How to cycle for weight loss

"David Kerber" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...
David Kerber wrote:

In that case, you might look at running in a lower gear and raising
your
cadence a bit. That's exactly what was happening to be before I heard
about faster cadences: I'd finish a ride and my legs would be so
tired
I could hardly walk, and I wouldn't even be breathing hard. Raising
my
cadence extended the life in my legs to the point where (after a few
months of it), my legs and lungs give out at about the same time, and
it's much further along than it was before.

an easy way to remember it: if your legs hurt, shift to an easier gear
(spin). if your lungs hurt, shift to a harder gear (push).

And if they're both hurting, you better hope the ride's almost over
Grin.


a nice easy spin is usually the most effective way to go, both for speed
on the road and physical comfort.

Yes, within limits. I rode last week with a guy who was on a MTB, and
he must have used a cadence of 110 to 120. But he only did it for a few
(up to 15 or so) seconds at a time, then coasted for a while. Made me
tired just watching him...

--
Remove the ns_ from if replying by e-mail (but keep posts in the
newsgroups if possible).

Is there a name for that technique? The burn all energy away spin maybe?

Go for it Daniel!

I am advantaged by being a house husband at present with ample time in the
week to put on the kilometres.

Diet I will ultimately master.

I always load pre-ride (usually mid morning) with wholemeal toast, hi-carb
drink and 500 ml of my ride drink). I aim for 750 mil approx of ride drink
per hour (check out any commercially available drink). Average ride is 2.5
hrs to 4 .25 hrs.

Stretching before and after (I forgot to mention) is a major. Before (I get
back back aches...especially lower back) is a necessity and afterwards a
real bonus. I concentrate on lower back and hamstrings.

Don't touch that pizza..eat lotsa tomatoes... keep carb comsumption in the
morning, never at night.. lay off the beer and try white wine.... I have
lots of tips (none of which are really original) ... I'll promote my wisdom
once it has actually worked for me.

So far the weight is declining, my energy levels are up, I sleep well, I
drink far less alcohol, and most importantly I am a better husband and
father.

cheers

richie

"Daniel Crispin" wrote in message
...
Well Richie, we have a few things in common. You do a lot of milage,
I wish I was doing that much. Right now I do a minimum of 16 KM per day
just for commuting to work. I do about 50 KM on week ends. This week end
I might do more since my legs are finally starting to adapt.

I will let you know of my progress tomorrow when I wake up. I decided to
do
my weight checks on Saturday mornings after waking up and going to the
bathroom.

I am sure I lost a few pounds but not much. I feel a lot better than 2
weeks ago,
energy is up and I feel a lot stronger and fit. I am sure I gained at
least
a pound of
muscle but that is hard to mesure.


"richie" wrote in message
...
I am cycling for weight loss and am in week 6 of my base fitness
programme.
I started at 100kg (220 pounds) on a 170 cm frame (I can be described as
short and very well padded). I ride a Giant OCR 2 with three front gear
rings. I am 45.

I am now at 97 kg. Not a drastic reduction but the reason is still a
love
affair with ice cream and fish and chips. I have vowed to change this.
In
addition I have just started some weight training (low weights, high
reps)
for tone and increased strength/suppleness.

I ride long rides primarily on the flat but with short (1-2km) hills
twice
in the ride. I live at the top of a sharp climb so some hill work is
inescapable. I started weekly mileage at 210 km and I increase my weekly
total by 5% for three weeks in a row. I then have a rest week where I
cut
my distance in half. I ride day on and day off with an occasional 2 or
even
3 day break if my body says rest a bit more. I sleep like a baby. My
weekly
kilometrage is now heading towards 280km. I'm aiming for 350-450 max per
week. With base fitness and a lot less weight (aiming for 10-15 kg off)
I'll
move on to strength and speed work as there is a 160k race in November I
have my eyes on.

I don't get too disappointed at puffing slowly up the unavoidable hills
as
I
tell myself that every kg I lose will mean better speed and performance
in
due course. When the weight is down and my fitness is sparkling I look
forward to trying myself against some big hills.

