Muscle gain killing avg. speed?
03-10-10, 09:48 AM
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Maybe you weren't trying as hard .... you're over analyzing one little ride. Just ride your bike a lot and you'll get fitter .....
And be thankful no one has posted a facepalm ....... yet
And you did a DEXA body fat test to be sure it's muscle gain slowing you down, and not fat that slows down the rest of us ?
And be thankful no one has posted a facepalm ....... yet
And you did a DEXA body fat test to be sure it's muscle gain slowing you down, and not fat that slows down the rest of us ?
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Last edited by Homebrew01; 03-10-10 at 09:52 AM.
03-10-10, 09:53 AM
#29
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i am not sure why, but you seem to want this to be the answer rather than accepting that there are MANY other factors that will likely prove more significant to the change in speed. i will list them in approximate order of significance:
1. lack of training - if this is your first ride of the year, it is going to be really slow. i don't care if your first ride is in july in perfect conditions, the time of year that it occurs is meaningless. what does matter is the amount of training. you seem to have done just basic cardio as opposed to cycling. if you had done cycling previous to your ride last year, there is going to be a difference in fitness REGARDLESS of muscle gain.
2. improper preperation - wether it be warm up, lack of food, lack of recovery, improper tire pressure or whatever, these basic requirements can destroy just a basic training, and are essential elements for a meaningful test day. if you didn't have the proper or at least the same preperation as last year, the muscle gain doesn't matter.
3. weather - a 30 degree difference is huge, especially when it is between a mild temperature and a subfreezing temperature. the cold is likely not what you have been training for - therefore your body is not efficient at performing in those conditions. furthermore, the increased air density alone could make up a pretty big difference in speed despite having similar power outputs. i did the math on it some time ago, but recall that the speed could vary about .5 mph with just air temperature differences.
4. clothing and positioning - if you were in a different position from last time or you were wearing clothing that is baggier due to the cold, you are going to be increasing your cda. that will require you to put out more watts to go the same speed.
5a. muscle gain (volume) - if you have gained muscle, the biggest thing slowing you down is not your weight, but your volume. a larger volume typically has a larger surface area and a larger cda. this will require more watts to push through the air at the same speed.
5b. muscle gain (weight) - if you have gained muscle, the weight will make you slower, but only just slightly. assuming you are on a flat course, the extra weight only factors into rolling resistance. the more rr, the more watts. however, the amount of weight that you seem to have added will not require much more than a few watts to remain at the same speed (certainly not even close to 1 mph).
1. lack of training - if this is your first ride of the year, it is going to be really slow. i don't care if your first ride is in july in perfect conditions, the time of year that it occurs is meaningless. what does matter is the amount of training. you seem to have done just basic cardio as opposed to cycling. if you had done cycling previous to your ride last year, there is going to be a difference in fitness REGARDLESS of muscle gain.
2. improper preperation - wether it be warm up, lack of food, lack of recovery, improper tire pressure or whatever, these basic requirements can destroy just a basic training, and are essential elements for a meaningful test day. if you didn't have the proper or at least the same preperation as last year, the muscle gain doesn't matter.
3. weather - a 30 degree difference is huge, especially when it is between a mild temperature and a subfreezing temperature. the cold is likely not what you have been training for - therefore your body is not efficient at performing in those conditions. furthermore, the increased air density alone could make up a pretty big difference in speed despite having similar power outputs. i did the math on it some time ago, but recall that the speed could vary about .5 mph with just air temperature differences.
4. clothing and positioning - if you were in a different position from last time or you were wearing clothing that is baggier due to the cold, you are going to be increasing your cda. that will require you to put out more watts to go the same speed.
5a. muscle gain (volume) - if you have gained muscle, the biggest thing slowing you down is not your weight, but your volume. a larger volume typically has a larger surface area and a larger cda. this will require more watts to push through the air at the same speed.
5b. muscle gain (weight) - if you have gained muscle, the weight will make you slower, but only just slightly. assuming you are on a flat course, the extra weight only factors into rolling resistance. the more rr, the more watts. however, the amount of weight that you seem to have added will not require much more than a few watts to remain at the same speed (certainly not even close to 1 mph).
This is the kind of info. I was looking for.
03-10-10, 09:54 AM
#31
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03-10-10, 10:14 AM
#33
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I just told you the time was slower.
I'm not training for a race. I just like pushing myself to try beat my previous times on the same routes.
03-10-10, 10:24 AM
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The two times I have gone on lifting regimens, I actually feel stronger while climbing stairs and hiking. However, I get gassed easier when on the bike. It is really odd but I have heard other mountain bikers (local guys) say this as well. I think it probably takes time for your body to adjust and get back to that level- it is probably busy providing more O2 to the higher levels of muscles and needs a few months adjustment time. That's my theory and I have stopped doing any medium or heavy weights for legs.
03-10-10, 10:27 AM
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Get a notebook. And a pen. Note the time before you leave for a ride, the route you took (including distance), the time you finished, and most importantly, your PERCEIVED exertion. Note this after every ride, on a scale from one to ten, one being next to no effort, and ten being a max effort. If you want to be a bit more exact, write down the weather conditions, keep track of your diet, and any other variables that you can think of. Have fun, but push yourself. Don't worry about what your average speed is, as that really doesn't affect the quality of your ride. And, as has been pointed out ad infinitum, is a useless indicator of fitness.
