Training & Nutrition - Still dealing with no power and exhustion when riding...

I posted here a few weeks ago about my having no power on climbs and it was suggested that I try more protein, eat 250 cals an hour (when doing long rides). I do double centuries (two so far this year finished, including Devil Mountain Double). I'm not a fast rider but have many years experience. I'm 56, 5'9" at 188 pounds. Yeah, I know I should take off a few pounds. I have a very good diet, eat lots of veggies, only eat fish and chicken when I'm eating meet.

So, this is the first year I've experienced this. I ride on average 5-7K a year in mieage an complete 3-5 doubles in a year (29 so far).

I've been experiencing what I feel is a rapid heart rate and no power in the legs. Had the heart checked with a Holter HR monitor for 24 hours and nothing except a skipped heart beat on occasion. When I did DMD staff ride a couple of weeks ago, the first 20 miles going up Mt. Diablo was really bad, then, I was able to ride through it and completed the double in decsent form, not having much problems with the sympoms.

So, on a 30 mile ride yesterday, I felt terrible with fatigue. I've only ridden 60 miles in teh week since the double.

Man, I'm bummed.

Any ideas?

Sure. You said in a previous post that your HR isn't "rapid," it's actually very low for a person your age when climbing. So I'll say the same thing I've said twice before. You're getting older, you're not recovering as fast as you used to. You don't want to hear it, but you need to take a whole bunch of time off. Maybe completely off the bike, and maybe a month or two.

If you think I'm wrong, post a graph of your HR on a recent ride with a lot of climbing.

When overtraining is still in the overreaching stage, it's possible to have decent performance once or twice by forcing the hormones to flow, but that's really just digging the hole deeper.

And yes, you should take off 30 lbs. but that's not really the problem.

Great strength & great speed are two components needed to create power. Where is your strength & speed at doing doubles?.

Two extremes.

Chris Hoy can put out 2300-2500 watts of power but you put out very little.

Thanks. Yep, I'm in denial. I've got Davis and more importantly to me, the AIDS ride in June coming up. I'm going to make a concerted effort to stay off the bike. And lose some pounds!!! Thing is I'm riding a tandem and my wife needs the miles. She's just gonna have to ride on her single I guess. Thanks again!

Its fantastic you ride the Davis Double & AIDS ride. There far more important than increasing the power on a bicycle could ever be.

But If your serious about increasing power (even aerobically), you need to consider dropping doubles all together. Its really quality over quantity (Quantity being an absurd 205 mile course on the devil).

You also need to stay on the bike, but "shorter", faster, stronger training runs.

Losing weight will increase power further as will strengthening off the bike. Your diet sounds healthy but that means nothing if you gorge healthily endlessly. I see something wrong with doing 205 mile cycle rides & being 188lbs.

I hear you. Davis, I really don't care about. The AIDS ride on the other hand is real important to me. This will be my 14th consecutive year doing. And my wife will be on her first. My emphasis is quality of the rides and I really do love ridng doubles. But the tough ones, Devil Mountian, Terrible Two, Mullholland, I'm done with.

So, I will try this approach and emphasize quality over quantity and take off some time on the bike. Also, as you know, there are plenty "Clydesdales" on doubles.

Slow down, take it easy.. Build up your endurance gradually, according to abilities. It's normal. You should not be bummed out.. Just get out and ride and build on your endurance at a sustainable rate. Give it time, you'll be doing centuries and bragging about it..

Also, If I had a tandem bike & did "recovery rides" on certain days, there is nothing I would like more than tandem-ing. I wouldn't rule that out all together, in fact I would love to do that, I'm just not sure what intensity tandems put on the body in relation to singles. But you give & take (distance/intensity).

Slow down, take it easy.. Build up your endurance gradually, according to abilities. It's normal. You should not be bummed out.. Just get out and ride and build on your endurance at a sustainable rate. Give it time, you'll be doing centuries and bragging about it..

Err, 29 doubles so far...

just sayin' but thanks for the encouragement. ;-)

Tell you what I've gone to recently: I only ride the tandem except for a few pedaling mechanics workouts on the rollers, and an occasional bout on the StepMill at the gym. If I overwork her, I'm just sitting, so I don't, which means I don't overwork me, either. It's a good system. The tandem is tough training. I have to keep a leg on it the whole time, no little rests like on my single.

Tell you what I've gone to recently: I only ride the tandem except for a few pedaling mechanics workouts on the rollers, and an occasional bout on the StepMill at the gym. If I overwork her, I'm just sitting, so I don't, which means I don't overwork me, either. It's a good system. The tandem is tough training. I have to keep a leg on it the whole time, no little rests like on my single.