I spin at 90-100 rpm, trying to keep my beats per minute at 135-149.
(max
BPM is around 176). I never use the top gear ring, nearly always the
middle
gear ring. I use a Polar heart monitor and download every ride to my
PC.
The growing graph database of distance/cadence/heart rate/time really
helps
is my planning. During a ride my heart rate lets me know if I should
ease
up
or pour more on. I can always chat with fellow riders.

I believe this programme (for me) is the best to avoid over
training/injury,
whilst ensuring shorter recovery times by high cadence spinning.
Provided
I
can be more disciplined on the diet side I am confident I can get under
90
kg ( my weight 14 years ago) and even more back to when I was a slim 18
year
old. I am relishing the work and the challenge.

cheers

richie



"Daniel Crispin" wrote in message
. ..
Well, there's the perceived effort measurement, but that can be very
subjective. You should be able to hold a conversation in zone 2
(66%-72% of max.) without having to cut off your sentences to
breathe. You're forced to breathe through your mouth, but just
barely. But then, some people breathe more heavily than others. I
can chat away in lower zone 4 (which can be annoying to some riding
buddies). Abnormally big lungs for my size, I guess.

I still recommend a heart monitor. A basic one is inexpensive.

Ok so when you have to breathe a little hard that is aerobic zone.
Good to know, a friend of mine told me the same but I wanted to
make sure. Right now my legs are slowing me down, not my
lungs... so as soon as that changes I will try to keep in that zone
for most of the rides and then perhaps add a few sprints on the
way back to crank off the calorie burning and increase muscle
strenght.

That sounds like muscle fatigue, which can take from minutes to days
to go away. Spinning at a higher than normal cadence can help, but
rest is still the best idea. Be careful, overtraining is cumulative.
You may want to check your diet to see if you're getting enough
protein. My legs were chronically tired a month or so ago, so I
increased my daily protein intake to about 120 gm. The legs are much
peppier now.

It sure is muscle fatigue. Just odd that it lasts so long. I don't
remember
having had pain for more than a day before. Then again I was younger
and perhaps my body is just getting slower at healing the damage done.
Increasing protein intake is a good idea, thanks I will do that.

It's vitamin I for me (ibuprofen), the vitamin of choice for the
masters athlete.

Never heard of Vitamin I before Will have to look into this.

Anyone has toughts on Glucosamine? It's being promoted heavilly
around here but I don't know anyone that have used it yet.

Friend of mine was a Spirulin addict but I never tried that either

I don't really like the idea of vitamins in a pill I guess. I have
serious
doubts that the body can absorb them correctly. When you take
them you notice a really strong change in color in your urine so that
means they get flushed away.

Well, lost 8 pounds this week. Since this is my first week of training and
dieting full time some of that is
probably water. Anyhow it is encouraging

"richie" wrote in message
...
Go for it Daniel!

I am advantaged by being a house husband at present with ample time in the
week to put on the kilometres.

Yes that is a big bonus, can ride a bit more than average. Just have to be
careful on the food side since some people
eat more while at home.

Diet I will ultimately master.

I am not a diet freak. I cut my portions up a little, especially where I
used to abuse... I don't really need 2 big macs now,
do I? I cut down on the junk food like candy bars, cake and that sort of
things and replaced with fruits. I try to keep
my caloric intake bellow 2000 KCals per day and this week I only exceeded
once.

I always load pre-ride (usually mid morning) with wholemeal toast, hi-carb
drink and 500 ml of my ride drink). I aim for 750 mil approx of ride drink
per hour (check out any commercially available drink). Average ride is 2.5
hrs to 4 .25 hrs.

I would be careful about that... read the labels. If you use Gatorade for
instance, 750 ml of that is a lot of calories, more than
you are actually burning by cycling. I drink water when I ride, I should
have a second water bottle rack installed cause 1 bottle
is not much for a 4 hours ride. How do you manage to bring that much fluid
with you? 3L for 4 hours ride, do you drag a bag
with you? In terms of numbers, you will burn about 300 KCals per hour while
cycling, Gatorade is 250 KCal per 500 Ml if I
remember correctly, so you are gaining 25 Kcal per hour instead of loosing.
Of course those are not precise measurements but
overal you are cancelling out the gains your are getting... Have to be
really careful about this.

