There comes a time when it has to end (2000 miles ridden)

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

No, I'm not leaving the forum Very Happy

I mean and end to being an unfit fat slob, who spends day and night sitting in front of this computer with no excercise, as I have been doing continuously, since I found something called, teh internets, for the first time in 2001.

I have put on about 5 stone in weight in the last 6 years, and had quite a bit of muscle wastage, mostly on my legs, my calfs are about half the size they used to be and the thighs have shrunk a bit, it's time to get some of this weight off and get some muscle back on, I need to do it now, I'll be 42 in 5 months time, and I can't leave it any longer or it will be too late.

I also get out of breath very easily these days, that's down to smoking, but probably also to do with all the asbestos I used to breathe in when I worked as an apprentice mechanic (1981/85), were we used to blow out brake drums with air guns when we serviced cars, leaving clouds of asbestos dust in the air, didn't know about the dangers of asbestos back then, like I do now Evil or Very Mad

So then, to get fit again, I have now a mutli-gym and loose weights at home, and I have just placed an order for this bike:

CBR 26 Ins 24 Speed Dual Suspension Bike

Quote:

Four bar linkage alloy dual suspension frame with semi integrated headset
24 speed Shimano Acera gears
Front and rear mechanical disc brakes
Black 32 hole spoked wheels with lightweight alloy double wall rims
SR Suntour branded performance chainset
Quality branded 'Tioga' saddle
Ahead alloy handlebar stem
Alloy micro adjust seat post
Alloy quick release front and rear wheel
Inside leg 74 - 97 cm (29 - 38 ins)

I used to cycle when I was younger, had a proper lightweight alloy racing bike, but I fancy a mountain bike now, I will start of gently with very short rides, mabye 10 - 15 miles a day until I get some sort of fitness back and get the lungs working, don't want to kill myself, then gradually increase it up to about 30 - 40 miles per day in the end, hopefully.

I will be cutting down on my smoking and obviously not smoking whilst out on the bike, unless I can fit an ashtray on the handlebars with a little cowling around it to stop the ash blowing everywhere Laughing

, I'm dreading do excercise again, I do have cardiac arrythmia quite a bit, so that's a worry and has put me off doing excercise before, thinking my heart might pack in whilst doing it, but then again, if I don't excercise, it will in the end anyway, so that's going to be my new years resolution, get back in to (some sort of) shape.

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 9:55 pm

40 miles a day on a mountain bike? Holy crap man. That is a pretty serious commitment, probably 2.5 hours per day is my guess. I wish you the best of luck. If you can do that, you will be in tip top shape in no time.

ps. That is a pretty nice bike.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

Good luck to you, SP. Very Happy

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:29 pm

Owning a bike and using it are two different matters.

Congratulations on the former, good luck for the latter. Wink

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 10:36 pm

Good for you SP!

Good luck and enjoy! Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 04 Jan 2006 Posts: 3193

After a racing bike, and not cycling for a long time. this rolling resistance may come as a surprise to you. I know it did to me. All the best, SP, keep us informed, and we'll cheer you on.

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2007 11:25 pm

Good luck SP!

I know the feeling, I started my change for the better about 1.5 years ago and I haven't looked back. I lost about 40 pounds and put on 10 of muscle. For the first time since I was about 15 I am close to having a flat stomach. I don't care if I get a 2, 4, or 6 pack, will be quite happy kissing the "handles" goodbye. Very Happy

Remember, first thing to change is the way you eat. It wasn't until I learned this that I saw any changes. Cycling is good for cardio, but weight lifting (even if it's just your own weight doing pushups & pullups) is where you'll see the best gains. More muscle means burning more fat & calories at rest.

Take a look JohnStoneFitness for a lot of great info, advice, and motivation.

Master Baiter Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 233 Location: USA

Nice bike, Patroller!

My advice is to get a complete checkup first, then start off SLOWLY.....better to lay a good steady foundation than to try to jump to the summit of the mountain in one leap. Good luck!!!

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:35 am

And just think of all the extra years that you will have all of us. Laughing

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

kleindoofy wrote:

Owning a bike and using it are two different matters.

