Plans and Articles for over 50s?

mercuryrev

Pretty much a newbie to cycling and in my late 50s.

I'm primarily looking to improve my fitness for mountain biking, by using the road bike as it's more accessible. However, as I live in SW France, the lure of the Cols is strong....

I can find articles and a few plans for old 'uns that have ridden competitively in their youth, but not much for new, old riders wanting to improve their fitness. From reading articles about other forms of exercise in your 50s it seems rest and strength training is more important, but getting that balance right when you're just starting isn't easy. As injuries take longer to recover from now, I'd rather not push things but at the same time I don't want to waste my time by not pushing as much as I should.

Does anyone have any links to articles or training plans, or even advice for an old 'un, please?

imposter2.0

The principles are the same, regardless of age or previous experience. A lot will depend on what aspects of your mtb fitness you want to improve...

mercuryrev

Thanks for the reply

At the moment, endurance and climbing, the organised rides are anything from 20 to 150k.

However, at the moment, I'm also enjoying the road riding, so being able to improve the same things on the road would be a benefit.

I started off road riding twice a week during the week and then a longer MTB or road ride at the weekend. Increasing my week rides by 15 to 30 mins a week. (It's still early days) Ok, but found the aches and pains would linger over to each ride. Having had 10 days off the bikes thanks to a trip back to the UK, I went out for the first time yesterday and my usually route felt easier than ever. I realise this might just be a one off 'thank god I'm back on a bike' ride, but am now wondering if I should rest more. Hence the search for advice.

Incidentally, I do no other sport or exercise at the moment.

imposter2.0

If you are a new cyclist, then acquiring base fitness could take several months or longer, depending on how often you ride and how long your rides are. Your endurance will improve in line with that, as will your ability to tolerate longer rides with higher efforts. As for climbing, your ability to climb will improve with your general endurance and aerobic threshold, but will also be influenced by your weight - if you have any to lose.

mercuryrev

Thanks again

Oh I have weight to lose! I'm 6ft 1 and 14st 10lb, in my football playing days I was nearer 13 and a half stone, so some way to go.....

Having only just started back to trying to get fit, I'm only up to riding 90 mins on a road bike at the moment, with 20 minute flattish warm ups. I've started to increase the hills I'm attempting and finding them slightly easier. I use a HRM and try to control my effort (so as not to kill myself!) on climbs. I have trouble sitting in lower zones on the flat and rolling hills as it doesn't feel like I'm doing anything other than spinning my legs.

By base fitness am I right in thinking that means mainly riding in zones 2 and 3 over longer distances?

OnTheRopes

Yes, ride mainly Z2 and Z3 but dont worry if it goes over this a bit on short climbs.
I am 60 now though been riding for many years and race but I do have very long lay offs from time to time so know how to come back from zero fitness.
I would suggest you ride 4 times a week to begin if you can, make one of these a long (relative to where you are on your training) ride.
It takes me a good 5 months to go from zero to race fitness.
So you are now up to 90 mins and depending on your desired event distance depends on how much more endurance you want to build up. I would suggest working up to 90 minutes ride at Tempo (Z3)
Once you have your base you can start introducing Threshold climbing intervals, but you will no doubt be doing some of this in your rides now.
if you can find other riders of a similar or (slightly) higher ability than you then this will make riding more fun and will pull out your fitness some more.
if you want a programme then you could do worse than read Joe Friels book, the Cyclists training bible, though much of it is based on power meters, using HR monitors alone is always given as an alternative and he will show you how to build your own programme based on your targets and age.

meursault

https://www.joefrielsblog.com/2015/01/what-it-takes-to-be-fast-after-50.html

mercuryrev

Thank you both.

So you would suggest doing more rides but at less effort? Most of my riding last month was in Z3 (34%). Z2 and 4 were 22% and Z5 18% (a lot of climbing in a MTB ride).

Is the Fast after 50 pretty much the Training Bible updated for 50+ cyclists?

I've tried meeting up with other riders through local FB groups here, but on each occasion I get 'when you're as good as me, get back in touch....' Needless to say with an attitude like that, I won't be.... My other half rides as well and so perhaps with a better structure to our riding, we can both improve together.

OnTheRopes

Ive not read fast after 50 myself, I still train like Im 20 though I do acknowledge the need for more recovery time these days. Your ratio of Z3 / Z2 / Z5 seems fine to me but if your aim is for up to 150k MTB endurance events then you need to build up to an endurance of several hours where you will be going as fast as you can, which is probably tempo, so thats what you need to train at. Once you are comfortable with your endurance then do more threshold climbs and Z6 climbs perhaps. But read the book it will help

Wayne Plunger

As someone who just rides a bike what are these Z things. As time passes I seem to understand less and less about modern cycling, gone are the days when you just rode a bike it appears.

meursault

Mercuryrev wrote:

Thank you both.

So you would suggest doing more rides but at less effort? Most of my riding last month was in Z3 (34%). Z2 and 4 were 22% and Z5 18% (a lot of climbing in a MTB ride).

Is the Fast after 50 pretty much the Training Bible updated for 50+ cyclists?

I've tried meeting up with other riders through local FB groups here, but on each occasion I get 'when you're as good as me, get back in touch....' Needless to say with an attitude like that, I won't be.... My other half rides as well and so perhaps with a better structure to our riding, we can both improve together.

Good question, I have both but have not finished reading The Training Bible yet. From scanning through the latter, I don't think it is just an updated version.

meursault

Wayne Plunger wrote:

As someone who just rides a bike what are these Z things. As time passes I seem to understand less and less about modern cycling, gone are the days when you just rode a bike it appears.