Stretching before and after (I forgot to mention) is a major. Before (I
get
back back aches...especially lower back) is a necessity and afterwards a
real bonus. I concentrate on lower back and hamstrings.

I never stretch, I should start ... Just hate doing it and never felt
difference when I did it.

Don't touch that pizza..eat lotsa tomatoes... keep carb comsumption in the
morning, never at night.. lay off the beer and try white wine.... I have
lots of tips (none of which are really original) ... I'll promote my
wisdom
once it has actually worked for me.

Pizza in itself is not so bad. Just don't eat a whole pizza alone 2
Slices of Pizza once in a
while is good. Contains cheese which is great and some veggies. I don't
drink at all thank god,
now there is one source of heavy calories

So far the weight is declining, my energy levels are up, I sleep well, I
drink far less alcohol, and most importantly I am a better husband and
father.

Interesting that the more we work out the more energy we have I am glad
to read you are feeling better too. Good for you and keep it up. Let me
know
of you progress next week



cheers

richie

"Daniel Crispin" wrote in message
...
Well Richie, we have a few things in common. You do a lot of milage,
I wish I was doing that much. Right now I do a minimum of 16 KM per day
just for commuting to work. I do about 50 KM on week ends. This week
end
I might do more since my legs are finally starting to adapt.

I will let you know of my progress tomorrow when I wake up. I decided
to
do
my weight checks on Saturday mornings after waking up and going to the
bathroom.

I am sure I lost a few pounds but not much. I feel a lot better than 2
weeks ago,
energy is up and I feel a lot stronger and fit. I am sure I gained at
least
a pound of
muscle but that is hard to mesure.


"richie" wrote in message
...
I am cycling for weight loss and am in week 6 of my base fitness
programme.
I started at 100kg (220 pounds) on a 170 cm frame (I can be described
as
short and very well padded). I ride a Giant OCR 2 with three front
gear
rings. I am 45.

I am now at 97 kg. Not a drastic reduction but the reason is still a
love
affair with ice cream and fish and chips. I have vowed to change this.
In
addition I have just started some weight training (low weights, high
reps)
for tone and increased strength/suppleness.

I ride long rides primarily on the flat but with short (1-2km) hills
twice
in the ride. I live at the top of a sharp climb so some hill work is
inescapable. I started weekly mileage at 210 km and I increase my
weekly
total by 5% for three weeks in a row. I then have a rest week where I
cut
my distance in half. I ride day on and day off with an occasional 2 or
even
3 day break if my body says rest a bit more. I sleep like a baby. My
weekly
kilometrage is now heading towards 280km. I'm aiming for 350-450 max
per
week. With base fitness and a lot less weight (aiming for 10-15 kg
off)
I'll
move on to strength and speed work as there is a 160k race in November
I
have my eyes on.

I don't get too disappointed at puffing slowly up the unavoidable
hills
as
I
tell myself that every kg I lose will mean better speed and
performance
in
due course. When the weight is down and my fitness is sparkling I
look
forward to trying myself against some big hills.

I spin at 90-100 rpm, trying to keep my beats per minute at 135-149.
(max
BPM is around 176). I never use the top gear ring, nearly always the
middle
gear ring. I use a Polar heart monitor and download every ride to my
PC.
The growing graph database of distance/cadence/heart rate/time really
helps
is my planning. During a ride my heart rate lets me know if I should
ease
up
or pour more on. I can always chat with fellow riders.

I believe this programme (for me) is the best to avoid over
training/injury,
whilst ensuring shorter recovery times by high cadence spinning.
Provided
I
can be more disciplined on the diet side I am confident I can get
under
90
kg ( my weight 14 years ago) and even more back to when I was a slim
18
year
old. I am relishing the work and the challenge.

cheers

richie



"Daniel Crispin" wrote in message
. ..
Well, there's the perceived effort measurement, but that can be
very
subjective. You should be able to hold a conversation in zone 2
(66%-72% of max.) without having to cut off your sentences to
breathe. You're forced to breathe through your mouth, but just
barely. But then, some people breathe more heavily than others. I
can chat away in lower zone 4 (which can be annoying to some
riding
buddies). Abnormally big lungs for my size, I guess.

I still recommend a heart monitor. A basic one is inexpensive.

