"I have a BMI of xxx and my comfortable cruise gear is.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

This afternoon, through a family's Wii Fit game, I discovered that my BMI (body mass index) is something like 28. As rough a guide as this index is for estimating someone's physical condition, I believe 20 is ideal for blokes and the figure is a little higher for the ladies.

This higher than ideal index figure sort of confirms my theory that if I had the time and motivation to do so, my 87Kg could be trimmed down to at least 80Kg, maybe slightly under (which is at least 6Kg or one stone heavier than my fighting weight at TaeKwonDo sparring in the mid 90s).

As a follow-up to a recent thread about compact gearing, I don't feel quite so bad now about the fact that my comfortable cruise gear is 36-16 at the moment for an undulating commute, with a 16-27 cassette waiting in the wings. to replace an 11-23... where I practically never use the smallest five sprockets!

I've been back on a bike for the last 18 months (after over four years of practically no aerobic exercise at all) and have cycled something like twice a week in this time (a series of flus/colds and a nasty back sprain have had a very negative impact on my cycling this year until this last week)

I appreciate that weight discussion is very sensitive for some, but if you are not bothered, I would be curious about how your BMI / cruise gear/ cycling frequency and duration match up...

fuzzynavel

Wii fit says my BMI is 32 ish...I am 5'11" and just under 100kg....
I have been back in the saddle now for about 18 weeks in all after a 5 year layoff from most exercise (occasional gym sessions when I could motivate myself...) I have Psoriatic Arthritis and only recently have we found a drug which seems to control my condition. So I have stopped feeling sorry for myself and started pushing hard to make up for lost time.
My cruising gear is around 50:20 ish Big cog at the front (on a compact) and mid range at the back....it's good for a comfortable 18- 20mph...I like low cadence so only push it round about 70rpm if I am lucky. I drop down to 50:23 for 10% hills and only go to the small cog (front)if I am really struggling.
I cycle 4 times a week....3 days of 15 miles (about 55mins) in the evenings after work which includes a couple of 1km, 10% hill sprints on the route These are timed so I push pretty hard when traffic will allow.. I also do a longer ride ( up to 50 miles so far)at the weekend at the fastest pace that I can reasonably manage (about 2:45 for the 50 miles)....(well that was until my crash this week!!) Search for my posts and see how Neurotic I have become about my weight....If I didn't have a wife and 7 month old baby I would be out every day if I could!

According to wii fit I have more than 4 st to lose.....realistically I can see 2 stone of untrained fat but 4 stones will never happen...
BMI is a decent measure when used in conjunction with other measurements but should be taken with a pinch of salt on its own. There is no mechanism to include muscle mass and as everyone is trained to different levels and by different methods then, it stands to reason that, the muscle mass of 2 people of identical mass will be different.
As I have learned from asking seemingly stupid questions on this forum, no one measurement can define your fitness....You need to use a combination of different measurements.....take before and after photos....use a tape measure to measure the major muscle groups along with waist/chest etc..Even perceived exertion and heart rate can be used effectively for those of us who can't spunk several hundred quid on a power trainer device...
hope this helps rather than confuse....

biondino

BMI of 24, weight of 78kg, and my cruising gear is 50/18 (well, it would be if I had an 18t sprocket - in practice I alternate between the 17t and the 19t depending on the nuances of the conditions.

redddraggon

fuzzynavel wrote:

I drop down to 50:23 for 10% hills and only go to the small cog (front)if I am really struggling.

You can't be too bad at climbing then, even the professional climbers have to drop to the small ring for 10%ers

http://www.tdwsport.com/imagedesk/pic.p ... pg&thumb=0

fuzzynavel

redddraggon wrote:

fuzzynavel wrote:

I drop down to 50:23 for 10% hills and only go to the small cog (front)if I am really struggling.

