Hi all, so i’m only just coming back to the world of cycling, I was never a racer or anything, but did enjoy fairly long ish rides (circa 50 miles) and am working my way back to those distances.
I’ve been working on this for the last 2 months, via zwift, road, and gym and have been feeling pretty good.
This saturday I’m doing a 40 mile ride to celebrate my 40th birthday.
However, friday just passed I did a 17 mile ride with a friend, a ride we do most fridays, nothing new, nothing high paced, nothing too hard work. But my legs were empty! just felt like i’d done a huge climb even at the point of starting the ride.
Even today, walking up the stairs they feel heavy, they don’t ache, but they feel heavy.
I’d fuelled quite well before and during the ride, better in fact than I normally would
So, i’m struggling with what to do this week? a couple of zwift Z2 rides for 45 mins, just get the legs moving and not overdo it, or, just have the week off and be completely rested for saturday?
perhaps stick to my normal post ride protein shake just to keep the protein levels up? I’m guessing here now, be great to have some advice.
If you are asking the question the answer is probably to rest but not for a week, 1-2 days should be enough then do a couple of easier z2 rides. (So today try something really easy like 50-60% IF)
I’ve been sticking rigidly to 2000Kcal for the last few months, I’m overweight and keen to get back to were I have been in the past - I had a hip replacement and have happily been using it as an excuse to do nothing for the past few years and the weight has pilled on, I’d previously done lots of cycling and Judo but since the operation I quit everything.
Now i’m cycling again i’ve been trying to slowly drop my weight down - 7kg shifted so far but yes potentially I’m feeling it now with the reduced food intake. It’s strange as I’ve been fine for weeks, even after heavy efforts, assume it’s just take time to catch me up.
Agree with grawp that you probably need more food. What worked for me was that I was budgeting a weekly calorie (e.g. 3000 x 7 = 21000) and moving it around to the days where I know I need more. (e.g. 2800-3200-3000-2800-3000-3200-3000=21000)
i’d rest but walk…your blood volume will build up in a few weeks and you’ll regain a bunch of endurance…not by this saturday though. i’d so something like rest today and light tmw then try for 15-20 miles wed. light thurs. rest fri…hope for the best
read some articles on randanueering (can’t spell it). they do insane long miles and have strategies you can use on saturday. like coasting sometimes or being sure to pedal in an easy gear uphill.
i’d lean to riding outdoors also so you can get your neck and hands and backside used to the outdoors. also a good time to know if something needs tweaking with your bike mechanically.
i’d cancel your diet this week and start again after the ride. carb up and eat up this week. stick with healthy choices but don’t limit yourself.
good luck. don’t hurt yourself also. maybe you can do 40.3 miles in 3 months or something if you don’t make it. 40 on 40 has a nice ring to it but not worth crushing yourself. I mean this probably just popped up in your head and it sounded cool. it would be more impactful if you changed a habit that was long lasting that got you healthier at 50 than 40.
Good points made certainly.
I’ll keep walking that’s fine, my dog walks are partly my recovery exercise anyway (don’t tell the dog he’s being used!)
I generally ride outdoors once a week, I have a bike I use purely outdoors and that’s in for service at the moment to ensure it’s ready for Saturday, so stuck with the turbo ride for recovery.
With the distance, it’s not something I’m overly worried about completing, we’re not rushing so will just be a long leisure ride more than anything. I’ve done 50 milers before, just not in the last 2 years (since I had hip done) so I’m with you on the not hurting myself but I’m confident I can get it done plus we’re stopping for lunch halfway lol so plenty of chance to rest and refuel (something I never used to do, I just rode through)
It’s really just the last ride has worried me with the fatigue, I’ve been doing nigh on 100 miles a week (virtually and on road) and felt absolutely fine, but this week it’s caught up with me.
Rest, walk, light rides between now and Saturday seems to be the concensus. Oh and eat I can definitely do that one lol
It happens to us all, but try not to be overly influenced by how you feel from one ride.
I was really bushed this weekend when I’d planned a hard ride and was expecting to run hard after, but the way I felt, plus TR flagging a Red Day, plus Garmin telling me I need to rest…
Worth using red flag green flag if you’re not already.
And always remember life’s a long, wonderful journey. Sometimes things work out as expected, but often they don’t. The really great days usually come out of the blue.
Keep sight of the bigger picture, which it sounds like you are doing. Don’t sweat the small stuff.
A “recovery ride” isn’t 45 min in zone 2. A “recovery ride” is 30-60 min at like 100W (or less than 50% of FTP for lower FTP folks), barely any resistance. When I was a 305W FTP, my recovery rides were 100W.
From what you described, you need to rest for a couple days, then a day or two of recovery rides (proper recovery rides), and then see how you feel, IMO.
Huge, huge fan of recovery rides. Many of my athletes ride 6 days every week with one day totally off and one day at 100W or less for an hour. Sometimes I’ll give my guys “non-optional” recovery rides after big days because most people spinning their legs out will help them feel better two days after a big ride than laying around like a fat seal all day would.
