Hello all. So, is there a way for a 40 year old body to be able to still build muscle needed to compete in cycling? Yes, I'm 40 and just came back to cycling after about a 5 year break with no cycling at all. From what I understand is that the body begins to degrate (for search of better words) once it stems into its 40's. Is there a way for me to be able to train and build the muscle needed to compete once again?

Do you people find it better to obtain more carbs or more protein? I'm currently at 155lbs. and a lanky 6'1". Any input and advice will be appreciated.

short synopsis.

on the cycling I would get use to riding again and slowly build a base in miles on what ever your ride and slowly increase that by 10 %.
spin,spin,spin.
Once a good base is built introduce sprints and uphill sprints and pushing say a 53/16-17-15-14-13-12 gear or what ever you feel will work for you.
Each sprint you do go into a harder gear on the next sprint, say do between 3-6 sprints about twice a week and then do a long ride and spin.
at least one recovery ride a week very slow, 15-30 miles
Once your base miles and an aerobic base is built than you could find some alternative work-outs or deviate on how you want to train.


Also find time and do some weight lifting light weight and high repititions and work different body parts at least a couple times a week.

The major isssue is to build an endurance base, the speed will come along if you work at it.

Of course. My dad's neighbor still competes at age 75. Many races have categories for masters and seniors. Here's a couple books to get you started:


Author Friel, Joe.
Title Cycling past 50
Publisher Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics, c1998.

Author Sloan, Jim, 1956-
Title Staying fit over fifty : conditioning for outdoor activities.
Publisher Seattle, WA : Mountaineers, 1999.
Edition 1st ed.


Author Overton, Ted, 1920-
Title Sports after 50 : fit yourself into fun sports
Publisher Annapolis, Md. : Azimuth Press, c1988.

Thanks for the tips guys!

Read the MAPP site for aging athletes. There you will get all the info you need. Like eg muscle mass only begins to decrease at 60, not 40. The only thing found to decrease steadily with age is max HR. This seems to be THE reason older athletes can't compete against younger ones, not muscle ability.

I've read the MAPP and it has some great information about human physiology, as well as sport specific information. Good read if you like that sort of information.

To the OP, genetics plays a large role in your ability to compete at a high level. Unfortunately, at this time, we must live with the genes that we inherited from our parents. But, not all is lost. The appropriate training regimen will maximize the expression of the genes that you possess, allowing you to compete at "X" level, if that is what you are interested in doing.

do everything hammer man says. i am 41, see many guys in their 50's who dust me. If you are in shape, and stay motivated, you will/can improve every year and will be in better shape at 50 than now.

i play soccer with teenagers who wish they could stay with me.

Thanks for the MAPP link.

I'm concerned about building my initial base. I live in an area that is nothing but hills. I understand about developing a good foundation base by a continued easy riding, but how can I do so with all the hills that I have to climb in my area. Can I still do so by just using extremely small gears? An example of the grade of hills that we have would be that I still need to come out of the saddle with a 39x23 gear. The grades are pretty steep . . .

I'm concerned about building my initial base. I live in an area that is nothing but hills. I understand about developing a good foundation base by a continued easy riding, but how can I do so with all the hills that I have to climb in my area. Can I still do so by just using extremely small gears? An example of the grade of hills that we have would be that I still need to come out of the saddle with a 39x23 gear. The grades are pretty steep . . .

YES YOU CAN, then increase your spin go 50-60-80 0r more of your max hearheart rate. same as above when standing, sprint the last few hundred yards/feet or whatever you can do, repeat that also in different gears. when going down the hills you hav two choices say go to your 39/12/3913 pump hard ntil you start to bounce off of your saddle or spin out.Other method 53/12, 53/13 pedal as fast and hard as possible, keep pushing until you go into oxygen debt, rest with an easy spin and do it again and slowly increase your aerobic capacity as well as your endurance.
Weight lifting will help alot, build bulk by lifting heavy, lift heavy at least nce a week say two sets of of four, the balance of two sets rep it out in lighter weights..

We have a lot of hills around here as well. You can keep your heart rate low by running a small gear or just riding more slowly (considering, of course, that too much low cadence work is a bad on the knees, especially when you're starting). Or, you can stand, but ride slowly.

I'd aim for lots of riding keeping your HR under about 85% of your 10 minute average max (I use the carmichael field test, which is a bit more precise).

Thanks again all. Can you describe more about what the Carmichael field test is?

How long should I work on my base until I begin to step things up? What is a good heart rate for base work? Thanks for all the help.

Sure. The field test comes out of "The ultimate ride".

It's basically a 3 mile time trial that you do twice. The procedure is basically:

1) Find a 3 mile course, as flat as possible, no turns, etc. You want to be able to ride uninterrupted.
2) Warm up thoroughly.
3) From a standing start, begin the ride. Spend about a minute getting up to speed, and then ride as hard as you can for the remainder of the period. It should be hard to keep up the effort.
4) Recover for 10 minutes
5) Repeat the test.
6) Cool down

The average heart rate over both efforts is used as a baseline, and then the training heart rate ranges are set based off that. The base for people over 35 is either 83% or 85% of the average from the field test, and the goal is to spend 95% of the ride under that heart rate.

The test can also be done with power measurements and then have the training based on that, but I don't have power so I don't know the specifics (other than knowing that training based on power is much more precise).

I think how often you do that and when you progress depends upon how much you're riding and where you want to be. If you haven't ridden at all for quite a while, I'd suggest at least 4 weeks trying to stay at that rate, perhaps more, but it's going to depend on how you're body feels.