Nachoman

And pleasingly plump.

OBoile

Zwift is pretty good. Makes the trainer much more tolerable.

popeye

Make sure you are getting enough recovery and sleep. It is too easy to work your way into a hole trying to get back. It is depressing! You gain muscle in recovery not exercise.

Carbonfiberboy 

Fat makes you slower climbing but not much to do with fitness. You're just weak from not doing anything. I've known some strong and fast overweight folks. It's not the fat. It's also not the climate. Take responsibility, that's the first step in any program.

And no, you're not going to ride yourself back into shape in a month. If you work hard and consistently, do everything right, you should be fairly fit by the end of summer.

Don't do that again.

Oh - yeah, trainers suck. Zwift is the hot indoor thing right now, but I've gotten by just fine on my resistance rollers every winter for over 20 years. Just throw the bike on them and go.

Carbonfiberboy 

For the older rider, I've found about the opposite: it's too easy to convince yourself you need a recovery day or two or three just because your legs hurt. Yeah, your legs are going to hurt. One can't completely ignore that, but sore legs are not a show stopper. I rode 50 miles and 2500' today on my sore legs, but very importantly, at a moderate pace. They'll be really sore tomorrow, but I'll do one-legged pedaling and go to the gym and lift as heavy as I can. That'll make it 5 days in a row. THEN I get 2 days off before the Sunday sufferfest.

Go by morning resting HR to determine how intensely to exercise that day, not by feel or mood.

mstateglfr 

No

illdrag0n

You're burning more calories, blood glycogen etc etc now than you were when you were lighter.

Add in rolling resistance. Your bigger body needs more energy to maintain the same speeds.

You're just running out of energy quicker than you used to.

Take it from a 152kg/335lbs rider.... It sucks ass. Climbing is the absolute worst, not to mention additional sitbone and perennial pressure which makes long distance riding a literal pain in the arse.

wipekitty

Yep. That pretty much describes my entire summer last year.

KraneXL

Are you asking him to tell you stuff you likely already know? See below.



They also have their limits.




What happen around 40? Test takes a dramatic turn downward.

flyjimmy

Funny thing. I thought that I might have been the OP of this thread and forgot that I had posted it. Until I got to Ontario instead of N.J.
Like many others I just can’t tolerate the cold anymore. Maybe it’s time for the Peloton. I’m just afraid of a large purchase like that just to become yard sale flutter.

indyfabz

Anyone else keep reading the thread title as "Does fart hurt your fitness?"?

base2 

No, but the extra thrust could help set a PR.

Carbonfiberboy 

At 40, you're just getting started. Then you have some experience to build on. I hit my peak at 63, downhill ever since, but still riding long and hard. Figure out what you're still good at and do that as well as the stuff at which you're not so good.

colnago62

I think a lot of that depends on when one started riding. I started riding/ racing at 19. By late 30’s, early 40’s I had data showings slight decline.

Carbonfiberboy 

Ah, but slight decline in what? One has to change with the times. I've reinvented myself as a rider several times. I rode hard in my 20s but then nothing until 50 when I started cycling training for the first time. There are so many disciplines in cycling which one can pick up and then work to improve one's results. I've run out of them now though, not being willing to take up MTB at my age. Still, I persist.

Carbonfiberboy 

Cognitive behavior therapy. Lots written about that. My main therapy has been results. The hard part of getting results is beginning, because it's very hard to change a behavior. Positive reinforcement, but one can't get it without doing the behavior one wants reinforced and results are slow in coming at first. It's tough.

I get my most powerful reinforcement from group rides. We keep them going here through the winter. Some riders say the reason they race is so they have to train. Same thing with group rides. If there are no winter rides where you are, train so you'll be ready to ride in the spring.

So, desire, goal, accountability, plan. For accountability, nothing I've used beats a premium subscription to TrainigPeaks and using a recording HRM to record and upload all my activities. You can see both progress and disaster in real time on the Performance Manager Chart. Another good accountability measure is one of those electronic scales which shows you weight and percentages of bodyfat, muscle, hydration, and bone. They're not expensive. I use one and record results every day.

The plan is actually the easy part.

colnago62

Maximum watts, leg speed, 200 meter times. Stuff related speed. You get more bang for your buck when you are young. In addition, I rode on a coached team. You get more out of yourself when someone is monitoring your workouts

Doctor Morbius

SAD and depression can KILL motivation. It makes it seem like you're just going through the motions without really living them. So could it be weight gain? Perhaps. It could be that you haven't kicked the Seasonal Affective Disorder yet too. I would usually kick it in the Spring when going outside, getting some fresh air and doing some yard work, but sometimes I wouldn't and I'd feel sluggish all Summer long too. It really saps the motivation.

Carbonfiberboy 

How about joy? Decline there, too? You can get over measuring yourself by someone else's yardstick. Necessary for graceful living IMO. I got plenty of bang in my late 50's, early 60's. Had an absolute gas. Heck, I'm still seeing climbing PRs now on our tandem. Does it take work? Yes, but then it always did. I have a one-time riding buddy with a room full of medals, Afib, and prostate cancer. Right now my only worry is not dying soon enough.

colnago62

Most riders who started in this sport at a young age have seen their best times in their youth. It sounds like you are still having fun aren’t letting facts like that ruin your vibe. I am a musician. At some point because of age, my playing will decline. Heck, it already has; I have to double tongue a lot more than I used to. It doesn’t mean I receive less joy from playing, it is just a fact.

Minnesnowtan

Which is why we don't turbocharge in bicycling. If you try for thrust, you may get more than gas and end up sh*t-faced.