EVERY January the majority of us make a New Year’s Resolution to get fit, lose weight and be healthier.

Let’s face it, by mid-January most of these New Year’s Resolutions have been broken and it is easy to see why.

January, I find, is a depressing month as we feel a little overweight and partied out after over-indulging during the Christmas and New Year period.

We are trying to diet, do dry January and eat healthier all at once. Just doing one of these is hard enough without putting ourselves under enormous pressure to do them all.

FUEL STOP: Of coffee and drinks to carry on cycling

A considerable number of us will join a gym in the vain hope that this will give us the inspiration to go, which it does….for about 6 weeks then we just notice the money going out of our accounts each month and our visits to the gym are few and far between.

A much wiser investment into your general well being and fitness would be to buy a bike! It’s a ‘one-off’ cost and will be available for you to use throughout this year and the next year and the next year, whenever you want, as often or infrequent as you want and for however long you want!

Since January 1, I have ridden 1000 kilometres guiding our winter training camps based in Montecorto. This has taken me 40 hours and in that time I have burned approximately 32,000 calories.

When riding at a steady pace, by which I mean a pace at which you can still hold a conversation, you’ll use 600-1000 calories per hour.

For every hour that you ride and burn 600-1000 calories, you need to eat/consume 300-500 calories to sustain this effort for longer than 2 hours.

Most people can ride for 2 hours without having to refuel (to eat) before they will use up all their energy reserves for the day, so if you plan on doing more than 2 hours you’ll need to take some snacks with you. Banana’s, cereal bars, dried fruit will keep you going. Do also remember to drink whilst exercising/riding your bike.

CASTLE WALL: Just one of many architectural delights while cycling

Every hour you should drink 800ml of water/energy drinks like Aquarius or any other brand. Another one of my ‘top tips’ would be to prepare something to eat for when you get home.

When I am training I’ll have ready in the fridge (to eat as soon as I walk in the door) a bowl of pasta with chicken, tuna, boiled eggs and bacon mixed in.

After exercise there is, what is called, ‘A Golden Hour’ to eat as this is when your body will absorb all the goodness, protein and nutrients from the food the quickest and easiest.

It’s all too easy to get home and fill up on Junk calories, biscuits/chocolate/crisps and undo all the good work you have just done. Your body/muscles will be craving Protein to recover from your exercise session.

Do remember not to over-reward yourself for your exercise session. If you only ride for 30 minutes do not reward yourself with a massive snack/meal as you’ll probably end up eating more calories that you have used.

ELITE CYCLING: All starts from an adventure in Spain

To lose 1lb in weight you need to have a 3500 calorie deficit. Daily calorie intake for a man is recommended to be 2500 Calories and 2000 calories for the ladies.

So, lets do the maths, if you eat at your recommended daily intake and then ride your bike for just 1 hour per day you will burn off 4200-7000 calories in a week and lose 1-2lb in weight…..without having to diet!!

At the Andalucian Cycling Experience, we run road cycling/training camp weeks throughout the year. These are based in Montecorto in one of our townhouses or villas with pools.

These weeks run from Saturday to Saturday with three different guided group rides per day to accommodate different fitness levels.

You can also join us for a day and either bring your own bike or hire one of our top quality Orbea Avant or Orbea Orca road bikes.

During the rides we will stop for refreshments and the guides will be more than happy to discuss training techniques, nutrition, bike maintenance……well pretty much anything bike related.

Montecorto is located 20km from Ronda on the edge of the Serrania de Ronda and Sierra de Grazalema making it a great location to get out and ride/explore the mountains and surrounding countryside and Pueblos Blancos (White Villages).

PANORAMIC VIEWS: Once you get to the top of the road

The road surfaces are superb and the traffic minimal mix that with over 325 days of sunshine each year and your be hard pushed to find a better place to ride! I know I am a touch biased but do come a give it a go and find out for yourself.

We have clients of all standards from novice to Cat 1/Elite cyclists to budding Ironman triathletes and your everyday weekend warrior./sportive rider. No matter what your level we can organise routes to suit your ability.

Sean Yates, ex Sports Director at Team Tinkoff-Saxo and ex Sports Director of Team Sky, brought the Catford CC Equipe Banks team overtraining with us, he said ‘Ashley and Claire have a great set up in Montecorto and the terrain is suited to riders of all levels from beginners to Pro riders.

We have had a great week training in Montecorto and the boys are now ready for the season ahead’ Catford CC compete in the British Cycling Elite National Team League.