Training advise for a novice?

[Waleed Adams]

Hi;

 

I bought me a road bike about a month ago,& for the first 3 weeks I've embarked on some easy rides of between 30 to 45 km's once a week, without any real climbs & I've generally been fine thereafter.

 

This past week-end,though, I went out for a ride on the Saturday of 20km's with some moderate little climbs & then went out Sunday again for a 45km ride again with some moderate climbs involved,& I was fine for all but the last 10-15km's,which totally floored me. I have never been so sore afterwards.

 

Any advice on how to go about tackling climbs & maybe if theirs any supplements I need to take or maybe I needed to give my body some time to recover between rides?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Robrider]

There are a couple things that could have happened:

 

You could have eaten too little

You could have drank too little

You could have pushed too hard too early

You could just not be fit yet

 

I don't think its anything to worry about. Your body hasn't ever done this stuff before, and you are increasing your mileage quite fast. It has to learn to survive Your learning curve will be fast, just keep at it and you won't believe how quickly you improve.

 

You really don't need supplements.

 

Other advise for climbing is to get in the right gear early and pace yourself from the bottom. Try reach the top at the same speed as you started.

[covie]

Climbs excersize differnt muscle groups than what you will use on the flats and obviously takes a lot more strain you will eventually build strength with the endurance and not that it will ever become easier .... you just tend to go faster

 

Basic rule of thumb is fuel your body correctly, eat a hour or two before each ride, take enough fluids, after 45mins of riding ensure you start eating as you will be on the limit of your stored resources.

 

Make sure you take at least one or two rest days a week. Gradually increase your effort as you get fitter.

 

And most importantly stay safe.

['Dale]

Be careful not to overreach...

 

Increase your mileage bit by bit. A rough guideline is no more than 10% per week.

 

Welcome to cycling!

[walkerr]

Hi;

 

I bought me a road bike about a month ago,& for the first 3 weeks I've embarked on some easy rides of between 30 to 45 km's once a week, without any real climbs & I've generally been fine thereafter.

 

This past week-end,though, I went out for a ride on the Saturday of 20km's with some moderate little climbs & then went out Sunday again for a 45km ride again with some moderate climbs involved,& I was fine for all but the last 10-15km's,which totally floored me. I have never been so sore afterwards.

 

Any advice on how to go about tackling climbs & maybe if theirs any supplements I need to take or maybe I needed to give my body some time to recover between rides?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Agree with the other guys here. I bought my Merida 5 years back from shop a few Kms from my house and thought "I'll ride it home" - not figuring the big uphills from there to here. I ended up walking most of the way. Now few years on, I'm comfortable doing 90km to 120km fun rides, and even look forward to the hills.

 

Here's some of the things I learnt along the way that worked for me:

• training more was the biggest thing - building up gradually as other guys have mentioned already.
  
• spin classes initially helped quite a lot with my aerobic fitness, but didn't do a huge amount for my overall cycling ability (see the thread on Knees and spinning for some of the downside)
  
• on longer rides - your body needs fuel as well as water/hydration, so find out if there's an energy drink you like and works for you, or bars/chews, or bananas, or even as a friend of mine uses, a pack of small cooked potatoes.
  
• you'll also probably find on hot/long rides you need electrolytes too - to put back some of what yous sweat out. Again, energy drinks or gels etc have these. Wouldn't worry though for shorter rides - shouldn't be an issue unless you're out longer than an hour or two.
  
• at some stage, get a proper bike setup check done by a pro - it's amazing what a a little difference can make in cleat position, saddle height or fore/aft setting, handlebar reach or height etc. My LBS charged R250 and took close on a couple of hours doing it - money well spent.
  

For hill climbs specifically:

• I tend to like to alternate sitting and spinning up the hill, with standing to stretch my legs out. When I stand I shift up two or three gears harder to keep a roughly equivalent rate of effort. If I don't stand, I often cramp later on in a ride from being sat in one place too long
  
• Check what gears your bike came with - my front crank was a 52/39 (outer/inner tooth count). As a middled aged guy who was used to mountain bikes that made for very very hard to turn pedals on steep climbs, putting a lot of strain on legs and lungs and not letting me spin. I swapped it out for a 50/34 (known as a compact crank) this season and have really enjoyed the change, even though it loses a bit of top end speed on the flats and downhill.
  
• This year specifically I started with a personal trainer (who is an ex-cyclist) at the gym to work on my core strength. I wouldn't advocate this initially. It's something I needed to give me a kick and get me working harder after I'd got some basic training and fitness. It has helped enormously with reducing cramps, and I find now I climb hills in a very different way - I seem to be working from my hips and stomach muscles not just pushing and pulling with my legs. Something to consider when you get fully bitten by the bug!
  

Most important though - keep training and make sure you enjoy the rides and look up at the scenery. The only rides I really battle are the ones where I forget to look at our magnificent countryside.

 

 

Edit: added bit I forgot about personal trainer.

Edited March 13, 2012 by walkerr