Am I overtraining? Fairly new to road cycling).

[Roadracerash1]

Hi guys I've got this dilemma. As i'm relatively new to this way of life (cause its more than a hobby)/img/vbsmilies/smilies/ROTF.gif I'm not a hundred percent sure about a few things. I'm probably not the first to admit this but i take near about every opportunity to go out on my road bike. As i've just left college and i don't start my apprenticeship until two months time I've formed this daily habit of doing one- two hours in the gym (upper body and core work outs) and then roughly 35-40 miles of cycling a day. I've been doing this for two weeks and over the last 48 hours I've noticed a few things. I'm sorry for the next couple of sentances which explain some quite detailed problems but the following has started occuring:

• Im constantly sore everywhere. Especially my gluteus (Saddle soreness).
• I've been noding off at 7pm when i usually fall to sleep at 10 ish.
• My bowel movements have been eractic: as in the frequency and other things are different concerning that area.
• My performance is not improving: still doing my average 13 mph up some moderately steep hills and i cant seem to push myself anymore even though i know i could.
• I've dropped down from 76KG down to 72/73KG in under two weeks even though i'm increasing my protein and Carb intake with sports suppliments.

There are a few other things but i rather not put them down.

Do you think its down to overtraining? I say this as last year when i had my school hols I did something similar but i never had such adverse effects.

Thanks

 

[hrumpole]

2 weeks ain't overtraining. It's fatigue. Try 80% of your current volume for a week, then do another hard 2.

 

[lanierb]

Yeah that's not overtraining. One day off ought to fix things up. If you want to keep riding every day take one or two days a week very easy (so it feels like you are almost soft pedalling).

 

[danfoz]

Originally Posted by Roadracerash1 .

• Im constantly sore everywhere. Especially my gluteus (Saddle soreness).

This is usual, but it's not a saddle sore, one of which I just had removed at the dermatologist and is going to keep me off the bike for the next several days /img/vbsmilies/smilies/eek.gif

• I've been noding off at 7pm when i usually fall to sleep at 10 ish.

You've just added a bunch of riding and are maintaining the same sleeping habits. Try getting another 15-20 mins of shuteye in, and take a day off riding midweek, and you'll be right as rain.

• My bowel movements have been eractic: as in the frequency and other things are different concerning that area.

This happens to me sometimes when I'm in the midst of a hard interval block.

• My performance is not improving: still doing my average 13 mph up some moderately steep hills and i cant seem to push myself anymore even though i know i could.

You've only been riding for the last 2 weeks, keep going and become alarmed if nothing has happened after 2 months

• I've dropped down from 76KG down to 72/73KG in under two weeks even though i'm increasing my protein and Carb intake with sports suppliments.

You energy requirements have increased due to your riding, and apparently not in concert with your caloric uptake

There are a few other things but i rather not put them down.

Do you think its down to overtraining? I say this as last year when i had my school hols I did something similar but i never had such adverse effects.

NOT overtrained, just getting acclimated to training. The day off and volume reduction advice above should help.

 

[maydog]

Listen to your body. You could just be fighting off an infection / illness. Performance is cyclical anyway - don't expect to be able to go at the same intensity ( unless its low) every day. If you feel bad, back off a bit.

This time of year, hydration can be a big challenge. Make sure that your fluid intake, on and off the bike, is sufficient. I like to keep an eye on my weight throught a training week, before and after a workout. I suspect that a large part of your weight loss is water weight.

 

[coolcamaro12]

you are overtraining.every 3 or so days you should take a break. this will allow your body to rest and heal from intense exercising

 

[bgoetz]

Just make sure you are giving yourself enough recovery. If you want to get serious about the sport you may need to ditch the time in the gym to allow for recovery, at least during the season. The more you stick with the sport and the more intense you train the more changes and adaptations you will notice with your body. Also, looking at the speed you can hold up a hill may not be a good indicator, I would look at how long it takes you get from two set points. A couple second change on a short hill is a decent increase in power, but may not be real noticeable when watching your speedo