Nice thing about my daVinci, independent drive train (ICS). I can let her do a lot of the work. ;-)

Nice thing about my daVinci, independent drive train (ICS). I can let her do a lot of the work. ;-)Wow, funniest thing - that never even occured to me. :rolleyes: Actually, we tried that once. That's o.n.c.e. I was burnt out, so I pedaled zone 1 and she pedaled zone 3. I still hear about it.

Hi Dan. I think I met you and your wife at the top of Diablo last summer, when I was doing repeats with some Webcor teamates. I remember the tandem with the unusual drivetrain.

Your problem sounds like either overtraining, or a medical issue. Or a medical issue which is affecting your recovery and causing you to be overtrained on what you could handle in the past. Cutting back on the training volume while maintaining or increasing the intensity is a good way to maintain condition while reducing overall load. Also if you have other stress in your life, that can affect your recovery and hormone levels. That might be a tack to take with the doctor that I think you should keep seeing until you find out what's up.

Good luck!

Hi Dan. I think I met you and your wife at the top of Diablo last summer, when I was doing repeats with some Webcor teamates. I remember the tandem with the unusual drivetrain.

Your problem sounds like either overtraining, or a medical issue. Or a medical issue which is affecting your recovery and causing you to be overtrained on what you could handle in the past. Cutting back on the training volume while maintaining or increasing the intensity is a good way to maintain condition while reducing overall load. Also if you have other stress in your life, that can affect your recovery and hormone levels. That might be a tack to take with the doctor that I think you should keep seeing until you find out what's up.

Good luck!
Sure, I remember you. That was our first ride on the daVinci. I've decided to cut my riding back to once a week until after we finish the AIDS ride in June. That one ride will be a good way of maintaining condition. There really is no other option due to my commitment. I also agree about going back to my Dr. Funny you mention hormone levels. That is what my wife is saying. I plan on getting that checked out too. Stress? I do have a new position at work, a new wife, but I don't feel stressed. To the contrary actually.

I would use a gear that is one or two gears lighter than you have been doing and spin more.
Keep your perceived effort the same, but gear down a bit and spin it out.
At 56, your recovery needs extra time also. You aren't 52 anymore!!!

Get a full blood test run. I had similar symptoms that turned out to be low testosterone. Get that resolved removed all of the symptoms, especially the fatigue.

Get a full blood test run. I had similar symptoms that turned out to be low testosterone. Get that resolved removed all of the symptoms, especially the fatigue.
How was your testerone issue resolved? BTW, my blood tests all came back in the normal range but that was three months ago. I'm going to get them run again. My wife thinks it's my thyroid. She is studying to be a naturopathic doctor.

BTW, I've cut my riding down from 4 times a week to once a week. We did a tough ride yesterday on the tandem and all my symptoms were still there. Since we've got the AIDS ride in a month, she needs the training more than I do.

Man, I sure feel for your frustration. Kind of another data point to think about: you felt better when you consumed more protein when you rode. Perhaps this was not so much a result of more protein as it was a result of less carbohydrate. Get a glucose tolerance test with your next blood work. Meanwhile, since you're riding a lot less anyway, cut back on your carbs considerably in your daily diet. Half a plate of veggies, 1/4 carbs, 1/4 protein. Maybe you're just hammering your Islets too hard and they need a rest. Been there. No carbo snacks during the day. Fat or protein only. Except after riding, when you need your normal high carb recovery.

Could be more than one thing driving this, which makes it hard to figure out.

Well crap I feel like that after a 60 mile ride!

You need to get rid of all the possible deficiencies that you can take care of yourself. Multivitamins first. You said you eat a lot of veggies but you put in a lot of miles, so, maybe take a supplement?

Stretch, massage, sleep. Take care of other stresses in your life. (sleep works).

Any other stuff?

How was your testerone issue resolved?
After having bad skin reactions to topical therapy I have been getting monthly shots that make a world of difference.

You said that your blood tests were normal 3 months ago, so it's unlikely that it is your thyroid.
Do you have well water or city water?
Well water can have heavy metals in it (unless you have reverse osmosis) that can weigh you down.

How do you feel for the other 22-23 hours of the day?
Do you have the same kind of issues?

Well water can have heavy metals in it (unless you have reverse osmosis) that can weigh you down.


Uh how much can heavy metals weigh?









:lol::lol: One bad joke deserves another

I didn't get a chance to read all of the response, so I apologize if this has already been covered:

Do you have a power meter with an abundance of past and current data? This would be the easiest way to say weather the issue is that of power generation or possibly something else.

James