Conditioning

[SJKevin]

Can anybody comment on how long it took you to be able to ride for an hour or two or more? I'm in decent physical shape overall but new to riding and even relatively modest climbs are burning out my legs and my lungs quickly even when I change to more friendly gears.

[S_Trek]

Depends on what you did before riding? I came from motocross so the only condition needed was my butt

[outlaws]

Just keep riding and never give up, you will get used to it in no time.

[SOBLE]

It took me about a month of trail riding twice a week but I was riding pretty knarly trails

[Gasp4Air]

I've been riding twice a week most most of each of the last 15 years. I've slowly gotten a lot better than when I started, but I'm still a suck wind. I'm just not built for it, plus I don't enjoy the serious suffering it takes for major improvement. Which is just to say it boils down to physical advantages and effort, and how much of each you bring to the table. Keep at it, you'll improve. Just can't say how fast, though.

[Too_Fast_46]

I started doing a little road riding- anywhere from 8-15mi- about twice a week for a couple months on top of a short trail ride once a week and immediately started seeing a difference. As boring as it is, road riding helped a lot in terms of my endurance and teaching me to keep the right cadence, etc.

[Cormac]

Started in July and buy November I had improved very noticeably. Ride time varied from a couple times a week to every single day. Now I'm back to wear I started after only a few weeks off. It's amazing how long it takes to improve your endurance compared to how quickly you lose it.

[Zachariah]

It took me about two months, of riding every day(only form of transpo). Mind you - I came from being a former smoker, alcoholic and meth addict. I was also 80lbs overweight too. The great thing about the human body...is that if you do something enough, it adapts fairly quick, and all the excess weight comes off. Suddenly, that 1.5hr ride becomes easy. It only becomes better at what you give it through repetition. I just completed a 5 hour, 35 mile epic recently and it beat me up a bit. Five years ago...I would have NEVER thought of doing such a feat.

Keep on riding!

[Hand/of/Midas]

The big thing for me is consistency. Even if i only do 2 long rides a week, putting in 15-30 mins of just riding around nearly every day keeps your legs used to the motion and tight.

[Bill in Houston]

Originally Posted by SJKevin

Can anybody comment on how long it took you to be able to ride for an hour or two or more? I'm in decent physical shape overall but new to riding and even relatively modest climbs are burning out my legs and my lungs quickly even when I change to more friendly gears.

Dude, slow down.

[akiracornell]

obviously things take time. yes your legs will get stronger. technique also helps. warm up helps by starting slow, conditioning muscles and lungs. i have a post on technique letme find it.

[akiracornell]

im only 6 month mountin biker but have hundreds of miles under my belt already and have tryed different techniques based on suggestions of a few others, one of which trained with the us olympic cycling coach when he was younger.
when attacking a hill it is definatley trial and error learning which gear your going to use, whether your going to sit and spin with clips or stand and stomp, or both depending on the hill. each technique hits slightly different muscle groups. Are you short legged or long legged. longer legs have more leverage and are more suitible to sitting and climbing. standing uses much more of your glute and hips muscles as well as upper body. each technique takes practice and muscle conditioning.

Now for the technical tip, if you want to be a seated climber clipped pedals are a must, this where the olympic guy really helped me. rpm rpm rpm. Spinning is more of a lift and kick motion, not a pushing down motion. Leg posture should be knees inward brushing your top tube, never bowing outward which creates knee problems. aligning your cleats slightly pigeon toed can help keep the knees inward. I practice around town maintaining the fastest spin I can without bouncing. If I start bouncing I switch to a higher gear till it smooths out. The point is to establish a smooth cadence faster than im used to.

when starting out up a long climb pick a lower gear than you normally would and spin more; its hard because at first you want to hold more momentum. obviously you want to carry momentum into shorter hills to help you up. but im talking long drawn out grinders.

I know sounds silly but here is why it works. Smooth high cadence spinning is more aroebic than a slower grinding cadence. In a long climb, a slower grinding cadence makes you climb faster, but on a challenging long hill it eventually produces more lactic acid and muscle fatigue during a rigorous climb.

If two equally conditioned persons race up a long hill; the person stomping and grinding will definately beat you up the first half, but as fatigue sets he will start to slow. Even if you arrive at the same time, your climb was more aroebic while his was more anaroebic, hence, his muscles are more physically spent. I promise it works, your heart and lungs are working harder but recover faster than spent muscles which can affect the rest of your ride. Hills that i never could make it up i started to. Like story of the tortus and the hair. If theres a long hill you have never made it up, practice a faster cadence till its smooth around town for a couple miles a day for a week and try that hill again. The key is spin faster and go a little slower, its hard at first to try and hold back because you feel like you should have more momentum. See how far you get.

obviously you can stand and grind but its easier to maintain a smooth steady cadence spinning. i stand for short steep or technical spot but if its long and drawn out i just take my time and spin. obviously your gonna test your heart and lungs . in time we graduate to the next gear. the slower you go the further you can ride. ob

[While At Rome]

Originally Posted by akiracornell

.....Leg posture should be knees inward brushing your top tube, never bowing outward which creates knee problems....

Dont really agree with this at all....or most of the post. I have knee problems because of a coach (volleyball 6 years ago) that gave me almost identical advice. Go with what is comfortable. Lots of people have offset and different hip/knee/ankle alignments and this type of advice can get you hurt.

Tips for not burning out

-Keep a high cadence
- (this works well for me) When you feel like stopping, slow down to minimum speed for about 30 seconds to a minute and catch your breath a bit, then you will feel a lot better about spinning up the hill.
-No matter how fast your cadence is if you dont have your 'legs' then you will be draggin up every ascent.
-You can be a strong person but the muscle and aerobic threshold for cycling is something that takes a bit of time to develop.