03-10-10, 11:10 AM
#38
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So you're riding strictly for fun and fitness, no?
Get a notebook. And a pen. Note the time before you leave for a ride, the route you took (including distance), the time you finished, and most importantly, your PERCEIVED exertion. Note this after every ride, on a scale from one to ten, one being next to no effort, and ten being a max effort. If you want to be a bit more exact, write down the weather conditions, keep track of your diet, and any other variables that you can think of. Have fun, but push yourself. Don't worry about what your average speed is, as that really doesn't affect the quality of your ride. And, as has been pointed out ad infinitum, is a useless indicator of fitness.
Get a notebook. And a pen. Note the time before you leave for a ride, the route you took (including distance), the time you finished, and most importantly, your PERCEIVED exertion. Note this after every ride, on a scale from one to ten, one being next to no effort, and ten being a max effort. If you want to be a bit more exact, write down the weather conditions, keep track of your diet, and any other variables that you can think of. Have fun, but push yourself. Don't worry about what your average speed is, as that really doesn't affect the quality of your ride. And, as has been pointed out ad infinitum, is a useless indicator of fitness.
Basically avg. speed and time elapsed are the same thing and I use those numbers as a goal.
..
03-10-10, 12:33 PM
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Gotta agree with botto, I'd ignore average speed. When I lived in flat Houston, I averaged 19 mph everywhere I went. Now I'm a much better cyclist as far as fitness and ability to go long-distance, but because I live in an extremely hilly area (Austin), my average speed has gone down about 1.5-2 mph.
If you have a great ride as far as the weather goes (Maybe your weekend loop gives you a downwind for the first half and then dies off for the second half) you'll end up with a phenomenal average speed and time. If you go out there next week and have a much tougher ride because of wind direction, does that mean you suddenly got much worse at cycling?
That said, you haven't been on a bike in a long time. You just need to get warmed up. Why did you wait an entire year? Of course you're going to be worse than you were before.
If you have a great ride as far as the weather goes (Maybe your weekend loop gives you a downwind for the first half and then dies off for the second half) you'll end up with a phenomenal average speed and time. If you go out there next week and have a much tougher ride because of wind direction, does that mean you suddenly got much worse at cycling?
That said, you haven't been on a bike in a long time. You just need to get warmed up. Why did you wait an entire year? Of course you're going to be worse than you were before.
03-10-10, 12:38 PM
#46
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Gotta agree with botto, I'd ignore average speed. When I lived in flat Houston, I averaged 19 mph everywhere I went. Now I'm a much better cyclist as far as fitness and ability to go long-distance, but because I live in an extremely hilly area (Austin), my average speed has gone down about 1.5-2 mph.
If you have a great ride as far as the weather goes (Maybe your weekend loop gives you a downwind for the first half and then dies off for the second half) you'll end up with a phenomenal average speed and time. If you go out there next week and have a much tougher ride because of wind direction, does that mean you suddenly got much worse at cycling?
That said, you haven't been on a bike in a long time. You just need to get warmed up. Why did you wait an entire year? Of course you're going to be worse than you were before.
If you have a great ride as far as the weather goes (Maybe your weekend loop gives you a downwind for the first half and then dies off for the second half) you'll end up with a phenomenal average speed and time. If you go out there next week and have a much tougher ride because of wind direction, does that mean you suddenly got much worse at cycling?
That said, you haven't been on a bike in a long time. You just need to get warmed up. Why did you wait an entire year? Of course you're going to be worse than you were before.
I rode the EXACT same route I did last year with minimal wind and was slower.
People act as if I didn't take wind into account, I did, there was hardly any to speak of.
The reason I haven't been outside on the bike in awhile is because we've had one of our snowiest winters ever here in Ohio and I just got cold weather riding gear for Christmas.
03-10-10, 12:39 PM
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03-10-10, 01:09 PM
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So you are looking at two individual rides a year a part and trying to figure out why you are 1mph slower? I think you need to study statistics a bit, with that few data points no conclusions can be drawn. BTW I ride the same circuit probably 3 times a week, sometimes my average is 2-3mph faster than other days under exact same conditions sometimes you just have more go than others.
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03-10-10, 01:10 PM
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Gotta agree with botto, I'd ignore average speed. When I lived in flat Houston, I averaged 19 mph everywhere I went. Now I'm a much better cyclist as far as fitness and ability to go long-distance, but because I live in an extremely hilly area (Austin), my average speed has gone down about 1.5-2 mph.
03-10-10, 01:21 PM
#50
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Let me start out by saying that I am 6'3.
Last year at this time I weighed 230 but now I weigh 240 after lifting over the winter all while doing about 4-5 days a week of cardio.
I went out on my first ride on Sunday on a short 15 mile ride and my avg. speed had dropped almost one mile per hour since last year for that same ride!
The day I rode it was in the upper 30's so I don't know if the cold weather was a factor also but I did not expect such a sharp drop in speed.
Last year at this time I weighed 230 but now I weigh 240 after lifting over the winter all while doing about 4-5 days a week of cardio.
I went out on my first ride on Sunday on a short 15 mile ride and my avg. speed had dropped almost one mile per hour since last year for that same ride!
The day I rode it was in the upper 30's so I don't know if the cold weather was a factor also but I did not expect such a sharp drop in speed.
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