How many miles per week?

newleaf

I have recently got back into road cycling and am currently riding around 2 or 3 times a week for about an hour each time covering roughly 13 miles each time, not a lot i know . I am 50 years old needing to lose about a stone and a half. On my normal route which i have been riding for around 2 months now I can average around 13.73 mph and it has an elevation of 132m. Now we are hopefully getting into some better weather I am aiming to put in some longer rides of around 20 or 30 miles.

Generally speaking how many miles a week should i be aiming for to reach a good level of fitness and possibly start to loose some weight. I restricted a little be in that I have family commitments, two young children and also run my own business so on a good week I could probably devote around 5 hours and on wetter weeks around 3 hours.

slowmart

Diet for weight loss and miles on the bike for fitness.

Aim to increase your weekly mileage by 10% and every fourth week reduce the mileage back to help your recovery.

And drop the perception you reduce your mileage if it's raining. Get some decent waterproofs as you'll need them if you cycle in the UK.

Just use more calories than you consume on a daily basis and the weight will come off and try and reduce your alcohol intake as that impacts on your ability to lose weight effectively

sloppyschleckonds

newleaf wrote:

Generally speaking how many miles a week should i be aiming for to reach a good level of fitness

200

Joshgav

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

newleaf wrote:

Generally speaking how many miles a week should i be aiming for to reach a good level of fitness

200

300

Garry H

137

jollygiant

Joshgav wrote:

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

newleaf wrote:

Generally speaking how many miles a week should i be aiming for to reach a good level of fitness

200

300

This.......And you'll be properly bike fit.

But I'm to lazy and only do half that!

jgsi

Either purchase some coaching advice for a cost - or purchase Friel's Fast after 50 book.
Either way your current time expenditure is not going to make you a fitter/faster cyclist in short order.
You run your own business from home... so pretend to commute at the start and end of your working day... 10/12 miles.

Get on Zwift for some very hard effort race simulation - that means starting how to push your limits to improve -- don't fret, this does not mean you become an effective racing cyclist as a lot of the idiots on Zwift think they are... you just ride harder than you have ever done in your life before.

Basically to get better - over time.. needs more of your time.... or just forget cycling and get running - very much a cheaper fitness option.

reacher

JGSI wrote:

Either purchase some coaching advice for a cost - or purchase Friel's Fast after 50 book.
Either way your current time expenditure is not going to make you a fitter/faster cyclist in short order.
You run your own business from home... so pretend to commute at the start and end of your working day... 10/12 miles.

Get on Zwift for some very hard effort race simulation - that means starting how to push your limits to improve -- don't fret, this does not mean you become an effective racing cyclist as a lot of the idiots on Zwift think they are... you just ride harder than you have ever done in your life before.

Basically to get better - over time.. needs more of your time.... or just forget cycling and get running - very much a cheaper fitness option.

Of course it will, to say his current expenditure won't make him fitter is nonsense. Training to get fitter and lose weight is about diet and intensity in training not about toodling along racking up as many slow miles as possible. Training is training it's how you do that training and the intensity that makes the differance at that age when your short on time.

fenix

3 hours a week only ? Can you change your routine ? Bin some tv ? Ride to work or something ?

Joshgav

Fenix wrote:

3 hours a week only ? Can you change your routine ? Bin some tv ? Ride to work or something ?

You can do an awful lot in 3 hours presuming the OP isn't intending to be a CAT1 racer. I don't spend many hours on my bike a week (the downside of being a triathlete compared to being a cyclist) but I'm not bad.

kingstongraham

If you increase your mileage by 10% a week, you'll be up over 50 miles in no time. In two years, you'll be over 500,000 miles a week, which is plenty for anyone.

davesnothere

I'm in a similar position, bought my first road bike in 30 years at Christmas. Averaging approx 6 hours a week on the bike, over 2 or 3 rides. No change to my dietary habits (eating crap food, sandwiches, crisps, chocolate etc while tearing about)

I've noticed significant gains in my fitness/ability to climb, i feel healthier but only a small amount of weight loss. I need to shift approx 2 stone to get back to my ideal weight.

