Average Speed ( What should I do )

Hi guys I just started a exercise course to lose some weight.
My question is, I ride my Mountain bike from one point to another, total
distance covered is around 47 ks.
My average speed is 22.2 .
Is this a brisk speed for this distance, or am I going tooooo slow.

Whats considered a brisk speed ?
Thanks guys.

Ozzii Pete wrote:

Hi guys I just started a exercise course to lose some weight.
My question is, I ride my Mountain bike from one point to another, total
distance covered is around 47 ks.
My average speed is 22.2 .
Is this a brisk speed for this distance, or am I going tooooo slow.

Depends on the terrain. If there's lots of starts and stops, it will kill
your average speed, if it's a clear run, your average will be higher.

Whats considered a brisk speed ?

Depends on what you're comparing against. Someone who takes out their huffy
once every six months, or someone at the other end of the scale?

Don't make it a contest if you don't have to. Go at your own pace, be it
slow or be it fast. Do make it fun, that's the whole idea.

--
Linux Registered User # 302622 http://counter.li.org

It all depends on your fitness level and the terrain you ride over. If you
are new, then 22kph sounds respectable.

Paul

"Ozzii Pete" wrote in message
...
Hi guys I just started a exercise course to lose some weight.
My question is, I ride my Mountain bike from one point to another, total
distance covered is around 47 ks.
My average speed is 22.2 .
Is this a brisk speed for this distance, or am I going tooooo slow.

Whats considered a brisk speed ?
Thanks guys.

Ozzii Pete wrote:
: Hi guys I just started a exercise course to lose some weight.
: My question is, I ride my Mountain bike from one point to another, total
: distance covered is around 47 ks.
: My average speed is 22.2 .
: Is this a brisk speed for this distance, or am I going tooooo slow.

: Whats considered a brisk speed ?
: Thanks guys.

If you want authoritive advice, seek out a trainer or other fitness
professional, for here you are drinking at the fountain of armchair
advice!

Having said that, my two bits worth a If you want to lose weight, heart
rate is a more useful measure, ie, spending long periods of activity above
about 65% and below about 85% of maximum heart rate are desirable.

This translates as long, slow - but not too slow - rides. Rides in excess
of 90 minutes work for me and longer is better. It is also important to
keep up hydration and food because you can get into a world of pain by
dehydrating and/or bonking. So, you see, it isn't straight forward.

While it is vitally important to exercise when aiming for weight loss,
anyone who has been successful will tell you that what you put in your
mouth has the biggest impact. As a personal example, I lost a couple of
kilos in two weeks by cutting out a morning tea snack each day and the
occasional bag of chips. And this was without increasing my riding in any
way.

Average speed measurements are only really useful if you want to compare
the same distance in similar conditions. If you keep at riding regularly,
you will find a natural increase in average speed as you become fitter and
hopefully lighter, keeping in mind that AvSp really only indicates in a
fairly imprecise way intensity and for weight loss, that isn't what you
should be shooting for.

If you could ride 47ks at a comfortable/easy intensity three or more times
a week and cut out eating junk food then you will definitely be on the
side of losing weight.

When I started using a heart rate monitor I realised that all my rides
were too intense and that accounted for why I wasn't improving my fitness.
I backed off and then made progress. Well, that's my contribution!

Cheerz,
Lynzz

"Ozzii Pete" wrote in message
...
Hi guys I just started a exercise course to lose some weight.
My question is, I ride my Mountain bike from one point to another, total
distance covered is around 47 ks.
My average speed is 22.2 .
Is this a brisk speed for this distance, or am I going tooooo slow.

Whats considered a brisk speed ?
Thanks guys.


It also depends on how old you are and what your medical conditions are. I
am 57 and had bypass surgery 7 years ago. I am not as fast as I used to be,
and I was never strong anyway. For me to average 22 kph is pretty good.
Even so, I suspect that I could improve on that with a bit of thorough
training.

John Dwyer

"Lindsay Rowlands" wrote in message
...
Ozzii Pete wrote:
: Hi guys I just started a exercise course to lose some weight.
: My question is, I ride my Mountain bike from one point to another, total
: distance covered is around 47 ks.
: My average speed is 22.2 .
: Is this a brisk speed for this distance, or am I going tooooo slow.

: Whats considered a brisk speed ?
: Thanks guys.

If you want authoritive advice, seek out a trainer or other fitness
professional, for here you are drinking at the fountain of armchair
advice!

