The author asks the question - is high level athletic training on a bicycle risky or damaging to one's health as we move from our 20s and 30s, into our 40s and on to our 60s? Phil Cavell draws a balance between referencing research directly and building on it with his own opinion and that of practising cardiologists. An amazing accomplishment... a simple-to-understand précis of your midlife as a cyclist - you won't want to put it down. ― Phil Liggett, TV cycling commentator

It’s an interesting read by an author who really, really likes the word “ameliorate” and who might have spent a bit more time off his bike proof-reading the text – there are a few too many sloppy errors throughout.Remember, Dr Baker is going out of his way to point out that if you feel good, you should not increase the intensity, meaning no more watts or a higher heart rate, but instead add in a rep or two. Going too deep or too hard will increase the required recovery time and may lead to fatigue. If you assume your real (not inflated) FTP is 250, then your hard sessions using the Dr Baker algorithm will be 250 x 105-110% x 4-6 (8-10 minute) reps. This means that you'll be working at between 262 and 275 watts during those 8-10 minute reps. This isn’t going bonkers and sending your systems haywire — it’s a controlled elevation of training stimulus. If some exercise is good for you is a lot better or worse? The popular press is happy to run stories about the hazards of exercise, or age-group marathoners dropping dead at events, recounting the tale of runner Jim Fixx, who got America running yet died at only 52 (while running). “The Midlife Cyclist” quotes from studies of hard-core athletes and it seems that male elite athletes have a higher incidence of heart issues than non-exercisers and, interestingly, elite women. While the jury is out on what all of this means, Cavell’s experts (including doctors who are themselves immoderate exercisers) offer some speculative views. Many amateurs perpetually train and ride in what Dr Baker calls a ‘whirlwind of doom’ where an overestimation and obsession with an FTP (functional threshold power – the highest average power output you can sustain for an hour) means that we tend to set our training levels too high and, as a consequence, are training the wrong systems and incrementally embedding fatigue that we then struggle to shake off if we're older, because our hormonal responses are less responsive and dynamic — is this ringing any bells? I think the answer is counterintuitive. The better cyclist you want to be past 50, the more you probably have to drop cycling sessions out and put something else in to compensate. So you probably need to drop a cycling session now and put in a gym session, or a running session, or some other sport to work on bone density and muscle fibre loss. So it's a counterintuitive thing. The more you cycle and the more you seek cycling performance, the more you probably need to cast your net a bit wider in terms of activity base. Renowned cycling biomechanics pioneer, Phil Cavell, explores the growing trend of middle-aged and older cyclists seeking to achieve high-level performance.

Is there a difference between those who've exercised their whole life and those who come to retirement to take up cycling? Are there different challenges and different problems? For me, there was a lot of good news in the book. I’m not just a cyclist. I do resistance training. I run regularly. And I couldn’t help but feel this didn’t need to be a book just for cyclists. Yes, there was a lot of bike-related content, but there is a running book here too, and a book for anyone who is trying to maximize their remaining time above ground. Are you middle-aged? Are you slower than you used to be, more tired? Read this book. It will help you. The Midlife Cyclist is my attempt to square the holy triumvate of age, speed and good-health, using the very latest clinical and academic research. An amazing accomplishment... a simple-to-understand précis of your midlife as a cyclist – you won't want to put it down.' – Phil Liggett, TV cycling commentatorBut just because we can, does that mean we necessarily should? Using contributions from cardiologists, pro-team physicians, coaches and nutritionists, this book evaluates the newest research, and where that research is missing, adds informed opinion, to formulate the gold-standard paradigm for the midlife cyclist, who wants to ride fast but also live long and stay healthy. Phil is eminently qualified to write The Midlife Cyclist. Well, he is certainly old enough.' – Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion

If there was one piece of advice you would give someone who wants to advance their cycling past the age of 40 or 50, what would it be? Mental health gets some useful coverage which fits in really well with the press coverage this important issue is getting. Good mental health is one of the reasons I’ve always ridden, in fact if I haven’t ridden for a few days my other half bundles me out of the door and tells me to do a couple of hours on the bike so that I’m more bearable to live with. It’s interesting what he says about indoor cycling, in that while it’s convenient and effective, it doesn’t have the same mental health benefits as riding outdoors, so we should all try to ride outdoors as often as possible. There's a slightly philosophical almost New-Age final chapter about 'mindfulness' which also didn't quite work for me. As an example, the revelation that serious amateurs (like me) typically do more high-intensity workouts than the pros is a brain breaker. And that whole ethos around working hard, all the time, no matter what, just sort of crumbles under the simple evidence that it doesn’t work, that what it produces is deeply embedded fatigue, injury, and demotivation. Every time you go above this level, you’re having to use enzymes to break down the excess lactate. Dr Baker's coach’s eye view: ‘If you feel good on an endurance ride, go longer, not harder. Going harder is risky. Going longer is safe. It’s the same with intervals — if you feel good, do an extra rep or two, but don’t increase the power.’I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. As a mid life cyclist myself, it is a subject of interest, but it is delivered in a readable and enjoyable manner by an author who exudes a love of cycling and does so with good humour. Both coach Fox and Dr Baker agree that the majority of riding should be steady-state to increase our oxidative capacity — as much as 80-90 per cent of our training load. We have to learn to be efficient before we can learn to be fast. But even as midlife cyclists we can gain a huge amount of benefit from the correct dose of intense interval training.

The race was 50 miles – 50 one-mile laps. Fifty times up Oxo Hill, 50 times around Claries Hairpin – leaning over so far that it felt like your knee would brush the tarmac (I still have the scars from the times that became a reality) – and 50 times up the false flat, eastwards into a headwind, past the start–finish line, clubhouse and spectators. Phil is eminently qualified to write the Midlife Cyclist. Well, he is certainly old enough ― Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion Phil is eminently qualified to write The Midlife Cyclist . Well, he is certainly old enough.' Fabian Cancellara, Tour de France rider and two-time Olympic champion First, the bad news. As we grow older, in addition to our declining senses (eyes, ears) we must also contend with reducing muscle fibre, hormones and bone density. Not everything goes down: our blood pressure, cholesterol levels and body weight, for example, move right on up. But our heartbeat max takes a drop and, as if all this wasn’t bad enough, our very cells just don’t work as well as they used to. Atrophy.Controversially, I’m going to suggest a few midlife amendments to current training orthodoxy. The first is that we drop all the other strata of training, other than low intensity (LIT) and high intensity (HIT) training. We'll define LIT as anything below aerobic threshold, which coach Fox recommends could be as high as 70-80 per cent of maximum heart rate, but thinks is actually better executed at around 60-70 per cent of maximum. Dr Baker agrees with this and adds the context that ‘it's almost impossible to go too low’ for LIT or oxidative training, meaning that the most important principle to observe is that you must actually be oxidative, which you won't be if you go too high.