# Can't go Hard?



## Gervase (Aug 22, 2009)

I am finding lately that I can't seem to go Hard. My Heart rate does not easily get up, & coupled with that is a lack of speed/ power. I do not think for a moment that I am overtrained, i have been there before and have plenty of forced rest's with lot's of rain to keep me indoors, plus my resting HR is good at 44-48 BPM. 
Recently I bonked badly in a 115km race, I can hold good performance in a 160km ride with twice the climbing but I just kept getting slower, and the HR was dropping too, couple and complcated with on coming cramp. Normally i spin the cramp away..it did not work. 
the week before I prepared with a TT and I can hold 35kph (9km time trial) on the flats..but struggled to get near that speed. 
I have been reducing my body weight, and now at 85kg am at 14% Body fat. 
I am wondering if I have depleted my energy systems? Last time i was checked with the overtraining the doc told me it takes weeks for the body to replenish this. 
I would welcome comments, and similar experiences please.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

How fast are you losing weight? Sounds very much like what I experience if trying to lose weight and perform at the same time. It's pretty tricky to lose weight and train/ride productively at the same time, IMO. If you do, you need to do it at a pretty slow rate and time and control what you eat carefully. I find it best to lose most of the weight riding moderately in the off season at a rate of 1-2 lb/week.


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## Gervase (Aug 22, 2009)

looigi said:


> How fast are you losing weight? Sounds very much like what I experience if trying to lose weight and perform at the same time. It's pretty tricky to lose weight and train/ride productively at the same time, IMO. If you do, you need to do it at a pretty slow rate and time and control what you eat carefully. I find it best to lose most of the weight riding moderately in the off season at a rate of 1-2 lb/week.


I doubt I am losing more than .5lb /week. I have been stressed with money probs, & work. I mention this as I can not think of other reasons. In the race I slowed down significantly hr at 20knm to go was 124bpm, at 10km to fin it was av of 114, I just could not go hard? My lactate threshold is near 166. 
My friends say "I have lost fitness". Personally can't beleive this, as sitting on the couch yes maybe, but I have still been riding not as hard as before but still doing 200 km a week.


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## Gervase (Aug 22, 2009)

After now trying to better my times etc on certain segments I am concluding that my legs are not going hard enough or pushing etc, enough to get my Heart rate elevated. I have tried, and i can curse myself, so their is breath, and the HR being low indicates that either i have PERHAPS...either lost leg muscle, or No energy? because I am depleted, or maybe i have a virus? 
i have been eating well lately to ensure it's not being down on energy, (i believe though it can take weeks for the body to recover) and at the moment I appear to be slightly putting weight back on...dam..but at least I can discount the lack of food.


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## Carverbiker (Mar 6, 2013)

I think you are suffering from Over-Training Syndrome, but not from work on the bike. Training puts stress on the body, but so does work/life issues... like work and money problems you mentioned previously. A similar thread to yours is further down, titled "Help me figure out what is wrong". The term over-trained is confusing as it probably best applies to pro athletes because that is all they do. Us mere mortals have real lives and jobs that can add considerable non-training stress to our bodies. The terms over-stressed and perhaps even better under-rested were suggested as better terms for the non-pro athlete as it takes into account all of the daily stresses we encounter ie: relationships, money, job, family etc. 

All of this stress counts and unlike training stress which is switched off after the workout, serious mental stress issues are with you 24/7 until resolved. This translates into never really resting. If you are used to training close to the edge this additional stress will likely push you over the edge. Continued pushing will dig a deep hole which can take weeks to get out of. This sounds to me to be closer to your situation.

Burning the candle at both ends will not help. The only solution is reducing your stress/resting. Do whatever it takes to "chill", if you must ride your bike, think recovery not training.


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## Gervase (Aug 22, 2009)

Carverbiker said:


> I think you are suffering from Over-Training Syndrome, but not from work on the bike. Training puts stress on the body, but so does work/life issues... like work and money problems you mentioned previously. A similar thread to yours is further down, titled "Help me figure out what is wrong". The term over-trained is confusing as it probably best applies to pro athletes because that is all they do. Us mere mortals have real lives and jobs that can add considerable non-training stress to our bodies. The terms over-stressed and perhaps even better under-rested were suggested as better terms for the non-pro athlete as it takes into account all of the daily stresses we encounter ie: relationships, money, job, family etc.
> 
> All of this stress counts and unlike training stress which is switched off after the workout, serious mental stress issues are with you 24/7 until resolved. This translates into never really resting. If you are used to training close to the edge this additional stress will likely push you over the edge. Continued pushing will dig a deep hole which can take weeks to get out of. This sounds to me to be closer to your situation.
> 
> Burning the candle at both ends will not help. The only solution is reducing your stress/resting. Do whatever it takes to "chill", if you must ride your bike, think recovery not training.


I have considered the overtraining as perhaps being the cause. I have been overstrained before & it took many months to return to normal, as a result I religiously monitor my resting heart rate. 
It's normally 4&, when I have trained well of hard it will rise to 52. When it gets to 55 say. Then I back off. When I am well rested it will drop to 44-6
We have had lots of rain over our winter & so forced rests. My resting hr has been low, but I have wondered that while my workload in cycling has been low ish that my work life has stressed my adrenal glands? 
Certainly I have had days at work feeling like I am running out of energy. 
It's just that having been very aware of overtraining & watching for signs plus the lack of volume intensity to precipitate this condition, I am a bit dubious if this is the cause? But then?
I am hoping someone else may have another reason or cause that may explain the inability for my legs to push hard


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## Gervase (Aug 22, 2009)

Gervase said:


> I have considered the overtraining as perhaps being the cause. I have been overstrained before & it took many months to return to normal, as a result I religiously monitor my resting heart rate.
> It's normally 4&, when I have trained well of hard it will rise to 52. When it gets to 55 say. Then I back off. When I am well rested it will drop to 44-6
> We have had lots of rain over our winter & so forced rests. My resting hr has been low, but I have wondered that while my workload in cycling has been low ish that my work life has stressed my adrenal glands?
> Certainly I have had days at work feeling like I am running out of energy.
> ...


Update: I am returning slowly to form, I have been on a segmented scanner which has revealed I have lost .5kg of muscle along with 2kg of body at. I suspect it has been a fueling or lack of problem. However it's got me thinking about the loss of muscle becasue I are not & can't be as strong on the hills or flats. Given that our heart rates rise as a response to the effort of our muscles we know the more you push or turn those pedals ie the more effort it results in a higher heart rate. So if I now have less muscle does this explain the lower Heart rate as a result. 
An interesting comparison a skinny marathoner and a heavily muscled sprinter will both get heart rate up, but if the sprinter runs alongside the marathoner in a jog the sprinter won't keep up with the marathoners pace. Is this because his higher muscle mass raise his hr too high to comfortably keep pace with the marathoner?


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