SoloRider wrote:So if I were to ride at strolling along pace rather than 10k run pace I would be able to ride every day. But would it still do me any good?
Getting out on a bike always does me good, but it depends what good you want it to do you. If you're hoping to build muscle mass or improve cardiovascular fitness a steady ride won't do you as much good as structured training (Which isn't going flat out all the time!) If it's weight loss you're looking for then long slow rides can be very effective, riding at a pace where your body can burn fat. People enjoy cycling for all sorts of reasons and there's no rule you can only have one. I try and mix my cycling up and like many people my fitness varies, the fitter I am the more I enjoy cycling. Even on those I've got all day to go nowhere touring rides, it's nice to get up the hills without struggling and finish the day still fresh.
I've been reading about heart rate zones and one theory seems to say that the 'best' thing to do is a combination of short flat out rides where you keep your heart rate high and put in maximum effort. And long rides where you keep your heart rate low, often called long steady distance. The premise being that training at a mid range doesn't really help with much.
Having just got a heart rate monitor I've been wondering about this so I can do 100miles without feeling any more tired than 50miles.
Hi, just had a very steady ride at 9 mph Av, very relaxing. Went straight out for 2.25 hours with no food at all - never bonked so must have been some fat metabolising going on.
I think I may do one harder ride per week just to mix it up and maybe go this speed the rest of the time.
Will keep you posted, assuming anyone is remotely interested!
Training advice seems to change more often than the weather, but the one thing that has remained constant for decades is intervals. This is where you go flat out, really flat out, for a short period (maybe initially 30 sec) then steady to recover (maybe 1 min) I try and build this into the end of a longer easier ride. If you can do this more than 10 times you're either super fit or not going flat out enough.
Had a go with a heart rate monitor for the first time today. Only three miles to visit relatives so not a lot of time to judge but it was interesting.
I thought about keep my HR below 130 which is what my HR usually is when walking at a brisk pace which I think is 70% max. I thought 140 (75%max) seemed more like it and tried to keep below that for a while.
Any advice as to what sort of numbers I should be looking at for doing the likes of a century ride?
allows me to change foot position regularly on a long tour day.
Do you like to do that? I like my foot to stay in exactly the same position.
Yes, that's why I said it I've never understood why the ability to have different hand positions is a good thing, e.g. when discussing handlebars. But changing foot position is not.
The two styles of riding (fast v not fast) are not mutually exclusive. Sometimes it's good to test yourself physically, and it improves fitness; other ties it's good to enjoy the journey and take in the views. I do both. Variety is the spice of life.
al_yrpal wrote:Crikey, I never feel like that. I am always gagging to get out on the bike. I absolutely abhore things like Strava, I havent tried it and never will. Going out on a bike should be a pleasure. I ride at my own pace and I am very choosy who I ride with for the very reasons you mention. I cannot stand fitness freaks. Riding to achieve something is alien to me. I ride to enjoy the countryside and to visit interesting places. My relaxed average speed is 10.8 mph on road and about 8 mph off road. My advice is be your own person. I appreciate that others think differently about this subject but refuse to be intimidated into competing, good luck to them, its just not me.
SoloRider wrote:@Mark1978 Try googling maffetone or Stu Mittleman, they have a 180 - age formula to keep you aerobic. I was using that today (132 for me).
So that would be 143, which fits with my (very limited) testing in that it seems 140bpm is a gentle effort.
allows me to change foot position regularly on a long tour day.
Do you like to do that? I like my foot to stay in exactly the same position.
Yes, that's why I said it I've never understood why the ability to have different hand positions is a good thing, e.g. when discussing handlebars. But changing foot position is not.
I agree. The last time I tried a clipless system, even though I had help with my set-up, I was getting cramp after 8 or 9 miles. I couldn't get that sorted. It's possible that I could have gotten used it; building my muscles in a new way to cope with having my feet attached to the pedals.
I came across that idea on here (I don't remember who) that it may be better (at least for some of us!) to allow feet to move around on the pedals. I have since become convinced that's why I havenæt gotten on with clipless systems.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.” ― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
I've thought of another reason - colds! A lot of 'go hard or go home' types that I know are always getting colds, obviously stressing the body affects the immune system. I fall into this camp on occasion when I try too hard.
I've found recently that when I stick to just regular light exercise, not only do I hardly get a cold, I can fend off colds from all around me.
al_yrpal wrote:Crikey, I never feel like that. I am always gagging to get out on the bike. I absolutely abhore things like Strava, I havent tried it and never will. Going out on a bike should be a pleasure. I ride at my own pace and I am very choosy who I ride with for the very reasons you mention. I cannot stand fitness freaks. Riding to achieve something is alien to me. I ride to enjoy the countryside and to visit interesting places. My relaxed average speed is 10.8 mph on road and about 8 mph off road. My advice is be your own person. I appreciate that others think differently about this subject but refuse to be intimidated into competing, good luck to them, its just not me.
Al
Excellent post. Agree totally. I do fear that some folks in high pressure competitive jobs hope that cycling will be a healthy form of physical exercise for them and a healthy mental thing as well and they then just transfer all that competiveness into their cycling. And, like sales reps obsessed with company car heirarchies, have to have The bike and The kit. One if the beauties of cycling is that you can do it at the level of intensity you feel like on the day. If folks want to go slower more of the time i think having a lower geared bike helps. I used to use a bike a lot more with more racing gearing and i eventually decided that the bike was pushing me. I enjoyed riding it but i'm more chilled now.
