Loss Of Motivation

bikermartin

I am at a loss of motivation at the momement for doing any cycling. Ive no real intrest :eek: I would be doing small enough km compared to some, but its only for health/recreation I am cycling at all. I would do 2 by 40-45 km during the week and a 40 - 80 km on a saturday. theese are done alone. They are also done early in the morning 5.30 to 6 am set out time. I also walk 7.5 km on the alternate days between cycles. I only started cycling again in autumn 2009 after a 10 yr no exercise zone. Oh and i have a resurgance in 1998/1999 for a while like us all after the TDF was here :D .

I suppose the only thing thats stopping me from giving up altogether is the

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bikes/mavic wheels/garmin, cycling gear etc,etc,etc that ive spent so much money on being thrown in the shed or worse being sold at a fraction of the cost of what ive paid for them.


I would imagine loads of people go through the same, maybe because they also get board of it


Whats your opinions ?

quozl

If you don't enjoy it then there's no point doing it, IMO.

Maybe you just need a change though - would you consider joining a cycling club? They typically accept new members around the end of september/start of october and some group cycling might be just what you need.

bikermartin

quozl wrote: »

If you don't enjoy it then there's no point doing it, IMO.

Maybe you just need a change though - would you consider joining a cycling club? They typically accept new members around the end of september/start of october and some group cycling might be just what you need.

I wouldent say I dont enjoy it, its that when youre routine is broken its hard to get going again. Its like kids going to school after the summer holidays:eek:

I have only been on the bike once in the last 10 days so i need to go out again friday and saturday. It is still dry and warm so at least theres one bright side to it.:rolleyes:

petethedrummer

bikermartin wrote: »

I would do 2 by 40-45 km during the week and a 40 - 80 km on a saturday. theese are done alone. They are also done early in the morning 5.30 to 6 am set out time. I also walk 7.5 km on the alternate days between cycles. I only started cycling again in autumn 2009 after a 10 yr no exercise zone.

Take a week off all exercise. It sounds like you are physically and as a result mentally worn out. The urge to exercise should come back once you are rested. You won't lose any fitness over the course of a week. You may even gain some by allowing your body to recover.

petethedrummer

How about now? Are you motivated?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Vg4uyYwEk

victorcarrera

Take a break and then try a change of scenery, maybe on a hybrid bike on rural back roads that you have not seen before. If you have transport you could drive to many of the classic routes that are outside of your cycling distance.

bikermartin

I think the idea of being burnt out is a valid point. Having a good night sleep is also a requirement....... must get some sooon :eek::eek:

I will get back to it this weekend but will cut it too 50 k max. The best time that suits me is early morning but its out of the way then , and you do feel so much better when youre home and washed and fed :D.

ford2600

Borrow/rent a mountain bike and hint a trail centre/local woods, great fun and a change of scenery.

Oldlegs

Where are you cycling ? Loads of busy, flat roads ?

6am works for some, but jaysus that would kill my motivation :eek:

Try to get out a little later in the morning for one of your longer weekend spins, if possible and take in some "nice" hills. Nothing like the pain of the climb followed by the excitement at reaching the top to get you thinking of how to improve for the next time.

Coffee and carrot cake breaks also do wonders for the recreational spin :P

petethedrummer

bikermartin wrote: »

. Having a good night sleep is also a requirement....... must get some sooon :eek::eek:

if you are trying to get fit you have to balance exercise and recovery.

When you first start a sport you get gradually better the more you do. This is mainly your muscles adapting to the exercise and to some degree an increase in fitness, but mainly adaptation IMO. (This is why a fit person from one sport can take up another sport and get destroyed by someone less fit who practises the sport often, they are not adapted.)

When you become adapted, you then hit a plateau in your new sport. You then assume you must do more and more because more and more got you to this plateau. But this is counter productive as your body never gets any time to build back up after you have stressed with exercise. You then get fed up.

What you need to do is fewer, harder sessions with more recovery and sleep IMO.

bikermartin

The route I take is flatish, a few short sharp climbs ( to me they are anyway :eek:) I have a a few different loops i use in my area and i combine them together to make different distances and according to how tired ive become i can make a shorter or longer spin quite easily. Im within distance of mt leinster, i 15 k from Bunclody, but thats one for a triple and for 2014 at this stage.

Ive 2 road bikes so sort of limited that way. I had a hybrid back in 2009 but only kept it 2 months till i moved back to the road bike.

