How do you train

[DDH]

Okay, another quesiton girls. If I become a pest or pain, just tell me. I have done many searches and have gone through a lot of information on this forum. Thanks so much by the way, I have learned a lot, but feel like I have so much more to learn.

my question now is, how do you get to the point that you can keep that cadance up? I mean I get out there and get my speed up and peddle and peddle and then I have to rest my legs. I cannot keep up that constant cadance and of course that is what I think is killing my average speed.
I feel like I push, but I don't feel like in a month I have realy gotten any better as far as this goes. My legs just feel tired. I get out and ride and try to ride every other day as I work on my enduarance. I mean my legs get tired easily and I have to slow down, then my feet go to sleep and tingle.
Now I have a problem with my left shoulder that I dont' know what I have done, but it is making my whole arm feel numb.
Now, I know I am whining, or sounds that way, but trust me I am not giving up and I don't care if my arm is numb and my feet tingle and I get tired, I am still going. I road all over town the other day and ended up riding 23 miles.
I rested at my dads in between this, but felt like I accomplised something because I did it, and that is when I did whatever to my shoulder. I noticed it when I got home. I refuse to let this stuff get me down, but it sure is aggrevating. :confused:
We have fitted my bike, and checked it over and over. Everything seems to be fine there. I am not having a problem with my seat, my knees were hurting a little right on the top and DH re-adjusted my seat today, just ever so slightly and when I rode this evening it did the trick, so knees didn't hurt.
Am I expecting to much to quickly?
Okay, just tell me to hush and deal with it. :eek:
I know I will get this right eventually. LOL
Ecspecially with all the information that is on this forum.

[Bikingmomof3]

I have very little advice due to being new to cycling. I am concerned about the tingling you are feeling. It sounds (I am not a medical professional) as though you are pinching a nerve. I had something similar happen to me-not bike related-actually I have no idea how I did it. After some physical therapy I was fine, but it took a trip to my doctor to discover what the pain was from.
As for cadence, for me, I just practice and practice more. I find my legs are always tired the first few miles, then they are fine. I have a tendency to push myself, so following my advice may not be wise. ;) When I am not on the road I ride my trainer and keep a journal-actually two one for outdoor rides and one for indoor rides (yes, I am anal) about my speed/time/cadence/distance etc. I compete with myself. I also do a lot of exercises for my lower body as well as my upper body. Each day I push myself further than the previous day. There is probably a better method, so I look forward to hearing what more seasoned riders do.

[esther231]

You're like me. :) Impatient.

Been reading the health board recently after many here mentioned proper eating when I posted my frustration with my progress. So, yesterday, I tried some of the stuff over there.

I usually just grab the water bottle and hop on the bike and go. But last night, I ate a banana first. And some peanut butter. Drank water before I even started. Then hopped on the bike and went.

Happiness. It helped. I felt stronger, went further and wasn't exhausted at the end. I had no idea that eating before or during a ride could be important.

Not a clue about your shoulder. Hope others have some ideas on it. Hope it heals quickly. Gentle stretching might help some. Just a nudge to remember to bend your elbows when you ride.

[Grog]

I am also concerned about your shoulder. Do not overlook this. This looks like a fitting / position problem.

Regarding your legs, just a suggestion: I would suggest spinning in a lower gear. Most beginners use too big a gear ratio when they start. You should be in a gear that's really easy to pedal, just above too easy. To get there, go on the flats, shift to your easiest gear, and slowly shift up from there. Do not go to a gear that feels 'normal', stop way before that (in a much easier gear). Your legs should be spinning at about 90 rotations per minute, or if you prefer three times every two seconds. Yes, that's fast, yes, that's weird, no, you don't feel like you're going anywhere at first. Yet, you are, and you are much less likely to become tired as you get there.

But, yes, also be patient.

And love the ride. Don't make it painful.

[RoadRaven]

Be patient
Remember also that high cadence is not always high speeds

My cadence in a TT is about 80-85 - I push a big gear and that is when I am my fastest - in a big gear at a lower-than-some cadence

One of my sons trains at around 90 and in a race situation or in intervals while training his cadence will lift to well over 100...

Everyone works differently and you need to focus on getting your body used to cycling and then, in a year or so, start really fine-tuning the details...

Just my opinion - I'm not an expert on high cadence or how to do it well. Good luck

[DDH]

Thanks girls. Once again, you always help.
I do love the ride, I guess that is why I still go even though my shoulder is bothering me.
I know the problem with my feet is riding in my tennis shoes, but I can't do anything about that right now.
I wish I could find a flat to train on some, so I could learn to stay more steady. Where I live is hills, hills, hills, some big, some not so big, and some really big and it gets so frustrating because I just get my speed up and get in a rythm and back down I go. :rolleyes:
DH keeps telling me hills are good training. Yeah, well they are also frustrating. LOL
We are going on a longer ride today to help train to get our distance up and then after we get home, I think I am going to have to call the doc about my arm, shoulder thing. It's not painful, just really achey like under my shoulder blade and tight on top of my shoulder then runs down and makes my whole arm numb.
I'll have to try the eating thing too, but I really am trying to watch my diet really closely to lose weight and I don't know what are quick snacks for energy but not so fattening or bad for you.

