Training & Nutrition - Just starting out and really confused!

I am just starting out riding a road bike after 15+ years of inactivity (unless channel surfing is a sport now). I have a few books on cycling and while there was some good information in there it all seems to be for someone much more fit than I am, or someone much more advanced.

Anyway, I was wondering if there was some website or book that had a really basic layout on how I should start training. I dont need complicated explinations or formulas etc. I just want something or someone to say what I need to do to go from nothing to something in a reasonable amount of time.

I have about 1 hour a night to work out, a trainer, a home gym (crossbow system), a heart rate monitor and of course a bike. I am just losing weight to not be a fat slob so I am not in great shape but am willing to work hard. Since the weather is so unpredictable around here I would like to concentrate as much as possible on the trainer and whatever weights will help.

Any help appreciated.

Allan

I'm sure someone can point you to a website.
I'll just add that for fitness, there is no special diet (other than getting on a healthy diet of eating sensibly). Allow yourself plenty of time to adjust to a easy workout, then a bit harder, etc. Just common sense stuff.
After that, you will see what is working for you- just go into it gradually and keep it simple so you will keep at it and not get frustrated or too complicated. That's for the exercise and diet.

Good luck!

My problem though is really that books talk about jumps, sprints, training for crits, hills, etc etc etc. blah blah blah.

What can I do to go from dead zero to being a descent all around road cyclist? Do I need to do intervals? How should I start? Should I do one leg exercises or is that for more experienced riders?

I appreciate your quick reply, really! But I understand the start easy, increase slowly thing. But start what? Increase what? Should I concentrate on weights or no? The books say things about increasing anaerobic capacity being really important in racers, is that just for racers or for beginners too? Building an aerobic base is supposed to be important, but how do I do that and is it important for beginners? Are there different ways to build it for beginnners and pros? arrrrrg!

Allan

You are making it far too complex.

Prior to any of the things your books are telling you, you need to build up "base miles." Simply riding and riding and riding. Your bod needs to get used to the bike, and you need to get all those ligaments, muscles, tendons, etc., used to simply biking.

LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. It will tell you a great deal. Go out for fun rides, or do the trainer, if you can stand that (boring!!).

You can get some Spinergy videotapes/CD's at their web site, which make the training a little more palatable. Order the one for "Clydesdale's". It is basic and simple and provides a moderate workout.

Once you get from 1,100 miles to 1,500 miles of simply riding under all sorts of conditions, then check back on interval training, sprints, etc., if you are interested.

IMHO, you are pushing things far too fast. Get out and ride.

Best advice for fitness is don't overdo it. Start out easy and build up glowly. This way you'll be less likely to suffer an injury or get too sore and lose motivation.

Best advice for weight loss is never, ever, go into a fast food joint again except to use their restroom.

For good general advice on weight loss and physical fitness, try fitness.gov, nutrition.gov, and healthierus.gov. You can also check out ww.cdc.gov if you want to read numerous articles on the obesity epidemic in the US. Scary stuff, but good to help motivate yourself!

The basic message you'll get from these sites is reduce calories, especially fat and get about an hour of exercise each day. Try to get plenty of aerobic exercise (heart rate less than 80% of max) to burn off fat.

If you spend your available hour each day on your trainer, or alternate the trainer with your home gym you will be amazed at how quickly you make progress. Just pace yourself and you'll get the hang of it pretty quickly.

I agree completely with everything Dnvrfox has said. If you've been pretty much sedentary for fifteen years I think it would be smart for this first year to just get the foundation( cardio system, muscles, tendons, etc, etc.) in. I was thirty when I returned to cycling, and honestly couldn't ride more than two miles that first time out. Today Ten years later I can do centuries. This year I would just ride, listen to your body, It will tell you what it wants. The cycling in and of itself will work wonders on your metabolism. Come next season I would start training. Intervals, sprints, etc, etc. anyhoo, good luck, and keep riding

Go to www.heartzones.com and order the Sally Edwards books:

"The Heart Rate Monitor Book"
"The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Outdoor and Indoor Cyclists"

You will get simple, straightforward information on how to read a heart rate monitor, and from there, how to put together a good training program.

And I agree- listen to your body. Do the base mileage for as long as you need to, then progress to the next level when you're ready. The books are very non-specific about specific time periods on progressing your training, so that makes it better for you- you listen to your body, chart your progress, and move on when you're ready.

Don't overdo it when you start, either. It's the number one mistake of people getting started in exercising. They push too hard too soon, then crash and burn because you can't keep it up, and soon, you're back to the bad habits all over again.

Good luck!

Koffee

I agree also with all that has been posted above. Just like Inoch I began riding at age 30. I'm 34 and going on my second century two days from now.

The key is not to overplan or over work yourself. Take some time and work into it. Find people who ride and ride with them. Going the solo route can be difficult for some.

There are likely all kinds of clubs in your area just check with your local bike dealer and they can hook you up. I ride once a week with a group from the YMCA.

I've never been out of shape, but on my trainer (which I highly recomend for working on proper caidence and pedal stroke) I still can't follow some of those work outs I see on video. Cycling is a sport that takes time to develop.