You can't be too bad at climbing then, even the professional climbers have to drop to the small ring for 10%ers

http://www.tdwsport.com/imagedesk/pic.p ... pg&thumb=0

I have a climb near me that is 1km long with an elevation of 100 metres ish....some parts of the climb are low grade and some probably over 10%....I have seen a gradient profile of the climb somewhere....will see if I can post it..
To be honest I was climbing on flat pedals with no clips so I was totally mashing the gears...I'm surprised the chain survived 16 stone of me bouncing on it.... The climb is only 1km and I am needing to stand up on the pedals by the top so I couldn't go any further like that....pros have to keep it up for 20+ times that on some of the cols.....I am in no way close to the pros! (wish I was though!)
In the picture you can clearly see that Castre is pushing the small cog at the front but who knows what he is pushing at the back...I can't see from this piccy...
There is a hell of a lot of overlap in the gears on a normal double. There is a gear inches calculator on a website somewhere (popular cyclists website but can't remember the name) that shows that a lot of the gear combinations are very similar and that there are only about 10 totally unique gearing ratios on the average double configuration.

fuzzynavel

redddraggon wrote:

fuzzynavel wrote:

I drop down to 50:23 for 10% hills and only go to the small cog (front)if I am really struggling.

You can't be too bad at climbing then, even the professional climbers have to drop to the small ring for 10%ers

http://www.tdwsport.com/imagedesk/pic.p ... pg&thumb=0

I forgot to say......my climbing isn't bad...I have the power but unfoirtunately I also have the weight!!! This is why I keep saying that if I can lose the weight there will be massive gains for me.. anyway...lets get back to topic....I have hijacked yet another thread by accident!!

unclemalc

fuzzynaval:

The best indicator of your fitness is you. If you are hauling your present weight up 10% slopes in that sort of gear, just think what you might do if you were your 'proper fighting weight'. :shock:

If you can maintain that level of work the weight will come off BUT:
i) after a while, with no other changes to diet or routine, the weight may stabilise as your body gets used to its 'new' format. You may well have to kick-start further loss by a n increase in work and/or
ii) diet - are you changing what/how/when you eat? If you were/are a pie/cake/butter-on-everything sort of guy then there is enormous scope for rapid loss combined with the present work-rate. HOWEVER, rapid weight loss due to under-eating is very bad for you and ultimately pointless if you return to such habits. Your diet need to be seriously looked at in terms of eating correctly in order to enjoy meals AND lose weight.

This is from personal experience after years of eating rubbish compared to (within the past year) serious fitness training and complementary diet control. I have lost ~2 stone gradually and my 'fitness' is on a different level to that of a year ago. Compared to others on this thread, I wouldn't be able to keep up with them on a flat road, but in terms of MY fitness, I am a god

I now have to try to maintain this over the 'dark' months as biking has been seriously curtailed of late and I need to cut down certain foods which I like but which are bad for my weight.

Lets renew this discussion in April!!

fuzzynavel

unclemalc wrote:

fuzzynaval:

If you can maintain that level of work the weight will come off BUT:
i) after a while, with no other changes to diet or routine, the weight may stabilise as your body gets used to its 'new' format. You may well have to kick-start further loss by a n increase in work and/or

Hard work isn't a problem...every time I feel my riding getting easier I push a bit harder by setting goals such as an increase in distance or turning my ride into a personal TT over the same distance....I used to struggle with my bi-nightly 15 miles....the wife used to nag that I was out too long and not spending time with my daughter so I stepped up the pace continually and am still doing it.....I am finding that I am keeping up with most traffic now in the town....I have come out of the gutter and sit in the middle of the lane.....Nobody can overtake...but they don't need to as there is nowhere for them to go in front of me....If I find myself tiring/slowing I will pull back in and let them go...Dangerous tactic....I think not....It make sure that I am seen and stops the silly drivers trying to squeeze through gaps that aren't there!

meagain

BMI 18.6. Gearing (fixed) 60-61on 2 bikes, 63 on the third.

grindsuphill

NO2 gives a BMI of 28 per his wii console. Disaster, oh my god how can this be !