Having said that, my two bits worth a If you want to lose weight, heart
rate is a more useful measure, ie, spending long periods of activity above
about 65% and below about 85% of maximum heart rate are desirable.


Finally, two people in a row who know how to spell lose - you don't loose
weight - that spelling really bugs me for some reason

The 65% to 85% max HR range is actually more like the range to train in to
increase cardiovascular fitness (good for base training and general
fitness). Sure, you will burn fat at these intensities but if fat loss is
your main goal, then you are actually better off training at about 45% to
65% of max HR. The catch is that this only rings true if the distance is
the same rather than the time (ie 1 hr @ 45-65% will not burn more fat than
1 hr @ 65% to 85%, but, 47km @ 45-65% will utilise more fat than 47km @
65-85%). As with most things you have to compromise depending on how much
time you have available and what your long term goals are.

This translates as long, slow - but not too slow - rides. Rides in excess
of 90 minutes work for me and longer is better. It is also important to
keep up hydration and food because you can get into a world of pain by
dehydrating and/or bonking. So, you see, it isn't straight forward.

While it is vitally important to exercise when aiming for weight loss,
anyone who has been successful will tell you that what you put in your
mouth has the biggest impact. As a personal example, I lost a couple of
kilos in two weeks by cutting out a morning tea snack each day and the
occasional bag of chips. And this was without increasing my riding in any
way.


What Lindsay is saying is good advice. If you want to lose weight, you
should concentrate on LSD training (don't get excited, it means Long, Slow,
Distance). Basically you need to have your body utilising its aerobic
energy systems and to do this you need to exercise at a moderate intensity
for long periods of time. She is especially correct in that what you eat
plays a big part in your results. As you have not said what your current
situation is (could range from wanting to lose a couple of kg for summer to
up in the obese range), it is hard to know what your final goals are.

Generally, people talk of losing weight when in fact they want to lose fat.
This is good not only for body image but also for health reasons as excess
fat stored around the waistline (as is the case for most men) has bad health
implications and is likely to contribute to narrowing of the arteries and
increase the risk of type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. A good rule of thumb
with dieting for fat loss is to keep daily fat consumption below 40 grams
per day. The best way to achieve this is to buy one of the "Fats and
Figures" books for about five bucks from a bookstore and then keep a food
diary for a few weeks. You quickly get to know which foods to avoid due to
their high fat content and you realise how you need to adjust your eating
habits to keep below 40g of fat a day (it is actually quite a challenge).

Average speed measurements are only really useful if you want to compare
the same distance in similar conditions. If you keep at riding regularly,
you will find a natural increase in average speed as you become fitter and
hopefully lighter, keeping in mind that AvSp really only indicates in a
fairly imprecise way intensity and for weight loss, that isn't what you
should be shooting for.

If you could ride 47ks at a comfortable/easy intensity three or more times
a week and cut out eating junk food then you will definitely be on the
side of losing weight.


Excellent advice.

When I started using a heart rate monitor I realised that all my rides
were too intense and that accounted for why I wasn't improving my fitness.
I backed off and then made progress. Well, that's my contribution!

Cheerz,
Lynzz

I have also done this Lynzz......it just doesn't seem right to ride so slow
for so long and I generally end up going flat out before too long.

I know this is a cycling news group but it must also be said that walking
and jogging are actually better fat burners than cycling (though not as
enjoyable by half). Cycling has a big advantage for overweight people in
that it is non load bearing and so puts less strain on the knees, ankles,
etc., but walking and jogging

Anyway Pete, all I can say is congratulations on taking the first
steps........the next one is to make exercise and good eating habits a
permanent part of your lifestyle.

Good Luck.

Oh Yeah......never GO ON A DIET.......this implies that sooner or later you
will COME OFF YOUR DIET and revert to poor eating habits. Instead, try to
make sensible changes to your eating and exercise habits that you can
maintain for good. Try eating lots of small meals instead of three big ones
( I eat 6 or 7 times a day) and don't be so fanatical that you don't have
the occasional bit of food that is not so good for you (I can't go past a
donut if it is on offer).

Cheers,

Gags

Lindsay Rowlands wrote in message


[...]

excess of 90 minutes work for me and longer is better. It is also
important to keep up hydration and food because you can get into a
world of pain by dehydrating and/or bonking.

If bonking gets you in a world of pain you're probably doing it wrong.

--

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Q: What is the most annoying thing on Usenet?

