Firstly, welcome to Sufferlandria as a nation we come in all shapes and sizes and with our own goals so really hope you get out of it what you’re looking for!
As for the numbers, they are indeed targets as opposed to high/low limits. That being said, it’s not essential to be bang on, but ideally with +/-5rpm is usually about right. Where it can be a little less obvious is that some target in general are more important than others. For me, anything with a value in the 85-95rpm range I think of as “do at my normal cadence” and use them more relatively than absolutely i.e. if it goes from 85 to 90, I take that as a small increase from what I was doing. But especially once it goes below 80 or above 100 I try to stick a bit more rigidly to what the target is saying as at the lower and higher ends of the range there’s usually a more specific benefit to the specified cadence.
The sufferfest website has a load of articles about training and the various aspects which will add to what the wise have already said above.
I’ve linked to the one which has some advice on what the focus of different workouts is as a starter, but there’s so much more information there to browse…
Regarding the Full Frontal test (or Half Monty - which might be a “kinder” start to base your Suffering on). Don’t be intimidated by tales of how freaking hard it is, buckets required etc. Just read the info first, do your best and take the results (however"off" they might be) as a good starting point - one you can improve on as time goes on! Good luck. I joined end of 2020 and have enjoyed trying out various videos and the yoga, retested and found I’d improved!
I don’t really have anything to add other than to say good luck and enjoy Sufferfest.
I would agree that it’s easier and less intimidating to start with Half Monty rather than Full Frontal. When I started I used the guesstimate numbers from the on-boarding video then did “Getting Away With It” because I fancied giving it a try, after that I did Half Monty and haven’t looked back since.
It wasn’t particularly my intention to lose weight but I have lost over 5Kg since starting so it’s certainly possible!
In the past I was about 30kg heavier than now, still about 15 away from goal, but that is a whole other story, this to say I can relate.
Main focus needs to be about nutrition.
Exercise makes you feel good, and helps motivation and health in general, but regarding weight there is no way to outtrain a bad diet.
Regarding the Sufferfest it is to me a brilliant exercise program, I highly recommend the strength and yoga programs. (strength also helps a lot with metabolism and weight).
Regarding on bike exercise, not sure how heavy you are, but from experience that can create some issues, chaffing, foot issues, some adjustments to “normal” bike fit on contact points needed. So don’t need to go overboard with suffering just yet.
Testing is a good thing as mentioned, to know your zones, how hard you should push, and also to track improvement. Best gains come when it is not too hard, no point in doing more than you can recover from.
You will probably see big improvements and fast, so that is also motivating !
I’d like to pop in to encourage you to not worry so much about the “fat” part. I have a buddy who’s fat. His wife is fat. His kids are fat. Simply put, they’re genetically optimized for cold-weather living. He’s a Boston qualifier, she’s a long-haul hiker, and the kids are demons on the hockey rink. As a family, they’re fitter than 95% of the families I know.
I encourage you to focus on getting fit. Maybe you’ll get thin, maybe you won’t: a big part of that is genetic. Either way, you’ll feel better, look better, and Suffer better for the work you log today.
Think I already taking a big step towards my goal from your encouragement.
Hope I can post some good news in the new future.
Thank you
(Sorry to bother you with another question. I am using currently using the Wahoo Kickr Core. just wanna ask which level should I set for the 4DP test. Thank you)
Hi everybody!
AT the Moment im looking for a New training app!
I read all the faq, what i didnt find: if you are choosing your training plan, you will see the Nummer of hours, but does that mean included the strength workouts or is it only the riding time?
It shows the total number of hours for the week plus a break down for each activity. Here is week 1 of the 12 week XC mountain bike plan including strength and yoga:
Hope you are progressing well … not sure whether you’ve done your 4DP test yet but if you have I hope it went well. You’ve been given a lot of great advice about level settings (Sir Paulo is spot on, the bike configuration makes a really big difference … I use level 2 for one bike and 3 for the other). I do my 4DP test every other month (in level mode) and then primarily use ERG (or Urgh!) mode in between … as my Kickr copes well with quick changes in power. I do have power smoothing turned on in the app settings as that stops the numbers jumping around all over the place and avoids you “chasing” the right number in vain. As for your fitness and weight loss targets… well 3 years ago I was in the same boat … I won’t repeat my story but at 68KG I am quite literally half the man I was. As others have said, you can’t out train a bad diet so nutrition is key … using an app to track that really helps, and also avoid making rapid changes. I match my nutrition to my training load … which sounds like common sense but it wasnt to start with as I didn’t really know what I needed. A good set of scales that tracks the important metrics is also a good idea (body fat, visceral fat, water %, bone and muscle mass etc.) That way you can measure progress properly rather than focusing on simple kilos … hope this is useful and good luck.