Overtraining?

In article <[email hidden]>,

victor vcarnuccio @mindspring.com said:

Hi, I've been cycling Central Park for about 18 months now wondering if I am over doing it.

Here's the stats: Age: 53 Ht: 5' 11" Weight: 180 lbs

Quoted message said:

Total Weeks: 18 26 Miles/Wk Average Total Time: 32 Hours Average Distance: 19.5 Miles Average
Speed: 17.7 MPH

The winter in New York gets brutal in January so I missed a few weeks.

Now that Spring is here I would like to increase training. I lift weights three days on one day off
with some warm-up and stretching.If I circle the park twice the distance increases to about
24.6 miles including the warm-up ride from lower Manhattan to Central Park along the Hudson River
Park. I intend to bike every other day weather permitting. I guess once around on easy days and
twice around on hard days. Or should I go for three times around?

That sounds like it could be OK, but a lot depends on your current state of fitness and how much
you're putting into the weight lifting program - are you lifting weights to improve your cycling or
the other way around? If in doubt start slow, adding mileage and intensity in small increments.
Since you have not been riding much so far this year I would concentrate on frequency of rides
rather than distance or work. I would start increasing distance after a few weeks while keeping
intensity low. If you have a purpose to your cycling training that would help you decide how to
train once you have a few base miles in. There are books you can read to help you plan your
training, such as the Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel.

--Paul

On Mon, 01 Mar 2004 22:25:07 GMT, "victor" <vcarnuccio @mindspring.com> from

EarthLink Inc. -- url='http://www.earthlink.net/'http://www.EarthLink.net/url said:

Any comments or suggestions?

You're doing great!

Keep on keepin' on.

--
[email hidden]
Listen to the quiet voice.
60

In article <[email hidden]>, "victor" <vcarnuccio
@mindspring.com> says...

Quoted message said:

Hi, I've been cycling Central Park for about 18 months now wondering if I am over doing it.

Here's the stats: Age: 53 Ht: 5' 11"

Weight: 180 lbs

Total Weeks: 18

26 Miles/Wk Average

Total Time: 32 Hours

Average Distance: 19.5 Miles

Average Speed: 17.7 MPH

The winter in New York gets brutal in January so I missed a few weeks.

Now that Spring is here I would like to increase training. I lift weights three days on one day
off with some warm-up

and stretching.If I circle the park twice the distance increases to about
24.6 miles including the warm-up ride from lower

Manhattan to Central Park along the Hudson River Park. I intend to bike every other day weather
permitting. I guess once

around on easy days and twice around on hard days. Or should I go for three times around?

Any comments or suggestions?

It's hard to say for sure without knowing what your goals are, but that looks like a pretty good
overall fitness regimen.

--
Dave Kerber Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

On Mon, 01 Mar 2004 22:25:07 GMT, "victor" <vcarnuccio @mindspring.com>

Quoted message said:

Hi, I've been cycling Central Park for about 18 months now wondering if I am over doing it.

What are your symptoms? IOW, you say you want to increase training, but you seem to be asking if you
are now overtraining.

It can be confusing, but basically research the symptoms of overtraining. For most casual riders,
it's unlikely that you'd be overtraining. If you feel a 'flatness', or lack of desire to get out
there, or if you start having little colds or injuries, or excessive soreness, or slight swelling on
a bony area; then you may be training too much.

You have a spectrum, but only you know if you're over, under or training just right. If you have the
desire to getout there and ride, and you're considering increasing training, then my read is you're
not overtraining.

If you keep a journal, check your times. If the times and speeds and frequency are generally
increasing, what's not to like?

