Unfit - need advice

If you want to become a better cyclist then ride a lot. It doesn't need to be hard riding like the hill you describe, some of that is great but mostly just ride a lot as in every day or nearly every day even if it's just an easy spin over to a friend's house and not a 'real' ride. Running is great for general fitness so if you enjoy that then there's no harm in some running but work up towards longer or faster runs as even more than cycling running can lead to over use injuries like shin splints and sore achilles tendons or sore knees so don't jump into a huge running program all at once.

Basically do whatever activities you find most enjoyable but do them on a regular basis not just here and there. If cycling is your primary focus then ride most days and if cycling is really the sport you most want to improve then riding is a better use of your time than running.

Read other threads on this forum and elsewhere, but the basic things are to ride more days than you don't ride, ride longer or faster on days you feel good and slower or shorter on days you're more tired and take days off if you're really tired or if other life obligations get in the way. When you do decide to ride faster it's better to focus on overall increased pace and not short gut busting sprints as much as longer stretches a bit faster than normal that get you breathing deeply and steadily but are at a pace you can hold for 20 to 30 minutes or more without having to back way off so not sprints and killing yourself up short hills but rolling steady slightly higher pace than normal. Don't worry about the exact speed, focus on how you feel on those days and try to find the place where you feel like you're putting in solid effort and staying focused but not absolutely dying.

Stick with any and all activities and your fitness should improve, it takes time but the payoff is big so it's worth the time invested.

Good luck,
-Dave

Bmwdestroyer said:

Im a 17 year old guy who weighs around 110kg and 192cm, over the last school year I put on about 25kg due to doing almost no exercise and eating way too much. Any advice would be much appreciated 🙂

you should lose around 18 kilograms to have a good BMI (body mass index) again, if i was you i would hurry up in establishing a cycling routine and good eating habits since college might cut your free time considerably, and stress is also a trigger for bad eating habits, in your favour is your young age, it is harder to turn around overweight as an adult than as a teenager,

vspa said:

you should lose around 18 kilograms to have a good BMI (body mass index) again, if i was you i would hurry up in establishing a cycling routine and good eating habits since college might cut your free time considerably, and stress is also a trigger for bad eating habits, in your favour is your young age, it is harder to turn around overweight as an adult than as a teenager,

I'd advise not investing a lot in the body mass index.

Quote:Originally Posted by daveryanwyoming [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG] If you want to become a better cyclist then ride a lot. It doesn't need to be hard riding like the hill you describe, some of that is great but mostly just ride a lot as in every day or nearly every day even if it's just an easy spin over to a friend's house and not a 'real' ride. Running is great for general fitness so if you enjoy that then there's no harm in some running but work up towards longer or faster runs as even more than cycling running can lead to over use injuries like shin splints and sore achilles tendons or sore knees so don't jump into a huge running program all at once.

Basically do whatever activities you find most enjoyable but do them on a regular basis not just here and there. If cycling is your primary focus then ride most days and if cycling is really the sport you most want to improve then riding is a better use of your time than running.

Read other threads on this forum and elsewhere, but the basic things are to ride more days than you don't ride, ride longer or faster on days you feel good and slower or shorter on days you're more tired and take days off if you're really tired or if other life obligations get in the way. When you do decide to ride faster it's better to focus on overall increased pace and not short gut busting sprints as much as longer stretches a bit faster than normal that get you breathing deeply and steadily but are at a pace you can hold for 20 to 30 minutes or more without having to back way off so not sprints and killing yourself up short hills but rolling steady slightly higher pace than normal. Don't worry about the exact speed, focus on how you feel on those days and try to find the place where you feel like you're putting in solid effort and staying focused but not absolutely dying.

Stick with any and all activities and your fitness should improve, it takes time but the payoff is big so it's worth the time invested.

Good luck,
-Dave

Thanks, Im trying to get out each day, done 6 in a row so far. About 3.5 miles each time. Is doing that every day too much as the back of my legs ache quite a bit at the moment. I can see the improvements in my fitness already though.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by vspa [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

you should lose around 18 kilograms to have a good BMI (body mass index) again,
if i was you i would hurry up in establishing a cycling routine and good eating habits since college might cut your free time considerably, and stress is also a trigger for bad eating habits,
in your favour is your young age, it is harder to turn around overweight as an adult than as a teenager,

Thats a good target to aim for over this summer. Hopefully I can loose around 10 this summer then more after. I have quite alot of spare time when college is on tbh, although this year that was spent gaming :P Thanks for the advice 🙂

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by alienator [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

I'd advise not investing a lot in the body mass index.

Its a decent target of being around that weight I guess. loosing 18kg seems about right for me