Since this spring, I have taken day off only when really necessary. On planned recovery days I simply cruise around town 60-90min at 20-40% of FTP and HR 100-120bpm (with typical long distance Z2 HR being ~140). TSS usually falls into 10-20 range. I call them Limbo-days – “How low can you go?”
Beside keeping blood flowing, main goal is more about mental reset after long and/or hard weekend days. It almost always lands on RL/GL red or yellow day but never carried over to Tuesday’s hard day.
You say you have been fuelling your work but the below statement contradicts that.
2000Kcal is not enough for an active lifestyle unless you are a tiny person? Have you actually worked out or measured what your daily energy expenditure is?
You had no energy on you Friday ride because your body finally started shouting loud enough for you to listen, take a couple of days off your bike and eat a few hundred Kcal than normal.
on that one you’ve definitely got me! by fuelled I was really only thinking i’ve taken on more carbs, took carbs with me on the ride and considered that to be better fuelled which it is, it’s just not adequately fuelled it seems.
I’m struggling with nutrition really - I’m trying to lose weight, so have been sticking to 2000kcal to make that happen, and happen it is, but you’re totally right, it’s also having an effect that I’ve not got enough in the muscles to get the job done.
I’ve had a few days off now, just short walks, just done a 1 hour ride at 50% ftp. Drinking a protein shake now and again, taking it easy. Legs are certainly better, I’ll up the calories this week too get as ready as I can for the weekend.
Next week I’ll have to look further into my nutrition, I do still have more weight I want to lose, but I also want to enjoy the rides, so a better balance is clearly needed, i’m in no rush to get there really. Sure it would be nice to get the remaining 10kg i’m keen to lose gone by Xmas but again, no real rush.
Thanks for all the constructive advice, really has been nice to have a decent discussion rather than the norm off forums
Thank you for coming back to us and having a sensible attitude.
Nutrition is so hard to nail isn’t it? Just so many variables.
Would a plan going forward be to aim to slow down your rate of weight loss? Play a longer game? (Sounds like you’re having the same idea)
Try it for a month then give and honest assessment. Maybe return to this thread for accountability.
definitely is, I think it’s all going to be trial and error, I’m only losing 2lb a week really which seems fairly sensible but, yes, perhaps even if that’s 1lb, it’s all in the right direction and if that makes the rides more enjoyable then it’s worth it.
Most athletes lose more weight and their body composition comes around when they are actually eating enough. You pretty clearly are not. Alex Larson is a good social media follow, and she talks about this a lot. I think she was on the TR podcast a few years ago as well.
Depending on your current weight and body comp, dropping 10kg in 3 months could just be too aggressive. In a vaccuum, it’s not, but there are a lot of factors. How are you coming about to determining that as your goal? Another mistake athletes make is targeting a number that sounds nice instead of one where their performance will actually improve and they’ll be healthy alongside it. Frequently, that weight is somewhat higher than they might think.
Wow, this is a lot of weight! If this has made you healthier, well done!
Most of us have been there. It’s unsettling when you have an upcoming event that you are looking forward to. I’ve been prone to similarly panicky thoughts; “if I take the entire week off, this fatigue could be redeemable”.
While I think your body is asking for some tlc, I think improving nutrition should be your primary focus. But don’t panic.
I like this idea! This would mean you wouldn’t have to sacrifice your health or cycling goals too much.
Balancing weight loss and your cycling goals is tricky. However, it’s not impossible. You just have to be very intentional about your fueling.
I suggest you listen to this podcast to dail in your approach going forward so that you can continue to work toward your cycling and health goals.
Below are some helpful starting points that I took away from the podcast:
1.4-1.8 grams per kg of Body Weight of protein per day regardless of training volume.
At least 1.2 grams of fat per kg of Body Weight per day (to support hormonal health).
Fill in the rest with carbohydrates.
In terms of what “the rest” is, start by figuring out your basal metabolic rate, then adjust up or down depending on training performance, energy levels, and weight changes.
I hope this helps! Let us know if you have any other questions for us .
I’d definitely echo most of what I’m hearing on this thread already.
It’s not super effective to restrict calories while training. Cycling can be used for weight loss, but I wouldn’t approach training the same way if you’re cycling for that reason. In this type of situation, I’d either prioritize performance or metabolic fitness/weight loss.
It’s totally possible that with a 2,000-cal diet, you’re already in a deficit even without cycling, so it’s likely not super wise to stick to that fixed number day in and day out. It’s probably more wise to base your intake on calories burned if that’s your goal. Some pro cyclists are eating ~7,000 calories on training days and still end up 1,000 cal in the hole. That’s an extreme example, but it shows that it’s important to have a solid understanding of what you’re actually burning in a day so that you can create a sustainable and healthy diet.
With all that being said, it is of course possible to prioritize your training and fitness with the secondary goal of losing weight, but you need to be much more mindful of your caloric intake and burn to ensure that you’re getting enough calories in to fuel the work you’re doing.
It’s definitely worth discussing this with a licensed dietician or doctor if that’s your goal though. The forum is a great place for advice, but we can’t ensure that you’re getting enough calories in from here!
Also, it doesn’t look like you’re following a training plan from what I can see. When was your last true recovery week? We plan them every 4th week which works well for most of our athletes.
