On Sat, 20 Mar 2004 08:23:45 GMT, Yuri Budilov wrote:
hello all
I am a new rider, about 4 months now, 44 years old, male, 72 kg (165
pounds?) , riding on weekends only. Riding for fun and fitness only. I have
a Trek 1000 road bike (2004) and Shimano clipless pedals (M540).
I find that I can pedal relatively well at cadence of 90-100 rpm but if I
have to push a big gear then I very quickly run out of steam. I also have no
stamina and have to stop for a drink every 15 min of so.....
Yuri, I'm no expert but I've done a little bit of searching around to
try and figure this stuff out for myself. Real training like the pro's
won;t work for me as I don't have that kind of time to train. Also I'm
not trying to be a pro.
I remember when I first started riding a bit more seriously. I
couldn't push the big gear either. Now 14 years later I'm just getting
around to pushing the big ring more than half the time. My strength
is in spinning, I regularly ride at 90 - 100 rpm. I'm also good at
very long distances, though I started out with no more than 7 miles
(14 years ago). I'm currently up to ~50 mile rides on Saturday and
about 120 for the week. I'm just beginning to train for a single day
200 mile that is in June (this will be #5 for me).
Here are some things that have helped me a little (after getting in
some base miles). I do squats (I think these are good for leg
endurance), push ups, pull ups, crunches and leg lifts. I do them
twice a day and 4-5 times a week. Watch your form as form is as
important as how much you do. You can do them less at the start,
don't go too fast as you can hurt yourself. The reason fo the other
exercises is to keep the whole body balanced. Pro's need to work
mostly on cycling muscles the rest of us have house choirs to do. :-)
For the hydration part you can carry inexpensive water bottles but I
like to use the hydration packs. I sometimes commute and always ride
on busy roads. I like the tube which is within easy reach. No fumbling
for water bottles in traffic. Take a swig every 5 minutes and you
won't have any hydration problems. I use Gatorade powder mixed at less
than 50% of full strength because the water around here tastes
terrible!
I hope some of this helps, ask questions some of the experts here will
correct the errors. Also see a doctor before starting any exercise
program as he can tell you where you stand at the start.
--
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