[Dogmama]

Hey Donna,

Your high cadence might be different that somebody else's. You may have more fast twitch muscles which translates into lower cadence but more powerful strokes. You don't want to blow out your knees by barely turning the crank but a lower cadence might work better for you. RoadRaven is a pretty seasoned rider, and she's doing 80-85. Do you have a cadence monitor on your cyclometer?

Regarding high energy snacks, be a little more specific. Do you mean during rides or just during the day? Big difference in type of carbs & protein.

[DDH]

I mean snacks right before or during a ride. I try not to snack to much at the house.

I don't have a cadance monitor. Just the distance, avg speed, time and such. Until I got on here and started learning all this stuff, I didn't even know that would be a good thing to have. I don't have a HR monitor either which is something I guess I should get.

[Dogmama]

Before and during a ride you need fast carbs. Caveat - if you're trying to lose weight, you will want to monitor these. A ride less than one hour should not need refueling during the ride, unless you're really hammering. Before the ride, I like something liquid, with little to no fat, a little protein and easily absorbed. So, I go with cytomax and protein powder. If you can eat before a ride, a small bowl of cereal might be good (not fruit loops!), and/or a banana.

All of the above assumes you're riding in the morning before breakfast. If you're riding during the day and your ride is less than an hour, you may not need a pre-ride snack, depending on the last time you ate and the content of the meal.

And get that shoulder looked at. Numbness is not good.

[esther231]

Don't envy you having to start out on hills.

I always thought you shouldn't eat before you exercise. I have no clue where that came from but that's what I thought. But it makese sense to put fuel in my body before I try to ride like the wind.

(I'd settle for being a gentle breeze at this point. :p)

I only tried it once. Maybe I just got lucky on Wednesday. But it seemed to help enough that I'm gonna try again.

Have a great ride!! Good luck with the doc.

[mimitabby]

about your shoulder:
while not on your bike, pull your shoulders way back. WAY back and stick out your chest like you are hot stuff (which you are).
try to touch your shoulderblades together.
do that a lot.

sometimes that pain is because your shoulders (like almost everyone who sits in front of the computer) are rotated forward and they ARE pinching a nerve.

why it's happening on your bike instead of at home i don't know, but you can also focus on softening your shoulders while you are riding.
good luck.

[FreshNewbie]

Hi,

I think you answered your own question regarding your legs and foot problems. I am not sure what kind of pedals you are using, I am assuming either cages or flats? If you are using flats that would definately make you tired very fast, because you are working only one type of muscles (quads) and not taking advantage of you full pedal rotation. I remember when I started riding last year, for fist 2 months I rode on flats and I could barely ride not feeling rubberish in my legs.
Regarding your shoulder, mimi is right, if you are sitting in front of pc that would trigger this problem, I am saying this because i have this same problem right now in my left shoulder. And I do know it's because of my position in front of pc. I am sitting straight and have to look to my right because my pc is in the right corner of my desk, don't ask it's just how it is. It never hurts when I am hope. Yoga helps me a lot though, try do some if you can. Hope this helps.

FN

[Cassandra_Cain]

DDH - please hang in there. I think the old saying of patience is a virtue comes to mind.

About the terrain where you live - hills 24/7 - believe me there is a big silver lining to this. I just got back into riding about 6 weeks ago after a 6+ year absence. Where I live we have lots of mountains and hills. So while at times you may feel slow here's the caveat. I have made it a point to absolutely love hill climbing and do it every ride - in those 6 weeks guess what?

I am easily stronger than I was after 6 months of riding way back when I used to live in florida. The hill climbing may make you feel slow but it will build your ability faster IMO, than just cruising the flats.

I find much of what makes climbing doable is all in your head - pace yourself, relax, enjoy the scenery, think of all the calories you are burning. You'll get there :)

About cadence - I like what Roadraven said. You don't need to be cranking 100 rpm to be effective. Every body is built differently and yours will have unique needs. It may be you perform better at a lower cadence - which is perfectly fine. Granted you don't want to be pushing an enormous gear at say 35 rpm.

If you are serious about turning the pedals faster than try spinning in an easy gear. Even better, do so on a downhill and get your cadence way way up while trying to not bounce in your seat. Finally, if you have clipless pedals, do some short, easy stints with just one leg - that will improve your technique.

[DDH]

I have flat form pedals with toe clips. I am constantly having to move my foot around in the straps to try to keep the tingling down. I am looking into getting some biking shoes, but it just takes time to get everything you need to make things more comfortable.
We rode this morning and DH took off an left me again. Then he got behind me later and said I stop peddling to much. I don't keep my peddling up so that I can keep my speed up. I told him I don't know how to keep going and going, my legs get to tired and fatigued and I have to stop, even if it is only for 10 seconds I have to let them rest on occasion. I just cannot seem to keep that constant peddling up.
I have an appt this afternoon for my shoulder. I was getting so freaking irritable on my ride I was actually cursing and I don't curse. That shoulder is really bothering me. It bothers me at home too. The only time it doesn't bother me is while I am laying in the bed asleep. LOL
When I first wake up it doesn't hurt, but once I get up and have that arm hanging it starts again, so I definitly have to get this taken care of. It's not painful, just very, uh, achey, like dull ache that is making my whole arm fell numb and like achey dead weight. If that makes any sense. :rolleyes:
Other than that though we had a great ride.

