Fitness-Train

Looking forward to Tuesday's coaching session at Forge Valley Cycle Circuit! This week we'll be doing some endurance work by completing a couple of time trials as individuals and in pairs. It would be great if you could let me know if you're coming - there are still places available, so new participants are welcome too! Sessions start at 8pm for an hour.

Looking forward to tonight's coaching session at Forge Valley Cycle Circuit! We'll be doing some interval training and working on bike handling with another game based on collecting objects from the track side. If you're already signed up, see you there. If you want to join us, let me know as there are places available.

If you're looking for a bike ride on Sunday, the Wheel Do It! group has three to choose from. They all start from Loxley Road - there's an easy ride around Damflask Reservoir, a 35 mile ride out to Castleton and back and I'm doing a 57 mile ride out to Youlgreave and back. So take your pick and get signed up!

Wheel Do It! This mixed group is the one to join if you are looking to gradually increase the distances you can ride and the hills you can climb. The plan is to cr...

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It's National Mental Health Awareness Week so I thought it might be good to re-visit this blog post I wrote a while back. It looks at the evidence showing how beneficial physical exercise can be for our mental wellbeing.

Does physical activity have psychological benefits? If you take part in regular exercise or sport, your immediate answer to this question will probably be a resounding “yes”. But what sort of benefits are they? And what scientific evidence is there …

The next Fitness-Train group bike ride will be on Sunday 16 May, leaving at 10am from outside PureGym at Archer Road. It's a lovely 37 mile ride out into the Peaks, with a few challenging climb that are rewarded with stunning views. We ride at whatever pace everyone is comfortable with with regroup at the top of hills so no-one ever gets left behind. Sign up at the link below.

Fitness-Train - Tideswell and Monsal Head ...

If you're looking for a bike ride this Sunday (25th April), I'm taking a Wheel Do It! ride out into the Peaks. There are also several other rides to choose from. Check them out and sign up by following the link.

Wheel Do It! This mixed group is the one to join if you are looking to gradually increase the distances you can ride and the hills you can climb. The plan is to cr...

The first Fitness-Train group bike ride will be on Sunday 2nd May at 10:00, leaving from the Archer Road car park outside PureGym. This is a 40 mile ride out into the Peaks, with some challenging climbs. But whatever your pace, we'll stick together and regroup at the top of hills, so no-one will get left behind. To book on, click on the link below (you may need to create a profile on British Cycling's Let's Ride system first - message me if you have any problems).

This is a free-of-charge social ride and does not involve any coaching or instruction. The ride is conducted under the terms and conditions set out for social rides on the Let's Ride website.
www.letsride.co.uk/rides/fitness-train-hope-eyam-and-curbar-edge

One of the questions that came up from those of you booked onto the Forge Valley coaching sessions, was how to pace long rides.
It is possible, with practice, to pace rides according to how you feel. One way to do this is to use the Borg scale, which rates perceived exertion on a scale of 1 (sitting on the sofa) to 10 (flat out, only sustainable for a few seconds). Over a long ride, keeping your effort level at around 3 (easy pace, slight feeling of exertion) to 4 (not so easy but still sustainable; able to maintain a conversation) should ensure that you're able to keep going for long periods without wearing yourself out.
However, riding by feel is not very objective and can lead to you either working too hard (and running out of steam) or less hard than you could (and taking longer or being slower than you'd like). More objective methods include using a power meter or a heart rate monitor. While power meters are expensive (although less so than they used to be), heart rate monitors are relatively cheap.
Monitoring your effort level with a heart rate monitor is simple. The first step is to estimate your maximum heart rate, which you can do by multiplying your age by 0.7 and subtracting the result from 207. So if you are 50 years old, your estimated maximum heart rate would be 207 - (0.7 x 50), which comes to 172 bpm. On long rides, riding at a heart rate of around 60 to 70% of maximum should ensure that you can ride comfortably for long periods. Although the calculation used to estimate maximum heart rate is not 100% accurate for everyone, it is a good place to start and with a little experience you can find a heart rate zone that works for you on long rides.
The other advantage of using a heart rate monitor is that it helps you to train more effectively. To gain fitness we need to push ourselves a little outside our comfort zones without overdoing it. One effective way to build fitness and get faster is to include intervals of harder riding within a ride. So, for example, you can ride at a comfortable pace until you're thoroughly warmed up and then spend 10 minutes riding at around 85% of maximum heart rate. The rest of the ride can then be spent at your comfortable pace. Next time you could try including two 10 minute intervals in your ride. Using the heart rate monitor helps ensure that you're riding in the correct zone to get the results you want.
If you're looking for a heart rate monitor, I can recommend the Wahoo Tickr, which I've used for several years. It can pair to bike computers via ANT+ and to phones via bluetooth, so you can keep an eye on your heart rate as you ride. You can take a look at Wahoo's products here:* https://www.wahoofitness.com/?rfsn=5630450.cd73ce
If you're joining me for the Forge Valley coaching sessions, I'd definitely recommend using a heart rate monitor, and I'll include some tips on how to get the most out of it,

*Disclosure, I earn a small commission if you buy from Wahoo via this link.

Indoor Bike Trainers, GPS Bike Computers, Cycling Sensors & Heart Rate Monitors | Wahoo Fitness EU Wahoo Fitness specializes in indoor bike trainers, GPS bike computers, cycling sensors & heart rate monitors designed to optimize your cycling training. Wahoo Fitness is a tech-fitness company that specializes in indoor bike trainers, GPS bike computers, heart rate monitors, apps, and sensors for cy...

Coming soon! Fitness-Train social rides will be starting soon. Starting from outside PureGym at Archer Road,Millhouses, the rides will head out towards or into the Peaks. Keep an eye out for more details to follow!

Fitness-Train Fitness-Train offers personal training and cycle coaching services in Sheffield. This cycling group provides social rides for anyone interested in bu...