Why does it take me a good 40 minutes to get warmed up enough to feel like I can give a maximum effort and to take my heartrate into the 85% MHR range and sustain it? My first 2 X 20 feels like I am just getting the whole system up and running and is pure misery and the second 2 X 20 is fun and feels much easier. Should I extend the second one to a longer period of time?

How much time should be taken for warming up prior to all-out sprints of 1-2 minutes? I've also noticed the same situation when I try those.

Everybody's body is differnet. For me it takes 40-80 minutes before I feel I am in my zone. That being said I can go out the door and I can hit a decent 22-23mph gait if I need to. I don't do the whole HRM thing though.

I don't know why the long warm ups are needed, but I'm in the same boat.

If I ride for an hour, 40 minutes of it are spent warming up . . . but I get a great 20 minutes high intensity ride.

I need to warm up for an hour before I play a tennis match. When I run, I need to walk for 20 minutes otherwise I get shin splints. I used to fight it and always tried to rush it, but ended up with injuries and frustrations. Now, I just accept it and try to give myself more time.

I keep forgetting this, but my warm up isn't complete until I've in the saddle for 40 or more minutes.

Takes me about 45-minutes to warm up as well. I've got this nagging asthma problem, so I warm-up for 15-20 minute and then crank out a couple of anaerobic intervals to trigger an attack. Then I sit on the side of the road for 5-10 minutes gasping like a fish outa water to recover. After it's completely subsided, then I get back on and finish the warm-up. This time, the lungs have cleared and the leg's supple and ready to go...

It seems as though the better shape you're in, the longer it takes to warm up....at least it's that way for me.

for me, about 30 mins which includes light gear spinning and some short sprints to level up the body core temperature. well..thats true. the fitter you are, the longer you needs to warm up.

Well heck, that means I'm warmed up right now!

no wonder my warmups are only twenty minutes. cripes!

i've got the same damn thing, and this is the worst of the season RIGHT NOW. allergies have me lethargic and asthma has me jittery from the medicine. the problem is my 5:30am ride partners have to push the pace to get home to get to work, so i am left dragging and am left with a bad taste in my mouth from working much harder than i should be. I don't have the luxury to gasp by the side of the road unless we get caught behind a long light....
That combined with the traditionally high spring winds of the midwest = frustration.

I find that true as well. Before riding I did running and its the same there too. Our cross country coach would have us do a two mile warm up followed by 110 yard sprints. Then after a while, that became too easy and the body wanted to warm up even more before the race. I also notice that in running, you reach a higher heart rate faster than the same time on a bike. So if you want to warm up, just run for 10-15 minutes before the ride. This will save you time off that 40 minutes.

It would be interesting to find out how many bike riders used to run and how many have never run at all. I'm talking about the running that takes you 10 miles or so each time. I think distance running complements road riding.