Road Cycling - how long should a warm up take???

I've been riding a 30 mile loop on tuesdays and thursdays all summer, along with a 50 mile ride on saturdays. It seems that lately i'm having problems warming up on the shorter rides. I dont feel loose until the ride is almost over. And on the 50 mile rides i start to feel good about mile 35 or 40. What can i do to loosen up faster?

Thanks,
Mike

I would say the length of warmup is dependant on the type of ride you will be doing. For example...I warmup for approx. 52 minutes for a time trial that takes a considerably less amount of time that the actual warmup. I'll do the same for a crit or a short circuit race.

On the other hand, I typically incorporate a "warmup" into most of my training rides. I live about 15-20 minutes from low-congested roads, so i will typically ride in Zone 1 and 2 until I hit the open roads...then I ride at whatever pace my training ride states. I find this 15-20 minutes gets my legs loose, the blood flowing, and the heart beating. I'll also mix in some short bursts, too, to get my HR "prepared" for some pounding later.

If the pace of my ride is going to be higher than normal (group ride, for example), I will warmup a tad longer...maybe 30 minutes.

Though it will be different for everyone, my warmups typically fall under "the shorter (more intense) the ride, the longer the warmup".

What can i do to loosen up faster?
Be younger.

*shrugs*

My friends are all younger and/or in better condition than me. They get moving much faster than I can, so on shorter rides, I'm struggling to keep up. I've been pushing them to go on longer rides. While it sucks that it takes me nearly an hour to get moving, I just keep telling myself that I'll blow 'em away on the 3rd and 4th hours... and I do.

So, in otherwords, I'm just bumping the thread and hopefully someone will say something I can use too.

Be younger.

*shrugs*


I'm 21, and the guys i ride with during the week are starting to hammer at about the 20 minute mark, and on the hard ride they are balls to the wall at about the 5 minute mark(i haven't had the guts to try that ride yet) It just seems odd that it would take me that long to warm up. Today i'm gonna ride to the shop from my house to give me another 15 minutes of warm up time, we'll see if that helps.

keep the advice coming!

Thanks,
Mike

Age-23
Warmup time-15-20min

I try to take the first 10min very easy, and the last 5-10 min depending on how good I am feeling that day I take it up a notch but still stay under my heart rate goal for the ride.

Its all about feel though, there have been somedays when I never feel warmed up. When it is cold or I am low on food my body takes longer to get into a good rhythm.

Takes me about 10 miles easy spinning.

I've been riding a 30 mile loop on tuesdays and thursdays all summer, along with a 50 mile ride on saturdays. It seems that lately i'm having problems warming up on the shorter rides. I dont feel loose until the ride is almost over. And on the 50 mile rides i start to feel good about mile 35 or 40. What can i do to loosen up faster?

Thanks,
Mike

strech before, massage your legs, keep them warm beforehand, spin a faster cadance. not sure what else you could do.

To reduce one's warm-up time, try taking a bearable hot shower/bath before the normal warm-up routine. Focus on the leg muscles and back muscles. Use leg warmers after the shower.

I have been tought to bring yourself to a good sweat for warmups.

I ride with a guy that takes about 40 miles to warm up.

Go figure.