[akiracornell]

well i found it worked for me and if your watch tour de france there legs never bow out ,they either inline with the cranks and frame or cocked inward slightly. people tend to bow out when tilting the bike for leverage which i found hurt my knees.

[akiracornell]

i think the inward knees is to help force you to stay in linear circle, im sure there are other nuances that create injurys also. i lift too much and that messes me up also. anyways im just passsing advice that helped me. but your rite do whats comfortable. and just have fun

[While At Rome]

Originally Posted by akiracornell

well i found it worked for me and if your watch tour de france there legs never bow out ,they either inline with the cranks and frame or cocked inward slightly. people tend to bow out when tilting the bike for leverage which i found hurt my knees.

Aero positioning is not essential for mountain biking..Tours average speed is 25-35 mph...In mountain biking you will most likely not pass 25 on the fastest DH sections. Also the geometry and riding position of a road bike is vastly different.

[akiracornell]

Originally Posted by While At Rome

Aero positioning is not essential for mountain biking..Tours average speed is 25-35 mph...In mountain biking you will most likely not pass 25 on the fastest DH sections. Also the geometry and riding position of a road bike is vastly different.

i agree, but climbing is cycling and disciplined spinning helps. would you agree?

[akiracornell]

and a good crouched position while on the front of your seat is also an effecient climbing posture, like on a road bike. My trails do about 1500 ft elevation change over 10 miles and i find spinning has helped.

to the orinal poster, also the little gel packs work wonders as nutrition and plenty of water are crucial. a good carbohydrate meal an hour or two before is good too. i suck at my trails compared to my freinds but as you get to know a given trail you find your self more effective at it. keep plugging away and enjoy yourself.

[While At Rome]

Originally Posted by akiracornell

and a good crouched position while on the front of your seat is also an effecient climbing posture., like a road bike. my trails do about 1500 ft elevation change over 10 miles and i find spinning has helped.

to the orinal poster, also the little gel packs work wonders as nutrition and plenty of water are crucial. a good carbohydrate meal an hour or two before is good too. i suck at my trails compared to my freinds. as you get to know a trail you find your self more effective at it. keep plugging away and enjoy yourself.

You are not supposed to be crouched on a road bike...if you are, its too small. Mtb is supposed to be smaller than road bikes for better maneuverability. Spinning and road biking does help. My typical daily ride is 1800 ft elevation in 10 miles up and back, about 45 minutes.

[akiracornell]

well thats impressive. your way faster than i am. my trail does 850feet rite out of the gate in less 1.5miles with many rocky tech secs. it friggen use to kill me. as far as crouching i mean getting low and forward on the seat and when its steep.

[Jehosephat]

Another thing worth considering is playing around with seat height. Minor adjustments can make a big difference in how efficient your pedaling can be as well. In other words, if your seat is too low and you don't get decent extension your legs work way harder and it feels like you're somehow not gaining any conditioning.

Be kind to yourself with your gearing. If you ride the same trails over and over, you should be figuring out what gears are best for you as you approach climbs, downhills, technical sections.

While At Rome has it right that you should go with what is comfortable. Everyone's different so, while all these tips are great, listen to your body as well and don't be afraid to tinker with your position on the bike.

Good luck and keep at it!

[MOSZ]

I think a better question would be how to ride further than longer? When I first started not too long ago I was riding for 2-4 hours. Now after very boring road rides and stationary biking I still ride about 2-4 hours but travel at least double what I was riding before.(less breaks and less brakes) Many people have said hitting a road with hills will help alot on the trails. I don't have a road bike, it's really boring for me, and I live in the city so it's hard to have a constant workout so I hit the stationary bike at least 3 times a week for about an hour or two. Just make sure you have it on a high resistance to really build some endurance on the trails. You know, now that I think about it, road riding is alot more dangerous than MTB, well in the city, just my opinion.

[Caffeine Powered]

Originally Posted by Bill in Houston

Dude, slow down.

my wife tells you that all the time

Just go for a ride but don't take a watch. Pace yourself but don't stop until you're dog tired. Take a PB&J sammich in your jersey to eat after your first water bottle is empty.

Start riding with others. The more riders you're with, the more riding will get done.

[RockyRider]

If you aren't accustomed to riding you probably have not been working the muscles you use for riding. Ride 2-3 times at a comfortable pace for you for as long as you can stand to ride and then take 2 days off once a week for a couple weeks. If you feel yourself getting stronger after a month and a half or so then suffer through riding every day for a week and a half to two weeks. It's gonna hurt but take 3-5 days off afterwards with only a short light spin every day on your days off. You will notice a huge jump in your conditioning after this. If you can stand to be on the bike for 2-5 hours at a time after this go at it at a moderate comfortable pace and build your aerobic base. After a month or so of that repeat the 2 week push with time off afterwards.

Anyway this is what works for me. Everyone is a little different but at some point you will have to force yoruself through some uncomfortable time. Make sure you have your fit correct because a bad bike fit can make you feel like you are not doing well when in reality you are but you are having pain from other things.

[Loudviking]

Just a different perspective. Before I was hit by a car on my bike going to work back in
"96", I went through trails like white on rice. Never took the time to appreciate why I
Mountain biked, to enjoy nature and see things you don't see from a car, or motorcycle
,or just getting through the daily grind. Your stamina will get better if you just get in a comfortable cadence and LOOK AROUND YOU. Enjoy the ride, stop and look at stuff, revel in the fact you can hear
the wind through the trees, and not car horns, and your boss *****ing at you.
It all takes time my man, but spend the time to appreciate whats around you.
And don't rush it.