I've done a lot of casual training, jogging, lifting, sports, and biking is the only activity I've
done where it seems easy, proper and acceptable to the body to do every day, and you can 'streak'
(i.e. ride continuous days) reasonably easy. Many bikers consider a day you don't get on the bike, a
day where you've got a broken bone! <g>

Here are some suggestions:
1. set a goal (ride the NT marathon?)
2. keep a journal
3. aim to bike every day
4. perform support training (weights) hiting the body parts that are not trained by biking, so that
your joints are strong on all sides. (i.e. you don't want huge quads and weak, tight hams;
strong back, weak abs, and soforth)
5. do flexibililty work after the ride, when the muscles are warm and the blood is flowing
6. ride with a partner, if possible, and if it's something you enjoy. Mutual support and
motivation.
7. immerse yourself. -be- a biker!
8. crosstrain (swim, jog) a little, if it suits you. Weights are good.
9. enter a fun ride during the season (spring, fall?) evey 4 weeks. I keeps your interest high and
you'll be in the presence of other riders your same size/age/weight. This can be motivating -
'guy beats you, you rule your age
div. - it's all good.
10. study good nutrition, and get plenty of rest. Those often have more effect on
training/overtraining than anything else! You improve during rest, not during the activity
itself, physiologically.

HTH, -B

Quoted message said:

Here's the stats: Age: 53 Ht: 5' 11"

Weight: 180 lbs

Total Weeks: 18

26 Miles/Wk Average

Total Time: 32 Hours

Average Distance: 19.5 Miles

Average Speed: 17.7 MPH

The winter in New York gets brutal in January so I missed a few weeks.

Now that Spring is here I would like to increase training. I lift weights three days on one day off
with some warm-up

and stretching.If I circle the park twice the distance increases to about
24.6 miles including the warm-up ride from lower

Manhattan to Central Park along the Hudson River Park. I intend to bike every other day weather
permitting. I guess once

around on easy days and twice around on hard days. Or should I go for three times around?

Any comments or suggestions?

Regards

"victor" <vcarnuccio @mindspring.com> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, I've been cycling Central Park for about 18 months now wondering if I am over doing it.

Here's the stats: Age: 53 Ht: 5' 11"

Weight: 180 lbs

Total Weeks: 18

26 Miles/Wk Average

Total Time: 32 Hours

Average Distance: 19.5 Miles

Average Speed: 17.7 MPH

Those numbers are way too low to represent any risk of over training.

Peter Cole said:

"victor" <vcarnuccio @mindspring.com> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, I've been cycling Central Park for about 18 months now wondering if I am over doing it.

Here's the stats: Age: 53 Ht: 5' 11"

Weight: 180 lbs

Total Weeks: 18

26 Miles/Wk Average

Total Time: 32 Hours

Average Distance: 19.5 Miles

Average Speed: 17.7 MPH

Those numbers are way too low to represent any risk of over training.

That was my thought, but it depends on the length of training time (18 months, check); additional
training (weights 2x/week, check). and pro v. amateur (amateur, check).

But it's becoming more and more not a case of 'geezer' v. 'young, fit'. Sure they aren't gonna race
in the same 'pod', but maybe now only one or two pods back.

-B

Cycling on a road bike is new. I've been biking for years recreationally so when I bought the road
bike I started enjoying the speed at I hadn't experienced before. I wanted to set some goals for
overall personal best improvements as well as maybe enter a race. I keep a journal, Biking every day
is not very practical during the Winter in NYC. Every other day is more practical. I tend to have a
days rest every three days doing nothing. I hit quads, hams calves and abs then in the morning. The
afternoon cycling is less intense. Then then next day I do more weight training on upper body with
very little aerobics with no biking. Sometimes I take a Yoga class. Then on the last day I do a
light high rep upper body workout with weights AM then PM a longer more intense bike run in CP. The
presence of other riders in the park keeps me motivated. I may join a club or enter a race this
summer. Training partners are good if I knew someone reliable. The only other thing is finding the
time to do all these things. Yeah I like swimming as well.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm very fit. I work out with weights three days on one day off. On days I train legs my cycle run
is less intense. Weights defiantly have helped. Actually I have been a recreational cyclist for 30
years biking the streets of Manhattan to run errands. Only recently have I bought a road bike. CP
has some hills to keep me from getting bored as well. Increasing the distance gradually seems the
way to go. The problem is finding the time.

Thanks for the suggestions.

"Paul Southworth" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:FxP0c.892$WC3.11402@ord-
read.news.verio.net...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, victor <vcarnuccio

@mindspring.com said:

Hi, I've been cycling Central Park for about 18 months now wondering if I am over doing it.