Ease into it and RIDE, RIDE, RIDE. worry about the training stuff later on once your body learns how to behave on the bike.
good luck!
:beer:

For a simple plan, ride by time, not speed or distance. If you havent been out yet, start with 1/2 hr rides. You should ride at a pace where you can talk, ie not out of breath. Ride in an easy gear, so your legs are spinning around rather than pushing hard against the pedals. As with all excercise, start with a 5min easy warmup, and end with a cooldown. You can do this on the bike by easing up the pace or gearing down. A few good stretches at the end of your ride are good.
This will get your muscles used to pedalling, and your butt used to being on a saddle.
After about a week, extend your rides to 1hr.
After about 3 weeks, you should be a whole lot fitter. Your muscles will be a lot stronger, but generally it takes about 3 months of regular riding before you are cycling fit.

Pick your routes with care, so they are quiet, safe and enjoyable. Wear a helmet, gloves and cycling shorts. Ride as a vehicle, using the techniques of "Effective Cycling", wear visible clothing, and lights if it is dark. In the rain, you can keep a lot cleaner and more comfortable by fitting fenders.

Most important of all, enjoy your rides.

I agree strongly with MikeW and some of the others. In the beginning especially, for those of us who are not in very good physical condition, time is more important than distance. Distance is more important than speed. But with time and distance speed will come. I also think that one of the most important things in the beginning is just to accumulate base mileage. 500 miles and you will have a different body, 1000 miles makes a huge amount of difference, even at 9 or 10 miles an hour.

One of the things that is really tough here in Atlanta is that there are just so many hills (that I have to walk up :) ). But I just walk up, and coast down.

On the other hand, we are blessed with one of the very best places in the world to accumulate base mileage, the Silver Comet Trail. 38 miles of rails to trails that allow almost anyone with reasonably healthy knees to ride 15 to 20 miles at their first attempt.

If I just didn't have to drive an hour to reach it.

Well, it isnt that hard.

I know an lady (over 65) who said she could not walk across a parking lot to the grocery store without getting exhausted. She got a bike and rode on the local trail. At first, she rode 100 yards. Stopped, rested, drank some water, and rode another 100 yards. Afterawhile, she was riding with a group on the trails. And then she did a century. Sure it was slow but she did it.

When I started, I was out of shape. I started just riding in the neighborhood. And I added mileage as time went on.

What I suggest, is go out and do a ride that feels like you have done something but that you can do again tomorrow without killing yourself. You should do your basic ride distance as often as possible but schedules being what they are, who knows how often you can do it? Ideally, you would ride 6 days per week. If you can only ride on weekends, it is a BIG HELP to get some sort of aerobic conditioning during the week even if it is just for 30-60 minutes (fast walking, wind training on your bike, jogging, or what have you). The rule of thumb is that you should be able to increase your mileage by 10% per week.

People who need to see big gains quickly, often get dissappointed, or so I have heard. Just go out and get some exercise on the bike and the improvements will pretty much come.

At first, you need to put in a mileage base and this is often thought of as about 1000 miles. After you have done that and you are getting to the point where you can ride at a fairly decent clip, you can get involved in fancier things like intervals and stuff. Of course, you can start doing that sort of stuff pretty quickly, as long as you don't overdo it.

I've found the spinerval series to be helpful. They make the time on the trainer go faster. Start with the first or second video/dvd and work your way up.

Allan,
It looks like you and I are in the same boat. I just did my 6 th ride after a 12 year layoff.

My first ride was around my block (about 4 1/2 miles with hills). I had to stop three times to catch my breath. Two days later I did it again without stopping in 22 minutes. I rested two days and did it again in 21 minutes without the effort of the first 2 tries. I am amazed at how quickly my (out of shape) body is adjusting so quickly to the exercise. Rides 4, 5 and 6 were between 30 and 45 minutes long and I'm ready to do a 1 hour ride. I would ride more except it has been raining almost constantly for the last two months here in New Jersey.

My training plan is simple. I keep a log of my time, distance and how I felt. There are plenty of training programs available but I'll wait until I hit a training plateau before I get that serious.

Good luck and I hope you are having as much fun as I am.

Some good advice - most importantly, listen to your body, and consider a heart rate monitor. Your body will tell you when it's had enough.

I'm back into riding after a 10 year layoff - started spinning indoors this winter and caught the bug again (and my 3 kids are getting old enough so I can get out again) ... i'm riding about 4 days/week 100 miles/week at the moment. Also 3 days of weight training in between.

I just track my progress with a cycling computer - makes it kinda fun.

Most important thing is to have fun! Join a local cycling club if you are so inclined for some group rides - most cater to all ability levels.

Just start riding! With only an hour a night, you won't over do it. For the next few months, you should probably mainly focus on base mileage - just getting some miles in and getting used to the bicycle.

From the material I've read, the recommended amount of increase is about 10% per week. In other words, if this week you do 30 miles, then next week up the distance to 33 miles, and so on.

Don't worry about all the sprinting and interval stuff just yet.

You'll be amazed how quickly your body adapts and gets into shape. When I was 35, I quit smoking (2 packs a day) and started running. At first, I could only do 100 yards at a very slow pace. Less than a year later, I completed my first 26 mile marathon.

KISS idea that worked for me:

ride about 1000-1500 miles at endurance pace. That should take you a couple of months anyway. That means keep in the 140s-150s. No hammertime. Just easy to moderate riding. When you get there, start looking at more sophisticated intervals etc. to improve your performance in other areas. Base miles for now, that's all you have to remember.

Oh, and, if you do long slow rides, your joints are likely to hurt. Advil does wonders for this when taken right after the ride.

and to summarizes:

SHUT UP AND RIDE! :p

The rest will come when you need it.


and....

WELCOME TO THE ADDICTION!


Terry