This means our thread instigator is around 5 - 9 to 5 - 10. in english money. To get down to a BMI of 22.5 would have to loose nearly 16 kilos ie 2st 7lb, to get to his "ideal of BMI 20 the total loss would be nearly 24 kilos ie 3st 12 lb.

This would be a massive step weight wise from around currently 13st 10 to just under 10 st. To be honest is this realistic? I feel the BMI measure is not very helpfull to say the least.

I believe a more realistic target would be to get your waist down below 40" if above, and if not you dont have a great deal to worry about. (Unfortunately mine is above 40" but slimmish everywhere else but tryng to reduce.)

I think cycling is a good way to stay healthier if not necessarily pencil slim.

grindsuphill

NO2 gives a BMI of 28 per his wii console. Disaster, oh my god how can this be !

This means our thread instigator is around 5 - 9 to 5 - 10. in english money. To get down to a BMI of 22.5 would have to loose nearly 16 kilos ie 2st 7lb, to get to his "ideal of BMI 20 the total loss would be nearly 24 kilos ie 3st 12 lb.

This would be a massive step weight wise from around currently 13st 10 to just under 10 st. To be honest is this realistic? I feel the BMI measure is not very helpfull to say the least.

I believe a more realistic target would be to get your waist down below 40" if above, and if not you dont have a great deal to worry about. (Unfortunately mine is above 40" but slimmish everywhere else but tryng to reduce.)

I think cycling is a good way to stay healthier if not necessarily pencil slim.

Neil Fat man on a bike

BMI :shock:
I know mine is way too high.
However, there is no accounting for muscle mass or skeletal differences, it can be miss leading.
My mate is a rugby playing short arse but the width of a bungalow and is said to be clinically obese, despite being pretty ripped.
I on the other hand could do with loosing 5 stone to get any where near my ideal or 3 stone to make myself happier.

Still getting into 40" trousers but 34" would be ace.

Stepping up the trainning and we'll see what happens. I'm doing Lands End to JOG this coming May, if I could loose even a stone ( please 2 )brfore then, I'll be well happy.

jp1985

Please ignore BMI it is utterly useless in a sporting context!!!!!

pst88

BMI is a very rough measure of fitness in non-active people, so takes no account of muscle mass etc. I'd pay no attention to it, which is my excuse for having a BMI approaching 25 which is apparently the boundary for being fat, although I'm ~16-17% body fat. Gearage of 46:17 (fixed).

fuzzynavel

Looks like I am the winner of most obese person on here at the moment....BMI was 33 now 31.2...

Come on fellow grossly obese people....there must be a few of you out there somewhere!

meagain

"Looks like I am the winner of most obese person on here at the moment...."

While I am clearly the closest to clinically malnourished!
Doesn't really mean much in isolation, does it?

huggy

I've got a BMI of 21 and cruise in 39x13, usually keeping high cadence. I think BMI isn't the best measure of fitness, maybe body fat percentage, resting heart rate, recovery rate, V02 max would be better indicators of actual fitness, whereas BMI and Weight and bodyfat are more indicators of what the body is like. Does anybody know their V02 max? Would be interested to see what theyre like

dennisn

fuzzynavel wrote:

I drop down to 50:23 for 10% hills and only go to the small cog (front)if I am really struggling.
.

Anyone else out there care to join me in taking "fuzzy.." to task and find out if ANY
of the above numbers are correct?

Dennis Noward

redddraggon

dennisn wrote:

fuzzynavel wrote:

I drop down to 50:23 for 10% hills and only go to the small cog (front)if I am really struggling.
.

Anyone else out there care to join me in taking "fuzzy.." to task and find out if ANY
of the above numbers are correct?

Dennis Noward

I did.......