[FreshNewbie]

DDH sounds just like what I have in my left shoulder. Did you ever fall on that side? I know I did and sometimes i think that maybe that's why it hurts, but now that I think about it I fell on both sides :rolleyes: I find helpfull to massage it, in my case the pain goes from my left side of my neck down the shoulder. Also, I tried to put a patch there once and believe it or not it did relieve the pain. Good luck wiht everything, you know you can do it! Sometimes it just takes time and patience!!!

[midgetcycler]

DDH -- I also had tingling when I was in the "cage" type of pedal. I read somewhere that you should try to keep your heel down if you have this problem. I tried it, and it worked for me.

I just switched over to clipless pedals. If the reason you are putting this off is financial (which believe me, I can relate!), then try ebay for used stuff. I have seen some really good deals. If you are patient, you might be able to pick up a good pair of used pedals for $20. Mine were $30 including shipping. I also found some shoes that were only $.99 plus shipping!! When you find shoes, though, look for some that are 1/2 to 1 size bigger than your normal shoes. You will be more comfortable.

[annagrace]

Dear DH not to alarm you or anything, but are you sure it has nothing to do with your heart, I'm a nurse who specializes in cardiac. Any family history of heart disease in your family like mother,father, brothers or sisters with heart problems. Not to borrow trouble, but sometimes we overlook the obvious. Good luck. I was having left shoulder pain and back pain also and my problem was I was gripping to hard and not relaxing my arms during riding and now that I can let loose and relax while riding it's wonderful.

[RoadRaven]

Wow, DDH... only hills?

I'm kind've similar - to get to anything flat I have to drop 300metres. But then I have loads of flats.

Your partner is right, hills will make you strong - but you need flats too because you develop different skills - like keeping that cadence and pedalling motion smooth over longer distances. When I dont feel like any hills and am starting from home, I do reps of the false flat that starts at my gate. Its one kilometre long, and I just go back and forwards on thats. I can practice fast cadence, or grinding big gears. I can practice sprints and do intervals.

Do you have anything like that you can use - just a small stretch of mostly flat you can do reps on?

[DDH]

Okay, went to the doc. Sometimes, (no offense) I think they are usuless. She just said put some ice on it and gave me a prescription for naproxen.
I guess she wasn't to worried about it.

Annagrace, yes we have heart diesease in our family, but I don't think that is what it is. Of course I am not a doctor either, but just the way the muscle on top of my shoulder feels so tense makes me believe that is not it.

Fresh, I have never fallen that I can remember on my shoulder to injure it. I have fallen on my butt plenty of times. LOL My hips kill me sometimes.

Roadraven, I have hills all around me out here in the country. It is flatter in town, but I would have to ride to get there. Shoot the first hill I hit is the road leading out from where I live. It's down on the way out but it is a messed up dirt and gravel road that needs work, so I have to slow it way down and then it is always the last thing I have to tackle when I get home.
The 10 miles or so I ride regularly is hill, after hill, after hill, and then a little flatter area but it is even small grades up and down. The kind that aren't really noticable unless you are fiding them and realize why you are slowing down so much. LOL

midgetcycler, I have avoided the clipless peddles mainly because I am a little intimitdated and afraid of them. Ecspecially after hearing everyone say how they have fallen at least once. So, I haven't gotten up the courage to go to them yet. I will try putting my heal down, but that seems like it would make it hard to peddle.

[Dogmama]

Putting your heel down enables you to use your more powerful hamstring and glute (butt) muscles.

Sounds like you got the 15-minute HMO miracle doc there. I know how frustrating it can be. A good doc is really hard to find.

[DDH]

HMO is what I have. You have to go in half a dozen times with the same thing I think before you can get them to actually take an interest.

I will have to start riding with my heel down if that helps glut muscles. Need all the help I can get there.
I know it will probably feel akward though. LOL

[Kano]

I know that "heel down" sounds funny, and you'll have to think about it in order to remember to do it, but it really works! (with or without clipless pedals or cages or whatever) Other things I've found helpful is making sure my knees and elbows aren't sticking out all willy nilly!

Naproxen for your shoulder -- I've been given that stuff, and find that I bruised pretty easily while on it, so if you're wondering why all of a sudden everything you bump into leaves big marks.... After being told pretty much your same solution for just about all the aches and pains over the years, I've learned to try just that: an over the counter NSAID and ice for at least a few days before visiting the doc -- and generally, it's been a good solution!

Good luck with your shoulders! Mine sometimes hurt after riding too, and then I be more careful not to lean too heavily on my hands, and to relax my elbows! I don't know if that will help you or not, but what the heck....

Karen in Boise