What is a good weekly goal increase for a beginner?
Started road biking about 7 miles at 16mph pace daily(5 days 1st week). This is 2nd week now doing 10 miles a day same pace. I could push it more, but not sure if over training at beginning is the right move. I don't get winded, exhaustion happens in my legs. Anyway, what's the best way to figure out how much to increase each week?
Just a little back ground to let you know what kind of shape i'm in. I quit smoking little over a month ago, having goals has made starting back smoking a non factor. Tried jogging but motorcycle wreck injuries have probably made that unrealistic(going to ortho monday). Was only running 2 miles a day to start, so i'm no Prefontaine. Turns out i like cycling much better anyway.
Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.
Last edited by Elduderino2412; 04-18-12 at 07:23 PM.
So ... that would be 11 miles a day, 5 days a week.
But you might want to start varying your rides. So you might alternate between 10 and 12 miles. Or you might pick your weekends as your longer ride days - keep your three weekday rides at 10 miles this week, 11 miles next week, 12 miles the following week, etc., but increase your weekend rides a little bit faster so maybe 12 miles this week, 15 miles next week, 20 miles the following week, etc.
Listen to your body. If you're getting tired, back off ... go back to what you did the first week for a week in order to recover. And then pick up where you left off again.
Yeah that's kind of in line with what i was thinking of doing. 10% makes sense. I was going to add a mile a week for next few weeks. Had a big jump 1st to 2nd, b/c first week legs were in shock from using new muscles. Also the longer weekend rides sound good, especially b/c they will be in a different location than my neighborhood.
I would at least make sure I had some rest days interspersed through my training days. In other words, better to train 3 off one type thing than train 5 off two.
I had different fitness curves for the two periods I got into cycling; the first time I was in my twenties, starting out with higher gears and lower cadences, so built strength before endurance, going for just a few miles to over 30 over the course of a summer/fall. I didn't pay much attention to what I ate as to how much (ah, the joys of a youthful physiology). And after a year, the cadence got higher and the gears just a little lower. I gained about 10 pounds - all muscle - and have stayed at that weight for over 20 years.
When I got back into it in my forties, I started with lower gears (to avoid the knee troubles that sidelined me years ago), and higher cadence. It seemed to take me longer to build back the miles, and this time I actually lost weight, due to summer temps, older physiology that takes longer to build new muscle, and a diet too light on protein and carbs.
The best advice has already been offered to you in the form of 1. Vary your workouts, 2. Get plenty of rest, and 3. Listen to your body. I would add to that 4. Eat carefully... When you get the miles built up, your body is going to require carefule replacement of carbohydrates for energy and enough protein to build muscle mass.
All great advice. I have started to change my diet. Not the ideal diet yet, but i'm working on it. 3 to 1 ratio is a good idea, since as a beginner i'm not having super high intensity workouts yet. Never saw what health nuts and gym rats got out of the whole fitness thing, until i started doing it. I really dig cycling. now if the rain would just stop, so i can go log some miles outside today.
Reply With Quote
