[jayssmtbde]

hi,
i used to ride/jog alot (vast understatement), and i stopped for a few ears; i was wondering how long does it take for your fitness to taper back to a baseline

 

[jroden]

I'd say you are there now, but it's a moving target as you may get older, gain or lose weight, do other activities, so there really isn't much of a baseline. You might be in decent physical shape, but just not so hot as a rider / jogger, as specific types of fitness is required for each.

I'm assuming you stopped for a few "years" if your ears have been lost in the meantime that would be an issue with your helmet straps.

 

[kevbikemad]

if you have been out of it for a couple of years, and not doing too much, you will obviously have very little fitness. but if you have been fit in the past, I think it will come back to at least a modest level fairly quickly, faster than if you were never fit in the past (mucle memory).

lots of guys talk about a fairly substantial fitness lose in just 2 weeks of inactivity and I think I recall reading about a pretty much total loss of higher level fitness in about 6 - 8 weeks.

so consider yourself fully "tapered".

good luck.

 

[Green_Canoe]

After the birth of my first child, I took eight years off until 2006. I went from about 3k miles a year to about 50. I'm still not able to find the time to ride like I used to, but I do get one or two rides a week in for about 400 miles a season.

I found the first year was the most difficult. I was starting from nothing aerobically speaking. It took me about 6 weeks before I could even have fun on my bike like I used to. (Gotta go fast for more then 200 yards to have fun. )

The second year I could tell I had an improved starting point after the winter layoff. I was only slightly faster over my 14 mile course I use as my fitness gauge by the end of the summer. (Speed on test course = 14 mph)

This year I'm only part way into the summer and am already 1 mph faster over the course I gauge my fitness with. The big difference this summer is I've been riding my SS bike almost exclusively on a tight short course with lots of acceleration required. I think the added work of the SS has forced me into better fitness. (Current speed on test course = 15 mph)

For comparison on similar, though slighly less hilly, course when I was 19 I'd average around 17-18 mph. As much as I'd like to, I doubt I'll ever reach that level of fitness again. I just don't have enough time to train and I'm almost 20 years older.

 

[bikerbert]

I've got a friend who is a PhD'd Exercise Physiologist who specializes in what you're asking. She has worked with guys from the Tour, Olympic athletes, NFL teams and the Stanford Athletic Dept.

I'd be more than happy to put you in touch with her if you are interested in getting some science based information on you question.