That's why I ordered this bike for �300, I could have got a cheap one for �85, but then I wouldn't be too bothered about the bike just sitting there not being used if I felt lazy, getting a more expensive bike means I WILL use it, otherwise it's money wasted Wink

@ OD, yeah, I will be spot on with all the right foods, I did a lot of weight/circuit training years ago (late teen years), so I know what I need to be eating to help me achieve my goals, my current crap diet will be going right out the window.

I want to lose a minimum of about 3 stone, I'll get there in the end, it's my heart and lungs that I want to concentrate on mostly, though, hence the cycling to bring those organs back to a half decent level, I wont be going mad with the cycling to start with, just a nice steady pace, then doing weights using lower weight and doing loads of reps to burn calories, gradually building the weight up.

Getting fitter is going to be such fun, NOT, gotta be done thought ain't it.

@ YW, 2.5 hours, is that for the 40 miles, or the 10 - 15? Laughing

@ JD, you can bet I will be taking it steady as, if I try to do too much I will knacker myself before I start, anyone want to buy a bike?

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:18 am

Ohhhhhhmm, Ohhhhhhm

I see, ... I see threads. Yes, threads.

I see threads asking: " how do I adjust the gears?", "can I get the breaks tighter?", "How high should the seat be?".

Ohhhhm, ohhhhhhm. Wink

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

@ KD

I used to be a mechanic, and I used to strip my other bicycles down, clean, repair and rebuild them, they hold no fears for me, but does anyone know where I can buy that ashtray for my handlebars? Laughing

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:47 am

Remember: When the ashtray is full, just empty it. You don't need to dispose the bike and get a new one...

Also it might not be a good idea doing a wheelie with a full ashtray...

As for the value: Buying an expensive bike could also result in not using it out of fear to break that expensive thing. Wink

Anyway, have fun. I used cycle quite a lot when I was young. Now I have problems with my knees and cycling is quite a torture for me.

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:11 am

Get some decent gloves unless you like icicles for fingers, absolute agony.

and a warm luminous jacket.

good luck!

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 10:47 am

40 miles a time?
That'll bring him within shooting range of my place.
Hmm, ethics of taking pot-shots at SP whilst he is cycling past?

I got a bike about two years ago, rode it home, put it in the garage, used it once since then, hopefully SP has more willpower than me.

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 11:04 am

John Drake wrote:

Nice bike, Patroller!

My advice is to get a complete checkup first, then start off SLOWLY.....better to lay a good steady foundation than to try to jump to the summit of the mountain in one leap. Good luck!!!

This is great advice. Tempting at it is to go into your new fitness regime with all guns blazing while you are motivated and keen, it takes time to reach a certain level and it's better to start slow and do a couple of minutes more each day for a couple of months than go gangbusters into something you can't maintain longterm.

And if you plan to quit smoking, don't 'cut down'. It doesn't work mate. You have to go cold turkey and use patches, gum, hypnosis, whatever if required. Good luck!

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 12:21 pm

The best advice I can give you SP, is to start slowly. Jumping on a bike for the first time in years is great. You peddle around and it feels like you've never been off a bike.
But if you're not careful you can end up feeling like you came last in an ar5e kicking contest. Trust me on this. Shocked

Take it slowly, 15 mins first day 20 next and gradually break your rear end in. It's not the day after you feel it. It's the day after, the day after. OOoooooooo Laughing

Trophy Videos · Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:10 pm

Good luck on your shape-up, SP. I found an ashtray that would do nicely.
It was auctioned off, but I'm sure you could find the buyer, and get it from him/her. http://www.aspireauctions.com/auction23/3793.html

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:49 pm

Good Luck SP,

On my daughters 5th birthday in 2006 I weighed in at 295 pounds Surprised

. On her 6th bday in October of 2007 I was weighing 225 pounds. At 6'2" that's not bad but I am guessing that by Bday #7 I will be back to fighting trim 185 to 200.

