How many miles??

villan

As part of a weight loss/toning programme how many miles and how often do you do on a weekly basis that has proved to produce results?

John Moore

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hit_the_wall

Bonk training
"Bonk training" is an exercise program designed for weight loss. It suggests the following strategy on an empty stomach the first thing in the morning, when glycogen store levels are low: consume coffee or caffeine equivalent to 2 or 3 cups of coffee, run or cycle at a casual pace (60% of max heart rate) for 20-90 minutes, have a normal breakfast right after exercising. Proponents claim this will force the body to "bonk" shortly into the exercise, and subsequently burn more fat to generate the energy. It is not clear how medically sound this idea is; exerting too much energy and "bonking hard," or experiencing severe hypoglycemia, can be dangerous.

Worked for me years ago and I've kept (most of) it off as well by doing it every Saturday or Sunday morning.


Sits back and waits for the slagging off I'm going to get

villan

Bonk training!? Urmmm......probably guess what came to mind lol.

Dunno about getting on the bike first thing in the morning. If I get up ay earlier in the mornings it won't be worth going to bed

.blitz

villan wrote:

Dunno about getting on the bike first thing in the morning. If I get up ay earlier in the mornings it won't be worth going to bed

It does work. A low-intensity ride of 15 miles or so first thing in the morning on an empty stomach will burn fat quicker than anything. You will feel like sh*t for the rest of the day but it does work. Take some bacon sarnies and Monster with you just in case you are overwhelmed with the desire to lie down and watch the sky spinning round

nferrar

That type of bonk training is probably fine, in that I doubt you'd actually bonk given the intensity - training specifically to try and increase resistance to bonking by actually trying to make you bonk is a waste of time though (and potentially dangerous). I think much of the benefit of early morning rides is just about raising the metabolic rate for a few hours after rather than trying to do it before eating + using caffeine etc. specifically to try and target fat-burning.

As for the OP, it's a bit of a wide open question really if you're serious about losing weight (and gaining fitness) I'd be riding 3 or 4 times a week to start with a varying what you do on the rides (minimum of an hour and try and do one ride more like 3 hours), then to boost fitness and add variety include some basic intervals in rides.

John Moore

I've never bonked doing it and never felt bad afterwards.

Start off with 25 to 30 mins then work up to 90mins max.

It's worth the effort

villan

Seriously, I don't think an early morning ride is for me.

rhyko7

although it is more complicated than this i will simplify it:

you need to be using more calories than you are consuming, to consistently be losing fat you need to be doing cardio 3 times per week or more, 45 mins onwards each session ideally.
i lost a lot of weigh by cutting my diet and doing cv 5 times a week when i started, the weight literally fell off in a couple of months, now ive lost i do not need to train that much now, 3 times a week keeps a nice ballance for me. but it largely depends upon your diet, cut out snacking and fizzy drinks to start with!

villan

I know the exercise is my problem. I don't exactly what calories I consume but I know its below the recommended levels. I don't eat much crap on a daily basis so I'm pretty sure diet is not my problem. Motivation to exercise is! Thats why I'm trying to get back on the bike more often.