Ok so when you have to breathe a little hard that is aerobic zone.
Good to know, a friend of mine told me the same but I wanted to
make sure. Right now my legs are slowing me down, not my
lungs... so as soon as that changes I will try to keep in that zone
for most of the rides and then perhaps add a few sprints on the
way back to crank off the calorie burning and increase muscle
strenght.

That sounds like muscle fatigue, which can take from minutes to
days
to go away. Spinning at a higher than normal cadence can help, but
rest is still the best idea. Be careful, overtraining is
cumulative.
You may want to check your diet to see if you're getting enough
protein. My legs were chronically tired a month or so ago, so I
increased my daily protein intake to about 120 gm. The legs are
much
peppier now.

It sure is muscle fatigue. Just odd that it lasts so long. I don't
remember
having had pain for more than a day before. Then again I was
younger
and perhaps my body is just getting slower at healing the damage
done.
Increasing protein intake is a good idea, thanks I will do that.

It's vitamin I for me (ibuprofen), the vitamin of choice for the
masters athlete.

Never heard of Vitamin I before Will have to look into this.

Anyone has toughts on Glucosamine? It's being promoted heavilly
around here but I don't know anyone that have used it yet.

Friend of mine was a Spirulin addict but I never tried that either


I don't really like the idea of vitamins in a pill I guess. I have
serious
doubts that the body can absorb them correctly. When you take
them you notice a really strong change in color in your urine so
that
means they get flushed away.

Hi Daniel

I stay away from Gatorade etc instead I prefer Musashi Growling Dog. The
heightened metabolism post exercise helps as well as good energy intake
helping quicker recovery (I find).

Two 750 mil bottles plus another two behind seat.

richie



I always load pre-ride (usually mid morning) with wholemeal toast,
hi-carb
drink and 500 ml of my ride drink). I aim for 750 mil approx of ride
drink
per hour (check out any commercially available drink). Average ride is
2.5
hrs to 4 .25 hrs.

I would be careful about that... read the labels. If you use Gatorade for
instance, 750 ml of that is a lot of calories, more than
you are actually burning by cycling. I drink water when I ride, I should
have a second water bottle rack installed cause 1 bottle
is not much for a 4 hours ride. How do you manage to bring that much
fluid
with you? 3L for 4 hours ride, do you drag a bag
with you? In terms of numbers, you will burn about 300 KCals per hour
while
cycling, Gatorade is 250 KCal per 500 Ml if I
remember correctly, so you are gaining 25 Kcal per hour instead of
loosing.
Of course those are not precise measurements but
overal you are cancelling out the gains your are getting... Have to be
really careful about this.

Stretching before and after (I forgot to mention) is a major. Before (I
get
back back aches...especially lower back) is a necessity and afterwards a
real bonus. I concentrate on lower back and hamstrings.

I never stretch, I should start ... Just hate doing it and never felt
difference when I did it.

Don't touch that pizza..eat lotsa tomatoes... keep carb comsumption in
the
morning, never at night.. lay off the beer and try white wine.... I have
lots of tips (none of which are really original) ... I'll promote my
wisdom
once it has actually worked for me.

Pizza in itself is not so bad. Just don't eat a whole pizza alone 2
Slices of Pizza once in a
while is good. Contains cheese which is great and some veggies. I don't
drink at all thank god,
now there is one source of heavy calories

So far the weight is declining, my energy levels are up, I sleep well, I
drink far less alcohol, and most importantly I am a better husband and
father.

Interesting that the more we work out the more energy we have I am
glad
to read you are feeling better too. Good for you and keep it up. Let me
know
of you progress next week



cheers

richie

"Daniel Crispin" wrote in message
...
Well Richie, we have a few things in common. You do a lot of milage,
I wish I was doing that much. Right now I do a minimum of 16 KM per
day
just for commuting to work. I do about 50 KM on week ends. This week
end
I might do more since my legs are finally starting to adapt.

I will let you know of my progress tomorrow when I wake up. I decided
to
do
my weight checks on Saturday mornings after waking up and going to the
bathroom.

I am sure I lost a few pounds but not much. I feel a lot better than
2
weeks ago,
energy is up and I feel a lot stronger and fit. I am sure I gained at
least
a pound of
muscle but that is hard to mesure.


