At the end of the day i couldn't really care less about those numbers and just providing them as reference. I would however like to get into some crit racing in 2017 as the explosive nature of the race is very similar to hockey with quick bursts of power, so i feel this would suite me well given my background. I would obviously have to crank up my training program and start producing much higher numbers if i wanna win any races though.
I guess what im trying to ask is...has anyone else smoked and then got back on the fitness train? how did you guys feel? what did you do? Is it ok to get back into a hardcore training program after living an unhealthy lifestyle for 4 years? Are their any recommendations you have for someone in my position?
Feel free to ask if you require more info, i'd like to think im pretty transparent with my fitness data et all. Looking forward to your responses and enjoying the forum. Cheers!
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Comments
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I've never smoked so can't really answer you, but I can tell you that at 23 you are far too young to be worrying about such things - get out there and smash it.0
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Get checked out by your GP if you're worried, basic blood tests and all that, but tbh just train as you feel and don't overdo it in the first while and you'll be fine. Build up mileage and volume, rest when you need it, track your improvements, join a club, do a coached race skills session or two before you start racing, then jump in and see how it goes.
(fwiw I was a decent ice hockey player back in the day too, but I've found that despite being a very quick skater, sprinting is not my strength on the bike at all... though thankfully like you I also have a big engine and Vo2max so I've found success through that instead -- don't be surprised if it's the same for you! Though I'm also nearly twice your age so maybe that's why...)0 -
2 packs a week for 4 years is nothing. Wouldn't call it performance enhancing, mind, but the lungs will recover pretty quickly, especially given your age. (You do need to stop altogether though, I spent 25 years oscillating between a pack a day and "just one after dinner", only to drift back up to a pack a day; smoking is the best, but it's terrible).0
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I was never an elite athlete, but in my young teens I cycled a lot, including a 70 - 100 mile ride every weekend. I started smoking and drinking and partying at 16 and the cycling took a back seat. I smoked for 7 years, averaging about 10 a day once I was working and could afford it, but was smoking 20 a day for at least a year. I started canoeing competitively in my early twenties, though I still was smoking. At about 3 months after quitting altogether I suddenly noticed that I wasn't dying on the finish line any more (BTW canoe slalom races were only about 3 minutes long, they're even shorter now). I never stopped cycling altogether, though it was mostly commuting about 7 miles which grew to 14 miles when I stopped smoking. 33 years on I am cycling a lot more again and still training and racing in canoe slalom. I don't think my period of smoking has affected my cardio in any way, on the whole it's my legs that give up first, my resting heart rate is 42 and my maximum is 180.0
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Raced for club and country at under 18 level many years ago with some good results and a couple of national titles (Welsh not GB titles), gave up riding in my late teens and turned to other less favourable pass times which involved smoking and drinking and smoked on and off all through my 20’s and 30’s as well as piling on a load of weight (almost 235lbs at my heaviest). I’m 43 this month and am back riding and racing again, weight has dropped off and I am a more respectful 196lbs and falling, I am riding 200 odd miles a week and race mainly undulating road races and crits and with a little success.
As has been previously mentioned, get checked out by a doctor and if all ok then just ride, join a club, enjoy it and don’t get caught up on the numbers, if you enjoy it you will continue with it and then possibly you may get back to the level you were once at (or you may not) but as for your health, you’ve done the hard part by quitting, the rest should be a breeze for you.Obsessed is a word used by the lazy to describe the dedicated!0 -
At 23 you've still to reach your peak as a cyclist, so just go for it. Ditch the cigarettes completely, eat and drink sensibly, and as varied a diet as you can. Join a cycling club, start racing.
Unless you have some underlying health issue, I doubt there's any need to bother your doctor.
And for future reference, it's New Year resolutions
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Used to smoke until middle of January this year - a pack/2days for 6-7 years. If I were you, I would ease myself in the intense workouts. At first hill climbing was a nightmare for me (shortly after quitting). Now it just gets better and better. So yeah... don't overthink it. Just quit the cigs and get on the bike!0