Z = Zone

You can have power zones, Heart rate zones, Threshold zones. You can set them on your bike computer.

mercuryrev

OnTheRopes wrote:

Ive not read fast after 50 myself, I still train like Im 20 though I do acknowledge the need for more recovery time these days. Your ratio of Z3 / Z2 / Z5 seems fine to me but if your aim is for up to 150k MTB endurance events then you need to build up to an endurance of several hours where you will be going as fast as you can, which is probably tempo, so thats what you need to train at. Once you are comfortable with your endurance then do more threshold climbs and Z6 climbs perhaps. But read the book it will help

Thanks very much for the advice.

Not really sure what my target is, I guess longer and longer rides and see where that takes me. There are plenty of marathon MTB events here in France, but not really sure that's my idea of fun at the moment. I can see the sense of achievement would be good, but not sure the sweat and bullets is where I want to be at the moment.

The goal for the time being, is to be able to take part in rides on, or off road, in different parts of Europe.

mercuryrev

meursault wrote:

Mercuryrev wrote:

Thank you both.

So you would suggest doing more rides but at less effort? Most of my riding last month was in Z3 (34%). Z2 and 4 were 22% and Z5 18% (a lot of climbing in a MTB ride).

Is the Fast after 50 pretty much the Training Bible updated for 50+ cyclists?

I've tried meeting up with other riders through local FB groups here, but on each occasion I get 'when you're as good as me, get back in touch....' Needless to say with an attitude like that, I won't be.... My other half rides as well and so perhaps with a better structure to our riding, we can both improve together.

Good question, I have both but have not finished reading The Training Bible yet. From scanning through the latter, I don't think it is just an updated version.

Thanks.

Probably my question should have been, which is easier to read?

I'm not one for long winded explanations, I tend to doze off and then give up. I had a quick preview of 50+ last night and aside from the 20 words where one would do, it looked fairly easy going?

mercuryrev

Wayne Plunger wrote:

As someone who just rides a bike what are these Z things. As time passes I seem to understand less and less about modern cycling, gone are the days when you just rode a bike it appears.

Yep, that's as I remember it too.....

However, having a heart rate monitor and being able to work out what you're doing to yourself has to be a good thing for an older 'athlete' like myself (I wish).

hdow

Joe Friel's Fast After 50 is really an add on/modifier to his Training Bibles or other decent training guides. The focus is on slowing or reversing age related decline principally by increasing VO2max, regaining muscle strength and loosing excess body fat. The prescription is add in regular VO2max sessions, do strength work, eat well, sleep well and have two easier days between high intensity sessions.

Clearly if you have always done what he is recommending then you may not have any significant decline anyway so can probably ignore.

imposter2.0

Mercuryrev wrote:

Wayne Plunger wrote:

As someone who just rides a bike what are these Z things. As time passes I seem to understand less and less about modern cycling, gone are the days when you just rode a bike it appears.

Yep, that's as I remember it too.....

However, having a heart rate monitor and being able to work out what you're doing to yourself has to be a good thing for an older 'athlete' like myself (I wish).

In terms of 'modern' cycling - I was training with HR in the early/mid 90s. So not that modern really...

OnTheRopes

Imposter wrote:

Mercuryrev wrote:

Wayne Plunger wrote:

As someone who just rides a bike what are these Z things. As time passes I seem to understand less and less about modern cycling, gone are the days when you just rode a bike it appears.

Yep, that's as I remember it too.....

However, having a heart rate monitor and being able to work out what you're doing to yourself has to be a good thing for an older 'athlete' like myself (I wish).

In terms of 'modern' cycling - I was training with HR in the early/mid 90s. So not that modern really...

Indeed, I was training from the Eddy Borezowicz book Bicycle Racing Training to win in the early to mid 90's and was alll based around HR. In spite of no power meter there are many similarities to todays training. Intervals are intervals at the end of the day I guess and endurance is endurance.
Prior to that there was Les was Les Woodlands book which was all based on feel which is still recommended by some of the top coaches today. Zone 2 being the "Gossip threshold"

Darius_Jedburgh

Don't become a snowflake and start overthinking everything. There is no iPhone app specifically tailored to your requirements.
Don't spend all your time on the bike looking down at various numbers on your computer display.

The main thing is to ride your bike. Keep riding it. All the science is very well if you are a TdF contender. For Joe Public you can spoil your enjoyment if you get hung up on numbers.

You want to do a long ride? Build up to it. Listen to your body. That will tell you when to have a rest day. Increase your ride length and intensity, and most importantly use your brain. Only you can know if you are prepared to put the effort in.

mercuryrev

It certainly isn't my intention to analyse every last heart beat, kilometre, or whatever. Just, as a newbie to understand what I should be doing and when. There's no harm in gaining info on things you know not a lot about. It's more how you then use it.

So far I have been doing exactly what folk are suggesting, it seems. But most of all I have been listening to my body, easing off when it looks like I might be doing damage and trying to take care of my heart. After all I am an over weight, older male who has done little or no exercise for years.

I'm sure with this approach I'll be fine, but knowing (through ignorance) if I could be doing more, or less, is potentially very valuable.

Thanks to all who have replied.

keef66

I cycled a lot in my teens and early 20s but then jobs, cars, houses, DIY, kids etc seemed to take up all my time for a couple of decades. Despite running round after the kids I became pretty unfit and a bit podgy.

I treated myself to a road bike for my 50th birthday. Then I realised just how unfit I'd become. Christ it was hard work. But I stuck at it, gradually doing longer rides, learning to love hills rather than avoid them. Never did any structured training or stuff like intervals, but I gradually improved both my endurance and speed. Now if I want to I feel I can really push myself without worrying about a heart attack.

The other thing I realised once I learned to embrace the lycra, was how much weight I'd put on round my middle. So looking at diet and getting back to a healthy weight / body shape helped a lot too.

62 next birthday, and I reckon I'm fitter than I was in my 40s...