Diet has started this week in order to get rid of this. Target is 2 stone loss in 13 weeks, doable, have done it before

Joshgav

DavesNotHere wrote:

I'm in a similar position, bought my first road bike in 30 years at Christmas. Averaging approx 6 hours a week on the bike, over 2 or 3 rides. No change to my dietary habits (eating crap food, sandwiches, crisps, chocolate etc while tearing about)

I've noticed significant gains in my fitness/ability to climb, i feel healthier but only a small amount of weight loss. I need to shift approx 2 stone to get back to my ideal weight.

Diet has started this week in order to get rid of this. Target is 2 stone loss in 13 weeks, doable, have done it before

Use MyFitnessPal and track everything. You can link Garmin exercise to it so that you can eat more on days when you ride. It's enlightening once you find out the calorie content of certain foods and correct portion sizes.

Matthewfalle

Garry H wrote:

137

138

drlodge

80-100 miles a week is 4000-5000 miles per year. One long ride at the weekends and 1 or possibly 2 shorter rides during the week would be good. But most of all, just get out there and enjoy it.

fenix

Joshgav wrote:

Fenix wrote:

3 hours a week only ? Can you change your routine ? Bin some tv ? Ride to work or something ?

You can do an awful lot in 3 hours presuming the OP isn't intending to be a CAT1 racer. I don't spend many hours on my bike a week (the downside of being a triathlete compared to being a cyclist) but I'm not bad.

Oh sure - 3 hours is better than no hours - but its a small amount of the available hours - not even 2% of the week. If people want it bad enough they find ways to get more hours training.

supermurph09

5 hours is actually quite a lot of time, sure it'll mean you don't do a long ride but plenty of people become very strong riders on around 5-6 hours per week. What you need to look at is building the intensity up, pootling around for those 5 hours will build fitness but not that quickly. Obviously don't go mental straight away but make a couple of your rides hard, mix up the efforts 1 minute, 5 minute, 10 minutes etc where you really push yourself.

Depends how much you want to suffer.

reacher

you only have to look at some of these club riders doing lots of miles with cafe stops and filling up on crap to see that long hours in the saddle and proper diet coupled with intensity and training hard for the time you have available are two completely different things, yes they may be churning out the miles but that's all their doing they still look like telly tubbies most of them. The ones that don't stand their tapping their feet sipping a coffee presumably thinking hurry up an finish eating lets get going. If you ask me its just an excuse to eat a load of fried crap and cake. Why dieting is such a problem i have no idea, just don't eat as much and don't eat crap the weight will fall off without exercise put some training on top and you will lose weight, if you don't your eating too much, pretty simple really.

supermurph09

reacher wrote:

you only have to look at some of these club riders doing lots of miles with cafe stops and filling up on crap to see that long hours in the saddle and proper diet coupled with intensity and training hard for the time you have available are two completely different things, yes they may be churning out the miles but that's all their doing they still look like telly tubbies most of them. The ones that don't stand their tapping their feet sipping a coffee presumably thinking hurry up an finish eating lets get going. If you ask me its just an excuse to eat a load of fried crap and cake. Why dieting is such a problem i have no idea, just don't eat as much and don't eat crap the weight will fall off without exercise put some training on top and you will lose weight, if you don't your eating too much, pretty simple really.

Most people overestimate how much they think they have burned off.

drlodge

Supermurph09 wrote:

Most people overestimate how much they think they have burned off.

About 600kcals per hour.

herb71

Supermurph09 wrote:

reacher wrote:

you only have to look at some of these club riders doing lots of miles with cafe stops and filling up on crap to see that long hours in the saddle and proper diet coupled with intensity and training hard for the time you have available are two completely different things, yes they may be churning out the miles but that's all their doing they still look like telly tubbies most of them. The ones that don't stand their tapping their feet sipping a coffee presumably thinking hurry up an finish eating lets get going. If you ask me its just an excuse to eat a load of fried crap and cake. Why dieting is such a problem i have no idea, just don't eat as much and don't eat crap the weight will fall off without exercise put some training on top and you will lose weight, if you don't your eating too much, pretty simple really.

Most people overestimate how much they think they have burned off.

Are you saying I shouldn't have a full English on the days I ride into work?

drlodge

Herb71 wrote:

Are you saying I shouldn't have a full English on the days I ride into work?

