What is middle age without a traditional midlife crisis? Thankfully, a professional sports coach is just waiting to batter you into shape. If nothing else, the training will leave you in better physical and emotional shape to deal with your grey hairs.
IT’S NOT EASY BEING FIT. Once you get there, you have to (or should at least want to) stay there. But first you have to get there.
And sometimes, that can be the biggest hurdle. For men and women of a certain age – say, those who have been out of varsity for more than 15 years, or sitting (or standing, or bouncing on giant gym balls or whatever the trend is these days) behind a desk for 15 years, essentially anyone in those mid-30s doldrums – there’s a longing to be lean, lithe riding machines.
Doing something about it is a different story, though.
Time is the eternal deterrent. Time and a lack of focus. Or perhaps time, a lack of focus, and a smidgen of apathy towards raising one’s training intensity. It’s really a combination of factors that even the best-intentioned struggle with.
For me, lack of focus and a lot of apathy about training outside of my comfort zone were the snack-munching monkeys on my back. Then one day I looked in the mirror (and, I should admit, at the scale as well), and decided I wanted to get fit fast – ever hopeful that renewed training vigour would chase away the bag-eyed man before me.
Also, I suppose, with that time-honoured magical number of 40 fast approaching, I wanted to stare the demon down in the best shape possible.
IS THERE A FAST TRACK TO FITNESS?
I’ve dabbled with near-impressive fitness – a solid four-year period in my late 20s and early 30s of almost-but-not-quite sub-90 half marathons being my personal Olympian moment – but somehow, I’ve always managed to fall back into slovenly suburban bliss.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2018-Ausgabe von Bicycling South Africa.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der March 2018-Ausgabe von Bicycling South Africa.
Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.
Bereits Abonnent? Anmelden
GEAR FOR THE AGES
Some bicycle components, tools and accessories - by design, luck or a bit of both - become icons of performance, reliability and permanence in cycling.
A RACE LIKE NO OTHER
IN KENYA'S MAASAI MARA, KNOWN MORE FOR SAFARIS THAN CYCLING, THE MIGRATION GRAVEL RACE CHALLENGES RIDERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD THE WORLD WHILE FORGING A FUTURE FOR BIKE RACING IN AFRICA.
WAR ON WHEELS
IF YOU GO FOR A RIDE IN CAPE TOWN AT THE WRONG TIME, YOU COULD FIND YOURSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF A CYCLING GANG WAR, WHERE THE WEAPONS OF CHOICE ARE STRAVA RECORDS AND SALTY COMMENTS ON INSTAGRAM. THIS IS THE TALE OF THREE RIVAL ROADIE CREWS AND A REMINDER THAT CYCLING IS A SPORT BEST TAKEN WITH A SENSE OF HUMOUR.
GET TOUR DE FRANCE FAST IN FOUR WEEKS
HAVE YOU GOT TOUR FEVER? If you have a good fitness base, let the pros inspire you to take your riding to the next level.
THE SECRET TO MAKING A COMEBACK? JUST START
\"THIS IS WHAT DECONDITIONING LOOKS LIKE,\" I said out loud to no one, as I looked at the heart-rate reading on my phone and gasped for breath. \"This shouldn't be so hard.\"
DEAR MARK CAVENDISH
WHEN I FIRST STARTED FOLLOWING professional road cycling around 2014, you were at the top of your game.
HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR POWER-TOWEIGHT RATIO
POWER-TO-WEIGHT RATIO IS one of the most telling metrics in cycling - and thanks to indoor trainers, many more cyclists are now familiar with it. Right now it's never been easier to calculate your power-to-weight ratio and use it to improve your performance.
EASY RIDER
A FEW YEARS AGO, my wife and I along with her parents, brother and his wife-cycled down the Danube River in Europe.
LEADING THE WAY - RYAN GIBBONS, 29, SA PRO RIDER, MULTIPLE SA & AFRICAN ROAD CHAMP
AFTER JOINING LIDLTREK from UAE Team Emirates, South African national champ Ryan Gibbons aims to be the best lead-out man he can be - while also helping his new team in their quest to climb the World Tour rankings.
6 WAYS TO BEAT THE HEAT THIS SUMMER
TOP TIPS TO KEEP YOU COOLER AND RIDING STRONGER... NO MATTER WHAT THE TEMPERATURE.