I orginally had hoped for better weight loss but that has been very small to date. And that would be a whole new thread of diet vs effort.


And would really need to the the average speed up another 5km/h and this stage.

petethedrummer

bikermartin wrote: »

I orginally had hoped for better weight loss but that has been very small to date. And that would be a whole new thread of diet vs effort.

If you try to maintain a calorie deficit this type of exhaustion can happen. I don't believe in calories in V calories out for this very reason. It's a load of old nonsense but the fitness experts will be along to tell you otherwise. And probably tell you that you're just not trying hard enough. Bad person.

You'll also be recommended to write down what you eat every day and how many calories you burned and map it to a spreadsheet or a calorie tracking website. Which is mental behaviour IMO.

studiorat

I know the feeling. Always been a problem for me as well. I generally find I need to have targets to work towards, otherwise I get an off day and don't bother, leading to another and then another.

If there's some sort of an event to work towards the fear of being dropped or left stranded on the side of some climb usually is enough to kick start the motivation again.

Also, I generally ride little and often rather than the 5 hour epics. Even 45 minutes to an hour keeps the guilt at bay for me...

smacl

Very much the same as Studiorat, though the challenges tend to be a bit more random, e.g. was going to a party near Mt Leinster a couple of weeks ago so decided to cycle down. I find sometimes the sheer stupidity of an effort can be reinvigorating, something like cycling through the pissings of rain and/or gale, finding the steepest local slope and climbing it twice etc... Taking on something a bit difficult makes the ordinarily difficult seem much easier, and the sense of achievement is a good motivator. Succeeding in doing something a bit out of your comfort zone feels great, trying and not really managing also feels a damn sight better than not having bothered.

FWIW, I do get demotivated all the time, and the only reliable solution for me is to just get off my fat ass and go for it. Looks nice for the weekend, Mt Leinster / 9 stones from Bunclody isn't so bad as it seems, and is very satisfying.

bikermartin

smacl wrote: »

Very much the same as Studiorat, though the challenges tend to be a bit more random, e.g. was going to a party near Mt Leinster a couple of weeks ago so decided to cycle down. I find sometimes the sheer stupidity of an effort can be reinvigorating, something like cycling through the pissings of rain and/or gale, finding the steepest local slope and climbing it twice etc... Taking on something a bit difficult makes the ordinarily difficult seem much easier, and the sense of achievement is a good motivator. Succeeding in doing something a bit out of your comfort zone feels great, trying and not really managing also feels a damn sight better than not having bothered.

FWIW, I do get demotivated all the time, and the only reliable solution for me is to just get off my fat ass and go for it. Looks nice for the weekend, Mt Leinster / 9 stones from Bunclody isn't so bad as it seems, and is very satisfying.

will be heading for a spin in morning..........steering clear of any big hills for sure. I suppose after next week of something each day i hope i will be back on track. maybe something new cycling releated would give me a boost

G rock

martin,

in the same boat as yourself-all throughout the year i've been on the road circa 6am, and have done about 90% of my cycling solo.
jan and feb in the dark, wet and cold i covered twice the distance i've done during this balmy august! i haven't sat on the bike in three weeks; i lost the motivation once i realised that i wouldn't be able to ride an event that i had been training up to.

i've been through this before though-i know that i just need a break (i have discovered this thread!-http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055885898)

already starting to get the itch to get back on the road.

take your time to relax, you'll enjoy it all the more when you get back out there.

RossieMan

in the same place, cycling by myself whenever i go out.

it's pretty boring by yourself, and even the strava effect has gone off me, it used to be a great motivator for me anyway.
i do plan on getting out tomorrow, not broke 100km yet so that's certainly a target.

It'd be nice to find some cyclists of similar ability, just to push me along.

passing out others is always fun, then kicking them over.

bikermartin

was out this morning at 5.45 am .......was very foggy but feel better now because of of going got home just at 8 am. will go 2 times again thist week so hoping all will be back to usual.......:D:D

VanhireBoys

Can I make 2 small suggestion lads ...?

I know its been mentioned already but join your local club. There are cyclists of all abilities and these are usually grouped together. There is one rule in our club - you are only as fast as the slowest man !

Do the odd long distance charity/sportive type event. These are a great buzz and also sommit to aim for. Again its a way of meeting like minded folk and having a good day out !