Mark Alexander

I have a BMI of 25 (borderline obese) I completed Marmotte a nd a 100 TT in 5hrs this year. Prio rugby players are classed as grosely obese. I wouldn't argue with them


The BMI is bull (even my doctor agreed to a point) It is based solely on heightv weight.
It does not take into account the muscle, bone, fat persentages. It doesn't account for the 150+miles we ride in a week, the active jobs some of us do or all the hot air we expell on forums 8)

dennisn

redddraggon wrote:

dennisn wrote:

fuzzynavel wrote:

I drop down to 50:23 for 10% hills and only go to the small cog (front)if I am really struggling.
.

Anyone else out there care to join me in taking "fuzzy.." to task and find out if ANY
of the above numbers are correct?

Dennis Noward

I did.......

Sorry, must have been scrolling too fast and missed it.

Dennis Noward

meagain

"Prio rugby players are classed as grosely obese."

While BMI is obviously a simplistic and rudimentary health diagnosis tool, I don't think that the "rugby players" argument necessarily carries as much weight (sic!) as is usually ascribed to it. Who knows what the longer term health impacts of such a "high" BMI (obesity?) might be, irrespective of "fitness" in ones 20s-30s?

fuzzynavel

repost

fuzzynavel

[repost

fuzzynavel

repost

fuzzynavel

repost

fuzzynavel

dennisn wrote:

redddraggon wrote:

dennisn wrote:

fuzzynavel wrote:

I drop down to 50:23 for 10% hills and only go to the small cog (front)if I am really struggling.
.

Anyone else out there care to join me in taking "fuzzy.." to task and find out if ANY
of the above numbers are correct?

Dennis Noward

I did.......

Sorry, must have been scrolling too fast and missed it.

Dennis Noward

I said earlier in the thread that I would look fro the hill profile and I found it. Unfortunately my claims were wrong. I admitted this to reddraggon last night by PM. The hill is 1.2km long....average gradient is 7.2% with only 100 metres of 10%. The gearing I use was correct though....I'd kind of hoped that the thread would die after I found out this info.
The gearing is a mental thing....if I drop to the lowest ring on that particular hill then I know I am in trouble.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

grindsuphill wrote:

NO2 gives a BMI of 28 per his wii console. Disaster, oh my god how can this be !

This means our thread instigator is around 5 - 9 to 5 - 10. in english money. To get down to a BMI of 22.5 would have to loose nearly 16 kilos ie 2st 7lb, to get to his "ideal of BMI 20 the total loss would be nearly 24 kilos ie 3st 12 lb.

This would be a massive step weight wise from around currently 13st 10 to just under 10 st. To be honest is this realistic? I feel the BMI measure is not very helpfull to say the least.

I believe a more realistic target would be to get your waist down below 40" if above, and if not you dont have a great deal to worry about. (Unfortunately mine is above 40" but slimmish everywhere else but tryng to reduce.)

I think cycling is a good way to stay healthier if not necessarily pencil slim.

Having just caught up with this thread's responses (thanks to all), I have to admit that the above quote did make me chuckle!

I am indeed 5'10" , 87Kg with a 34" waist that is likely to expand over the winter months, especially if I do not get my cycling regime back on track, due to the sweet cravings I get at that time of year.

I was aware that BMI had some weaknesses as a guide to one's fitnesses, as I wrote in my original post, but that weight loss requirement to meet a target BMI of 20 really puts this index into perspective!!!!

I would be very happy to get somewhere close to 80Kg, but I reckon this is realistically not going to happen until at least approaching next summer. Regardless of my weight, which really does not bother me that much, what I do want to get back is some more aerobic fitness. However, this is not going to happen if I do not motivate myself to use my bike for commuting, if I keep worrying about my stamina at the end of my working day after shifting white goods around all day...

st68

bmi is b****x i run 22 miles a week cycle up to 250miles a week "depending on weather" :roll: an weight train 4 nights a week an my bmi is 27 which is overweight for my height but i aint fat im muscular muscle ways more than fat my cruising speed is about 20 mph on medium ride but it depends on the terrain