You can do it, hell anyone can do it, if they really want to. Now I sound like a personal life coach Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

Good luck SP. At first the weight will come off fairly easily (if you are truly watching the food intake), but you'll probably hit a plateau after 30 pounds or so. That's the make-or-break point. If you can push through that then you'll be on your way. The key is to do exercises you enjoy which will make you more likely to do them.

Indoor biking is nice b/c you can listen to music or watch t.v. and not have to worry about getting hit by a car (well, i suppose there's a very small chance someone could plow their car into your house, but let's not worry over that).

I agree with an earlier post -- weight lifting will bear much fruit. Do core exercises: squats, bench, deadlifts, pull ups -- that's all you need really. Then get a swiss ball for abs and other types of pylometric exercises.

Last -- keep some sort of diary. That has two advantages: (1) you can see your progress which is inspiring, and (2) it can guilt you into working out when you don't feel like it.

Good luck!

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:21 pm

I made a similiar commitment 3 years ago, so hopefully I'm qualified to give advice Cool

Try and find a partner to work out with. Its a lot harder to give up when you feel you might be letting someone else down.

Have a plan B. On cold wet days when going outside in a shell suit is a crazy idea, go to the gym, the local pool, whatever. Never give yourself an excuse not to continue with the regime, just an excuse to do something else that fits in with the regime.

Be realistic. When I started my aim was to jog 10km along a mountain path. 15 years of neglect meant I didn't make it on day 1, But I got some of the way along, and now theres a target for day 2... Take positives from what you achieve and see them as steps towards your bigger goal, as well as benchmarks to show you the work is paying off.

Unless your circuit training, leave the stopwatch at home. Until you can achieve the goal you've set for yourself, the time it takes to get ever closer doesn't matter. Race the clock when the distance is easy, until then its just a distraction that doesn't help.

Speak to your doctor and discuss what you want to achieve, and naturally listen to (his/her) advice. Visit a gym and have a few sessions with one of the personal trainers, take their advice onboard.

Good luck, and never leave home without a can of ralgex.

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:10 pm

SP: the best thing you can do is pack in that smoking. I was a 40+ a day rollup smoker for best part of 20 years, and I quit cold turkey back in January. I was expecting hell, and what I got was a week or so of minor discomfort, followed by manageable cravings that came, and went just as quick as they came, and perhaps faster than they would have had I smoked to stop them. If you can get through the first three days and keep focussed on that day when you'll be comfy in the pub watching the unfortunates outside in the cold, wind and rain getting their fix, you'll be well on the way. Watch out for that appetite increase though. Food never tasted so good, I can tell you that.

Good luck with it all.

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:26 am

Good for you. See a doctor and tell him about your plans. Get a heart monitor strap and a speedometer along with some lights. Here's a very nice thread that will hopefully motivate you.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=228767
It's about Clydesdales and Athenas.

I found that the more you pay for a bike, the more you will ride it. I bought a bike used for Olympic trials at a great price last year. I figured that the price I paid was less than the new wheel set it came with. Throw in all the Dura ace and Campy parts and I was way ahead. I hardly used it. I bought a bike this summer and paid more for one pedal on it than my first new Schwinn. I have not gone more than three days not riding it since this summer. At least a hundred miles a week.

Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:50 am

SP it is possible to exercise and internet at the same time. I am talking about isometrics. I suffered an injury that left me bed ridden for a year. I couldn't move my legs at all. I started doing isometrics and now can move pretty well. Longs story, hopefully up on crutches by the first of the new year. I'd suggest you start slow too. Keep your expectations "realistic" (kind of like starting out baiting Wink

).

Celebrate each change and you will enjoy it too!

Keep us informed on your progress. Here's an idea, cut out one cigarette for every 10 miles you gain. Both activities will benefit. "A journey of 1,000 km begins with the first ..." Cool

** ACCOUNT CLOSED ** Joined: 15 Apr 2007 Posts: 766

If you over-exert and injure yourself, you will become more deconditioned.

It will also make the children cry.

Do you hate children?

--J.D.

There comes a time when it has to end (2000 miles ridden)	View next topic View previous topic