Need of Advice

[A_Andy]

Hey, guys.
I have recently totally fell in love with biking and I decided I want to spend as much time as I can on the bike. The thing is that I am busy with both studying and working and I was wondering - in order to begin (and to have some effect) - how often do you cycle when you have a tight schedule? I have, let's say - 2 to max 3 days per week which are free, will they be enough, at least as a start?
Hopefully, bext year I will be going for my Master's in the Netherlands and - what a better place for cycling, hah. So, I will spend more time on the bike there.

My other question is - for now I am using my father's bike, which is not a road bike. Is it OK for a complete beginner?

Thanks in advance!

 

[DirtyWorks]

Yeah, you can make great progress with two or three days. I do about that but spend time above that in the gym. But, the time spent is far less than conventional volume-heavy endurance workouts yet I have very good performance and most importantly see progress at comparatively low training volume.

Enjoy the cycling along the way to reaching your other goals and don't ever apologize for whatever riding you manage to do on whatever bike you have. Just get a helmet and maybe some shorts. If you don't like the stretchy kind roadies wear, then you can get regular looking shorts with the pad on the inside. The rest you can fill in as time and money permits.

Welcome to the sport.

 

[Alex Simmons/RST]

If you love it enough, you'll find ways to make the time.

As to how much and how frequently, from a purely fitness improvement perspective and coming from a low base really it's a matter of doing as much as you can and as frequently as you can, as in general, more is better. Obviously there comes a time when that's not the case, but not for a beginner with limited hours / week to ride. 4-5 rides a week will result in better fitness than 2-3 per week. There are fitness benefits to frequency.

But don't go nuts either and try to do a huge amount right away, you need to gradually build up how much and how frequently you can ride.

Else, do whatever keeps it fun and enjoyable for you.

As for the bike, all that matters is that it fits you, and is in good safe working order.

 

[The GCW]

Answer:

Ride for at least 30 minutes a day. If you’r too busy to do that, you better ride for an hour.

 

[A_Andy]

Thank you for the fast replies. As for the winter season-what do you do to keep fit. Here it can become pretty snowy, icy and cold. I know the excuses part but I actually do want to cycle as much as I can, the bad part is that I fell in love with it just during the fall, haha.

 

[Jspear]

Thank you for the fast replies. As for the winter season-what do you do to keep fit. Here it can become pretty snowy, icy and cold. I know the excuses part but I actually do want to cycle as much as I can, the bad part is that I fell in love with it just during the fall, haha.

Get the proper tires and clothing and continue to ride. Some people switch to cyclocross in the winter - others ride more at home on a trainer. I just continue to ride as often as I can and I lift weights through the winter.

 

[parisroubaix18]

Hey Andy,

Check this out for some inspiration and maybe some useful help further down the line!

http://vimeo.com/108120315

 

[veslar]

Ride for at least 30 minutes a day. If you’r too busy to do that, you better ride for an hour.

Yeah, 30 mins 3 times per week would be a minimum. If then You have more time, just add minutes or/and increase the number of training days per week.

 

[Bluenote]

Thank you for the fast replies. As for the winter season-what do you do to keep fit. Here it can become pretty snowy, icy and cold. I know the excuses part but I actually do want to cycle as much as I can, the bad part is that I fell in love with it just during the fall, haha.

Ride on a trainer, or ride off road. Be careful about riding on ice, it can lead to bad crashes.

If you can't ride, do snow sports like x-c skiing or snowshoeing. At least that will keep your cardio level up and give you a little muscle tone.

If you can't do outdoor sports, try and work out indoors. Mix up cardio, weights and stretching.

I have a "weird" fall / winter work out. I go out and work in my garden - hoeing, raking, shoveling. When the ground freezes solid, I go to the garden and work the snow. I do this so when it is planting time in the spring, I'm not totally out of shape. No amount of lifting weights in the gym really conditions you for hours of working soil.

The point to my story is - nothing is quite like riding outdoors. If you can't ride outdoors, or you can't ride at all - that is OK. But just be realistic when you go on that first spring ride, don't ride a zillion miles and blow yourself out.

I'm glad you love to ride, that is all that really matters.

 

[JayKosta]

If you are not inclined to get an indoor bike trainer, you can get very good cardio/full-body exercise on a NordicTrack SKI machine. Check your local craigslist for used ones - they are available very cheap (sometimes free) around here.
You'll also need a big fan for cooling....

Jay Kosta
Endwell NY USA