"richie" wrote in message
...
I am cycling for weight loss and am in week 6 of my base fitness
programme.
I started at 100kg (220 pounds) on a 170 cm frame (I can be
described
as
short and very well padded). I ride a Giant OCR 2 with three front
gear
rings. I am 45.

I am now at 97 kg. Not a drastic reduction but the reason is still a
love
affair with ice cream and fish and chips. I have vowed to change
this.
In
addition I have just started some weight training (low weights, high
reps)
for tone and increased strength/suppleness.

I ride long rides primarily on the flat but with short (1-2km) hills
twice
in the ride. I live at the top of a sharp climb so some hill work is
inescapable. I started weekly mileage at 210 km and I increase my
weekly
total by 5% for three weeks in a row. I then have a rest week where
I
cut
my distance in half. I ride day on and day off with an occasional 2
or
even
3 day break if my body says rest a bit more. I sleep like a baby.
My
weekly
kilometrage is now heading towards 280km. I'm aiming for 350-450 max
per
week. With base fitness and a lot less weight (aiming for 10-15 kg
off)
I'll
move on to strength and speed work as there is a 160k race in
November
I
have my eyes on.

I don't get too disappointed at puffing slowly up the unavoidable
hills
as
I
tell myself that every kg I lose will mean better speed and
performance
in
due course. When the weight is down and my fitness is sparkling I
look
forward to trying myself against some big hills.

I spin at 90-100 rpm, trying to keep my beats per minute at 135-149.
(max
BPM is around 176). I never use the top gear ring, nearly always the
middle
gear ring. I use a Polar heart monitor and download every ride to
my
PC.
The growing graph database of distance/cadence/heart rate/time
really
helps
is my planning. During a ride my heart rate lets me know if I should
ease
up
or pour more on. I can always chat with fellow riders.

I believe this programme (for me) is the best to avoid over
training/injury,
whilst ensuring shorter recovery times by high cadence spinning.
Provided
I
can be more disciplined on the diet side I am confident I can get
under
90
kg ( my weight 14 years ago) and even more back to when I was a slim
18
year
old. I am relishing the work and the challenge.

cheers

richie



"Daniel Crispin" wrote in message
. ..
Well, there's the perceived effort measurement, but that can be
very
subjective. You should be able to hold a conversation in zone 2
(66%-72% of max.) without having to cut off your sentences to
breathe. You're forced to breathe through your mouth, but just
barely. But then, some people breathe more heavily than others.
I
can chat away in lower zone 4 (which can be annoying to some
riding
buddies). Abnormally big lungs for my size, I guess.

I still recommend a heart monitor. A basic one is inexpensive.

Ok so when you have to breathe a little hard that is aerobic zone.
Good to know, a friend of mine told me the same but I wanted to
make sure. Right now my legs are slowing me down, not my
lungs... so as soon as that changes I will try to keep in that
zone
for most of the rides and then perhaps add a few sprints on the
way back to crank off the calorie burning and increase muscle
strenght.

That sounds like muscle fatigue, which can take from minutes to
days
to go away. Spinning at a higher than normal cadence can help,
but
rest is still the best idea. Be careful, overtraining is
cumulative.
You may want to check your diet to see if you're getting enough
protein. My legs were chronically tired a month or so ago, so I
increased my daily protein intake to about 120 gm. The legs are
much
peppier now.

It sure is muscle fatigue. Just odd that it lasts so long. I
don't
remember
having had pain for more than a day before. Then again I was
younger
and perhaps my body is just getting slower at healing the damage
done.
Increasing protein intake is a good idea, thanks I will do that.

It's vitamin I for me (ibuprofen), the vitamin of choice for the
masters athlete.

Never heard of Vitamin I before Will have to look into this.

Anyone has toughts on Glucosamine? It's being promoted heavilly
around here but I don't know anyone that have used it yet.

Friend of mine was a Spirulin addict but I never tried that either


I don't really like the idea of vitamins in a pill I guess. I
have
serious
doubts that the body can absorb them correctly. When you take
them you notice a really strong change in color in your urine so
that
means they get flushed away.