Cycling UK Forum

Thanks everyone, some good advice here. I will try slowing down on the hills and taking some easier rides, but it sounds like I shouldn’t be too worried about pushing it sometimes.

Jdsk wrote: ↑14 May 2022, 7:27pm Welcome.

That doesn't sounds as if you're overdoing anything. But please tell us more about how you feel the next day... anything specific, and anything musculoskeletal?

Thanks, that’s reassuring. The next day I’m just really exhausted. My legs are tired, but mainly I spend the whole day wanting to go back to bed.

I’ve been cycling now for about 3 years, and I’m in my early 40s. I was quite overweight when I started, but through cycling (and very little else) I’ve managed to reduce my weight to where I am now just about in a healthy BMI for the first time in over a decade. However, since I bought a heart rate monitor I’ve noticed that I spend a significant amount of time in the higher heart rate zones, and regularly hit close to my theoretical max heart rate.

Where I live it’s quite hilly and I find myself addicted to pushing myself up the local climbs, even though it’s definitely a slog at my current level of fitness. I certainly couldn’t talk to anyone while doing it, and I’m breathing hard. However, I get such a sense of achievement and rush at the top and feel energised for the rest of the ride. I never feel close to passing out - quite the opposite, I feel strong. But I’m usually good for nothing the next day.

Am I overdoing it? Should I be sticking to flatter (duller) routes along towpaths and cycle tracks until my fitness is improved, or should I trust my instincts that my body is coping with this and my fitness is improving? Would my fitness improve quicker if I took it easier (as some have suggested)?

For background, I recently had to see a cardiologist for what turned out to be a false alarm, so I’m pretty sure I have no underlying heart problems to worry about.