Here's the stats: Age: 53 Ht: 5' 11" Weight: 180 lbs

Quoted message said:

Total Weeks: 18 26 Miles/Wk Average Total Time: 32 Hours Average Distance: 19.5 Miles Average
Speed: 17.7 MPH

The winter in New York gets brutal in January so I missed a few weeks.

Now that Spring is here I would like to increase training. I lift weights three days on one day
off with some warm-up and stretching.If I circle the park twice the distance increases to about
24.6 miles including the warm-up ride from lower Manhattan to Central Park along the Hudson River
Park. I intend to bike every other day weather permitting. I guess once around on easy days
and twice around on hard days. Or should I go for

three

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

times around?

That sounds like it could be OK, but a lot depends on your current state of fitness and how much
you're putting into the weight lifting program - are you lifting weights to improve your cycling
or the other way around? If in doubt start slow, adding mileage and intensity in small increments.
Since you have not been riding much so far this year I would concentrate on frequency of rides
rather than distance or work. I would start increasing distance after a few weeks while keeping
intensity low. If you have a purpose to your cycling training that would help you decide how to
train once you have a few base miles in. There are books you can read to help you plan your
training, such as the Cyclist's Training Bible by Joe Friel.

--Paul

In article <[email hidden]>,

victor vcarnuccio @mindspring.com said:

presence of other riders in the park keeps me motivated. I may join a club or enter a race this
summer. Training partners are good if I knew someone reliable.

Do the club rides and you'll meet people to ride with.

You might also consider getting a stationary trainer - if you're disciplined enough to lift weights
you can probably handle a short ride on the trainer without going insane. It does remove most of the
enjoyment of cycling however.

Victor,

The fact that you want to increase training is the best indicator that it will be ok to do so. When
you feel like [censored], give yourself a rest. When you feel good, ride hard.

Robert

"We're takin' it up a notch!" ---Izzy Mandelbaum

"victor" <vcarnuccio @mindspring.com> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi, I've been cycling Central Park for about 18 months now wondering if I am over doing it.

Here's the stats: Age: 53 Ht: 5' 11"

Weight: 180 lbs

Total Weeks: 18

26 Miles/Wk Average

Total Time: 32 Hours

Average Distance: 19.5 Miles

Average Speed: 17.7 MPH

The winter in New York gets brutal in January so I missed a few weeks.

Now that Spring is here I would like to increase training. I lift weights three days on one day
off with some warm-up

and stretching.If I circle the park twice the distance increases to about
24.6 miles including the warm-up ride from lower

Manhattan to Central Park along the Hudson River Park. I intend to bike every other day weather
permitting. I guess once

around on easy days and twice around on hard days. Or should I go for

three

Quoted message said:

times around?

Any comments or suggestions?

Regards

If you are questioning it then there is a good chance that you are overtrained, but it's not sure.
I can tell when I'm over trained because I have a hard time getting a high heart rate. The more
overtrained, the lower my heart rate. There are many little signs, like depression, fatigue,
tension problems, anxiety, poor sleeping habits, heart rate problems, etc., but these could also be
from any number of other causes. One way to fight over training is to be certain that you are
getting enough food and sleep and if you're not then get more of whatever you are in need of. You
might just need some more carbs in your diet, for example. And I do mean "for example" 'cause I
would have no idea...

The idea is to be fully recovered before your next intense workout

You are 53 years old, which is young, but I think it's fair to assume that your body won't recover
as quickly as when you were 25 years old, right? When you cannot fully recover between workouts, you
become over trained.

HOpe this helps,

Dave

Robert,

Yesterday I increased the distance by to 28 miles. My average speed was down but that was probably
the high wind slowing me down. Overall I don't fell any pain today so will work out hamstrings and
calves at the gym this morning then do a short ride on my bike in the afternoon.

Victor

"R15757" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Victor,

The fact that you want to increase training is the best indicator that it

will

Quoted message said:

be ok to do so. When you feel like [censored], give yourself a rest. When you

feel

Quoted message said:

good, ride hard.

Robert

"We're takin' it up a notch!" ---Izzy Mandelbaum

victor said:

The problem is finding the time.

Cycle first, the do the rest, if you have time.

--
Tp,

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No Lawsuit Ever Fixed A Moron...