Gags wrote in message


[...]

onset) diabetes. A good rule of thumb with dieting for fat loss is
to keep daily fat consumption below 40 grams per day. The best way
to achieve this is to buy one of the "Fats and Figures" books for
about five bucks from a bookstore and then keep a food diary for a
few weeks. You quickly get to know which foods to avoid due to their
high fat content and you realise how you need to adjust your eating
habits to keep below 40g of fat a day (it is actually quite a
challenge).

There's no way you can advise anyone on their recommended daily fat
consumption without knowing enough about their physiology, lifestyle and
goals to properly calculate their actual calorific consumption, their BMR
and then set their targets accordingly.

I am currently reducing my body fat% and I'm eating accordingly - yet my
recommended daily fat intake is (just checking the spreadsheet) 49.5grams.
And I've lost about three kilos so far. The problem with the low fat
message is that it's bull**** and any honest nutritionist will tell you the
food pyramid we've grown up with is just accurate enough to be dangerous
(there's a new one due out soon). For the past twenty to thirty years we've
been steadily reducing our fat intake and yet as a society we've been
getting steadily fatter. Think about it.

I don't advocate a full Atkins diet (too many saturated fats for starters)
but he was right about one thing: if you want to lose body fat you need to
reduce your *carbohydrate* consumption. Cutting your fats intake - and you
need the good fats, the poly- and monounsaturated ones, plus Omega-3 etc. -
without cutting your *sugar* intake (which, at the end of the day, is all
carbohydrates are) is a recipe for... (wait for it)... GETTING FAT!

Broadly speaking the macronutritional breakdown for someone exercising
regularly should be (in this order of importance):

Protein: 0.8g/lb Lean Body Mass (that's your weight minus your fat).
Fats: about 33% of your target calories, of which saturated fats should be
33% or less.
Carbohydrates: whatever is left.

The thing is this. Your body is incredibly good at keeping itself alive and
it will use whatever it has to. Having said that, it prefers certain energy
sources to others, and since losing or gaining weight is ultimately all
about manipulating energy levels you can use that fact to your advantage.
Roughly speaking your body will use carbohydrates, then fats and lastly
proteins as sources of energy. So, when you cut back on the carbohydrates
it will go for the fat stores next - which is what you want. However, don't
cut your calorie intake too far below maintenance or your body will kick
into starvation mode, and it will do everything it can to avoid using its
fat stores, so it will start targetting your muscles. Breaking down
proteins to use as energy is inefficient but in starvation mode it will do
that rather than use your fat stores.

So, having calculated your BMR and your actual daily calorific consumption,
if you want to lose weight healthily set a target daily calorific
consumption about 500 calories below maintenance, keep your protein and fat
intake at their correct levels, drop your *carbohydrate* consumption
heavily - and you'll see your body fat% drop slowly but steadily. There's
roughly 3,500 calories per pound of fat so this regime should consume about
one pound of fat per week, not including any loss of weight due to water
loss.

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Ozzii Pete wrote:
Hi guys I just started a exercise course to lose some weight. My
question is, I ride my Mountain bike from one point to another, total
distance covered is around 47 ks. My average speed is 22.2 . Is this a
brisk speed for this distance, or am I going tooooo slow.
Whats considered a brisk speed ? Thanks guys.



On my mountain bike, I'd be stoked to have an average like that. On my
mountain bike, depending on terrain, etc. I'm usually around 20.
However, on my road bike I average around 25-27. With slick tyres on
your mountain bike, (if you don't have them already) expect to see your
Average climb fairly dramatically.



--

Etxy wrote in message ...
Ozzii Pete wrote:
Hi guys I just started a exercise course to lose some weight. My
question is, I ride my Mountain bike from one point to another, total
distance covered is around 47 ks. My average speed is 22.2 . Is this a
brisk speed for this distance, or am I going tooooo slow.
Whats considered a brisk speed ? Thanks guys.



On my mountain bike, I'd be stoked to have an average like that. On my
mountain bike, depending on terrain, etc. I'm usually around 20.
However, on my road bike I average around 25-27. With slick tyres on
your mountain bike, (if you don't have them already) expect to see your
Average climb fairly dramatically.


I'll second that - slick tyres make a big difference on the road. An
average of 22.2 is probably quite good (for you, given that you have
just started getting into a fitness regime). Everyone is different -
elite athletes tend to go faster, but so what? Just enjoy it, push
yourself and get better (or not).

Ritch

PS. As long as you arrive at the same time as your bike, you'll be
fine.