Hi, And Help!

If you want to do club riding some day and you aren't more than 20lbs over weight I think your time would be best spent in the high L3 and low L4 intensity range this time of year.

Captain Slow said:

Just a quick hello from me. My name is Simon and I am 23 from Southampton in the UK.

I have been interested in bikes for years and years, but have not touched a bike for the last 3 or 4 years due to working out in France and other issues. I am currently looking to get back into cycling, and was looking for some advice.

Currently my fitness levels are not that great, but I wish to build them up, so I can get back onto a road bike eventually. I am looking for some fitness planning help from you guys if possible.

I own a Mountain Bike at the moment which I am just having serviced, and once its back I wish to get out and make the most of the area I live in (Middle of the New Forest) and would like some ideas on a training plan.

Once my fitness has improved I intend to get back onto a road bike around Feb or March 07 so I can get some proper training going, and maybe even join a local club.

So, can anyone offer any advice to help me improve my fitness on my mountain bike for the next few months so that I can eventually get back on a road bike.

Thanks in advance.

wiredued said:

If you want to do club riding some day and you aren't more than 20lbs over weight I think your time would be best spent in the high L3 and low L4 intensity range this time of year.

Thanks for that, I thought a few more people might have said hi!

Right, as I am not up with the "high L3 and low L4" stuff, could someone comment further?

Basically I was thinking either a 1/2 hour ride each weekday, with an hour at the weekend....or should I be looking at maybe an hour 4 times a week? Ideas?

Thanks again.

Captain Slow said:

Thanks for that, I thought a few more people might have said hi!

Im new here but I don't think this place is like an AA meeting! 😉

Hi!🙂

To raise FTP as you train ask yourself am I going to fast to take a swig from my water bottle right now? If the answer is yes back off a little. Then ask am I going so slow that I could take a swig without having to take three quick breaths before it? If the answer is yes pick up the pace a little. Once you find this semi comfortable hurt zone after about 20 minutes of this check your HRM that is probably your sweet spot (low L4 91% FTP) plus or minus 5 bpm. Do 3x20s every other day at this pace. L2 endurance is a waste of time try to stay high L3 Tempo (always pushing takes a little concentration to maintain it and prevent slipping back to L2) or above whenever possible. Just get in that zone and check your cadence, gear combo and then HRM. Use cadence and gear combo for the first 15 minutes then in the last 5 minutes HRM should be on target. Right now 52/21 at 92 rpm is SST for me on the KK. Or even better If you are not ready to spend big on a power meter just get the Kurt Kinetic Road machine with the speed to power computer it is only $324. 1upusa.comkurtkinetictrainer.htmOpen ↗ it is worth it and a great motivator. Andy's book is a good idea. amazon.comTraining Raci...ie=UTF8&s=booksOpen ↗

Captain Slow said:

Thanks for that, I thought a few more people might have said hi!

Right, as I am not up with the "high L3 and low L4" stuff, could someone comment further?

Basically I was thinking either a 1/2 hour ride each weekday, with an hour at the weekend....or should I be looking at maybe an hour 4 times a week? Ideas?

Thanks again.

Captain Slow said:

Thanks for that, I thought a few more people might have said hi!

Right, as I am not up with the "high L3 and low L4" stuff, could someone comment further?

Basically I was thinking either a 1/2 hour ride each weekday, with an hour at the weekend....or should I be looking at maybe an hour 4 times a week? Ideas?

Thanks again.

Welcome to the forum.

Regarding a training schedule, starting from a low level of fitness, time spent on the bike is your first goal. Try to pedal with lower gears at a high cadence (crank RPM) of around 80, as opposed to pushing hard on larger gears - it will save your knees and improve your overall fitness. Start with a reasonable ride time you can achieve and at the end feel winded, but not to the point of feeling sick or lightheaded. Take a day or two off each week to help your body recover. If you feel up to it, increase your time on the bike by about 10% each week. Research cycling interval training as a way to increase your fitness without spending countless hours on the bike.

Last bit of advice, keep reading the forum and use the advanced search to dig up older posts asking questions very similar to yours.

Good luck!

Hi,

My name's Tape and I'm a bike addict, it been 2 mintues since I last thought about my sweet, sweet ride, all those gears! And carbon! Ahem....

Anyhow back to basics. There has been some good advice however it may seem a little daunting, so here's some of my "dirt simple" advice.

If getting back into biking I would suggest basic time in the saddle to start.

For at least a good few months aim for approx 4 times a week.
Each ride increase the time in the saddle by about 5 mins. Do this for 3 weeks. On the forth week drop the time riding by about 50%, but maintain the frequency. Do this for three months. Hopefully by the end of it you can manage a two hour ride and not feel numb 🙂

After this basic start I would suggest the investment of a HR monitor. Plenty of advice after that stage on this forum. Enjoy.

Oh and don't grind those gears, peddling should be fluid and easy.

Tapeworm said:

Hi,

My name's Tape and I'm a bike addict, it been 2 mintues since I last thought about my sweet, sweet ride, all those gears! And carbon! Ahem....

Anyhow back to basics. There has been some good advice however it may seem a little daunting, so here's some of my "dirt simple" advice.

If getting back into biking I would suggest basic time in the saddle to start.

For at least a good few months aim for approx 4 times a week.
Each ride increase the time in the saddle by about 5 mins. Do this for 3 weeks. On the forth week drop the time riding by about 50%, but maintain the frequency. Do this for three months. Hopefully by the end of it you can manage a two hour ride and not feel numb 🙂

After this basic start I would suggest the investment of a HR monitor. Plenty of advice after that stage on this forum. Enjoy.

Oh and don't grind those gears, peddling should be fluid and easy.

Brilliant, thanks for the advise from everyone. Its exactly what I was looking for! I think your right, just spending time in the saddle is the main goal at the moment, and I shall build it up from there. Thanks again.

Captain Slow said:

Thanks for that, I thought a few more people might have said hi!

Right, as I am not up with the "high L3 and low L4" stuff, could someone comment further?

Basically I was thinking either a 1/2 hour ride each weekday, with an hour at the weekend....or should I be looking at maybe an hour 4 times a week? Ideas?

Thanks again.

Captain, I don't think 1/2 per week day is going to do it for you. You need at the very least 1 hour by the time you have warmed up etc.
Bill.