Recommend me a schedule please?

bazzer2

Long time lurker, first time poster etc...
I've had a few years away from cycling, I used to use my MTB twice a week in a proper XC fashion, maybe doing 20 miles each ride, offroad. Worked in a bike shop, and lost all interest in bikes. Now, I'm 34, work in IT, and have just 'discovered' my bmi is over 30 (175cm and 94kg). I've never been skinny, but now I realise that with size '38 short' jeans I really need to do something.

So, I dusted off my 1995 Cannondale MTB and used it yesterday for a few offroad miles, but to be honest I only got a basic work out. I'm a few days away from spending £500 on a road bike at my LBS, and fully intend to get my money's worth. I figure I could spend that on a gym membership, but I absolutely can't stand those places, and I'll have some tangible equity in a solid object should the worst happen and I lose a limb etc.... I play badminton once a week, and aim to join the wife swimming on two mornings a week too.

Anyhow, I think I'll need to set a goal or seven, to lose the weight, get me down to something 'normal' like 75 kilos, and let me purchase jeans from Next again.

Could anyone give me the benefit of their experience in the field and recommend a schedule for riding please?

Bronzie

Probably best to set your goal(s) first, and then ask. Your training needs to be tailored to what you are trying to achieve.

Bhima

bazzer2 wrote:

Anyhow, I think I'll need to set a goal or seven, to lose the weight, get me down to something 'normal' like 75 kilos, and let me purchase jeans from Next again.

Cut any crap out of your diet. When shopping for food, always ask "what could I eat instead, that's healthier than this?". Eat less per meal, but have 6/7 meals per day, instead of 3/4.

Build up miles slowly. Add 15% to your milage each week. Drink enough water and eat enough fruit or flapjacks while riding.

If you keep doing this, you'll lose the weight. I don't know your other commitments, so can't give you any kind of schedule.

bazzer2

well, I weigh 95 kilos or thereabouts, is it reasonable to want to be 75 kilos? How long would it take to shed that 'reliably' and sensibly?

And other commitments are many! I work full time, (only 2 mins down the road, so I already commute on a crappy old bike - there's no benefit to be had there I'm afraid!) I am married, and my wife has joined the local gym and is spending about an hour a day there - so let's say an hour a day including warm up etc.

Feasible?

richa

bazzer2 wrote:

I weigh 95 kilos or thereabouts, is it reasonable to want to be 75 kilos? How long would it take to shed that 'reliably' and sensibly?

Very feasible. 0.5-1.0kg/wk would take 20-40wks.

vorsprung

ok so you aim to play badminton and swim twice a week

That leaves 4 days.
And you need a rest day, so that leaves 3 days

I would suggest two days you go out for an hour, warm up and then do "high intensity" stuff
So things like sprint, recover for 5 minutes, sprint again or a short 5 mile time trial or hill repeats.
One day I suggest you ride at a steady rate- if it is possible to go on the bike for longer than an hour then that would be good.

A good time to fit this in might be first thing in the morning

Diet wise, it is acceptable to use a recovery drink or milkshake or similar after these sessions. Do not use them as an excuse to eat a large pie. Cycling at a moderate rate is only approx 350 calories an hour.

Good luck with the weight loss!

Aggieboy

bazzer2 wrote:

well, I weigh 95 kilos or thereabouts, is it reasonable to want to be 75 kilos? How long would it take to shed that 'reliably' and sensibly?

And other commitments are many! I work full time, (only 2 mins down the road, so I already commute on a crappy old bike - there's no benefit to be had there I'm afraid!) I am married, and my wife has joined the local gym and is spending about an hour a day there - so let's say an hour a day including warm up etc.

Feasible?

I would suggest that is where a benefit is to be had. Why not lengthen your route to and from work?

bazzer2

So now, I have the bike. I've only done a few miles on it, and it's a little bit of a shocker to see how uncomfortable I am after only half an hour!

I read in many places that I will need to build a base of about 500 miles before trying something like interval training to really work out, so that I don't injure myself.

So, to build these 500 miles I can allocate an hour every morning. I figure for the first few weeks I'm going to go out every other day, gradually building up to that hour. Then, maybe either using the in between days for a short ride too, or something entirely different, like swimming.

On the plus side, I've lost 5 kilos since my original post, so the 'diet' change has paid off a little!

dinosaur

5 kilos in 4 weeks is pretty good going!

A training book I'm reading at the moment ("base building for cyclists") recommends losing no more than 1lb (450g) a week or it can affect performance and potentially be unhealthy. I wouldn't let that put you off though, so long as you are eating healthily.

Hopefully you will get more comfortable on the bike once you are more used to it. If not then you should speak to your local bike shop to see if they can advise you on how you can change your position - small changes to saddle and stem position can make a huge difference. Or take a photo of yourself on your bike, post it here and tell us where it hurts (I'm not an expert but others will be).

Also, remember to have rest days. At least 2 days a week. And, as someone said above, increase the amount of training you do each week slowly - it will build up to a large weekly amount soon enough.

A final "also": you don't have to do interval training to get a "proper workout", especially if weight loss is one of your goals. According to the book I mentioned, lower intensity rides are the best way to burn fat both in the short term and to train your body to prefer fat as a fuel source rather than carbohydrates. I suspect plenty people will dispute relative merits of low intensity training but I don't think anyone would say it wasn't a proper workout.

chill123

well i may be a bit biased but rather than focusing on the weight loss why not focuss on a specific cycling goal instead. you'll probably find it easier to get out and train if you have signed up to enter a century (100 mile ride) ride.

i often speak to people that focus too much on weight loss that it eventually demotivates them. if you ride and train for a century properly you'll lose the weight anyway!

you are doing the right thing by building the miles slowly and it already sounds like your diet is on track. i see no reason why you can' start working on a few intervals now - just make sure you allow plenty of time to recover and don't push it too hard initially. Listen to your body.

amaferanga

chill123 wrote:

I often speak to people that focus too much on weight loss that it eventually demotivates them. if you ride and train for a century properly you'll lose the weight anyway!

Given the number of, how to put it, LARGE gentlemen on sportives and audaxes, emphasis should really be on the word properly here

Alex_Simmons/RST

dinosaur wrote:

According to the book I mentioned, lower intensity rides are the best way to burn fat both in the short term and to train your body to prefer fat as a fuel source rather than carbohydrates. I suspect plenty people will dispute relative merits of low intensity training but I don't think anyone would say it wasn't a proper workout.

I would but it depends on what you mean by low intensity training.

If that's what the book says, then it's wrong.

1. Our body already knows what fuels to use based on how hard we are riding and how aerobically fit we are. it's had a few million years to work that one out. we don't need to teach it

2. To enable our body to continue to utilise fats as fuel at higher absolute and relative intensity levels requires development of our aerobic capacities, and that requires training at solid to hard levels. Pootling along at low (recovery) level intensities will not improve your aerobic fitness nor have an impact on the fuel substrate mix used when riding. That because riding at low intensity does nothing to induce the desired physiological changes.