is it possible to increase fitness significantly in 6 weeks?

[porolli]

..title says it all really. Any tips? I've signed up for a scarily long charity bike ride in 6 weeks' time. I've been doing various bits of exercise and I walk a lot but I'm nowhere near fit enough to do this. I'm seriously considering whether I need to pull out (which I don't really want to do), or decide what steps I can take to increase fitness as quickly as possible.

absolutely - i regularly see people go from run1min/walk1min x 15 up to continuously running 30mins in a six week programme.

but the key to fitness is specificity - you get good at what you train for.

so you need to ride your bike.. as much as possible, every day if you can.. even just 20/30mins at a time will make a difference if you do it often enough.

I'm in a similar boat. About a month ago convinced workmate we should do a 10k in September, promptly forgot about it, turned out she has booked a place so I need to as well. I reckon I should be fit enough to finish it provided I go running 2-3 times a week between then and now.

If I were you I would go cycling. It is a very specific type of fitness so best to focus on the sport you need to be doing.

Yes!! It's a bit different but when I first started running, I couldn't jog for more than 1 minute at a time. So I started doing jog 1 min, walk 1 min, jog 1 min, walk 1 min etc for 20 mins 3 times a week. After a few weeks I could easily jog for half an hour at a time. So yes definitely you can get much fitter in 6 weeks.

I know cycling's a bit different but am sure if you get out on your bike 3 or 4 times a week, starting with small amounts and upping the distance each week, maybe throwing in 1 long ride each weekend which gets a bit longer each time, you will definitely be in a better position in 6 weeks' time!

Good luck and let us know how you get on!

Porolli - how long is the bike ride?

yes definitely! If I were you I'd do some cardiovascular 3 times per week, like running or aerobics etc and I'd bike ride twice a week in between, to build up the correct muscles and get your stamina up. Easily doable in 6 weeks, but not realistic in less that 6 weeks so the sooner you start the better chance you'll have.

thanks for your replies...
vino - it's 50 miles. yikes.
i've been doing exercise, so it's not a standing start. i'm encouraged by the replies from positive people who say it's possible to get fitter and i'm going to really try. running yesterday, spinning class today. did one 18 mile ride this week (but thought i was going to collapse and that's what has prompted the fear of not being able to do it!)
i'm genuinely encouraged by your answers, so thanks and I'll give it a shot. with 2 weeks to go if i still feel like collapsing, I may have to rethink!