Yes, you should have one before you set out and another when you arrive!!

herb71

drlodge wrote:

Herb71 wrote:

Are you saying I shouldn't have a full English on the days I ride into work?

Yes, you should have one before you set out and another when you arrive!!

Perfect. Got to get the fuelling right, I wouldn't want to run out of energy.

Joshgav

drlodge wrote:

Supermurph09 wrote:

Most people overestimate how much they think they have burned off.

About 600kcals per hour.

As a very very rough guess, maybe. Really depends on the intensity.

I did a 1hour/20mile ride on Sunday which Garmin estimates at 893kcal, Strava estimates at 609kcal and an online calculator (http://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1350958587) estimates at just over 900kcal. Go figure...

fat daddy

Joshgav wrote:

As a very very rough guess, maybe. Really depends on the intensity....

of which you body gets more efficient themore you do an activity

so the 1st club ride you may well burrn 600kcal in an hour with your heart rate at 150 and breathing so you cant hold a conversation.

but 3 months down the line when the pace is still 15mph and you are now doing that same ride at 130bpm whilst chatting, you are only burning 400kcal an hour

and don't forget you would have burn 70kcal an hour sitting on the sofa watching tv ...... so all it takes is 1 bit of cake at 330kcal to completely negate that exercise

fenix

reacher wrote:

you only have to look at some of these club riders doing lots of miles with cafe stops and filling up on crap to see that long hours in the saddle and proper diet coupled with intensity and training hard for the time you have available are two completely different things, yes they may be churning out the miles but that's all their doing they still look like telly tubbies most of them. The ones that don't stand their tapping their feet sipping a coffee presumably thinking hurry up an finish eating lets get going. If you ask me its just an excuse to eat a load of fried crap and cake. Why dieting is such a problem i have no idea, just don't eat as much and don't eat crap the weight will fall off without exercise put some training on top and you will lose weight, if you don't your eating too much, pretty simple really.

They may just be happy cycling though ? Some of these older guys have done their racing in the past and are quite happy chatting and having cake. Don't dismiss the appeal of that. Not everyone wants to be an athlete.

drlodge

I cycle so I can eat what I like.

tonysj

Im relatively new to road cycling,started last December, and find I only get out 1 or 2 times a week as I work 4 x 12 hours at work with 4 days off work.
When I do go out I normally have 2 or 3 options, 1st is a straight 1 hour ride round route taking in some hills generally 18 miles and the 2nd a route is around 1 and a 1/2hour ride of around 24 to 30 miles and 3rd the Big one when I have more time which is generally a 50 to 64 miler but slower over 4 hours.
Finding the time is difficult but eating the right food and cutting back on the crap you eat will help you loads and you have the time for the eating options. Do the eating side as much as the riding side and you will see the results become better and easier.
That will keep you motivated.
Regards.
Tony.

fat daddy

drlodge wrote:

I cycle so I can eat what I like.

If I took that approach I would have to cycle 6hours a day

craker

@ the op, you really need to set yourself a goal. Like a 40 mile ride, or ten miles in 1/2 hour. Once you've done that, feel pleased and set a bigger goal, even a longer term goal.

Losing weight's a crappy goal IMHO. I lost half a stone in the autumn, reckon its made me a faster runner and better bike climber and for me that's more important than what the scales say.

kesa

I found a powermeter useful in losing weight because they provide a more accurate figure of exertion. Using a powermeter I have so far lost about half of my goal of 25 kgs.

Calculators used by Strava and other fitness apps are not accurate. An example is my Polar hr watch telling me i burned 750 cals in 60 minutes whereas my powermeter gives a more accurate figure of 400 cals. This allows me use a clinical approach when planning my dietary requirements which is obviously working for me.

I have all my fitness accounts linked so when i get home from my ride my workout is automatically uploaded from my Garmin Edge520 to MyFitnessPal which includes my exercise to my daily calorie goals. For example, today i rode a recovery ride and exercised 400 cals in 60 minutes. When i log into MyFitnessPal it is there waiting for me. My daily calorie goal is 2000 cals + 400 cals of exercise which gives me a 2400 calorie goal for today.