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Old 12-06-20, 11:08 PM
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canklecat
Me duelen las nalgas
 
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Same, especially with age (63 now) and an autoimmune disorder that messes with my metabolism and energy level. (Hashimoto's, low thyroid, tough one to cope with but I'm doing much better than a couple of years ago when I needed surgery to remove half the thyroid.)

Takes me about 30 minutes to warm up, sometimes longer. If I plan on joining a fast group ride, I ride to the meetup at a moderate pace so I'm warmed up. That really helped. I used to wait near by home for them to pass, but I wasn't warmed up and often got dropped immediately.

I'll also warm up on the indoor trainer for 15-30 minutes, especially in winter.

Sometimes for a change of pace I'll warm up by walking briskly for a mile or so. In fact, as a result of doing that regularly before bike rides for months this year (no club rides due to the pandemic), a few weeks ago I began jogging again just to see how it felt after 40 years. Now I'm up to jogging for 2 to 3 miles of my usual 5-6 mile workout walking route. But afterward I'll skip the bike ride. The jog/walk has become it's own thing now.

Another thing that helps me is a few sprints after a 15 minute warmup. Just 10-30 seconds. Maybe do that a couple of times. Seems to kickstart my slow metabolism. But it took me awhile, and some interval training sessions, for sprints to be a warmup rather than wearing me out. Some groups do a herky jerky pace, loafing on the flats, coasting downhills, then trying to drop everyone on the climbs. The only way to get accustomed to that was to do intervals and sprints.

Yeah, long warmups take longer. Takes more time out of the day. But I haven't found an alternative.
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