Commuting and Fitness.

Paul E

All I do is ride, I would go up the wall in a gym so that's a no no, do swim now and again when I can though as it's good for my asthma which cycling helps with a great deal too

Bassjunkieuk

I ticked option 3 but that's only as I'm counting parenting as a sport ;-)
The commute makes up the biggest chunk of any fitness training I do and I'm getting out for fortnightly weekend rides now in preparation for the Magnificat - now a mere 2 months off!

This does remind me tho that I need to seriously up my mileage for weekend rides......

All in a feel I'm reasonably fit, been tracking my commute distances and speeds since the start of the year and I think the trend is "getting faster" but I have certainly noticed that things are feeling easier since I've been forcing myself to run a larger gear then I was a few months back. All done in an effort to make my legs stronger and The Game ensures most commuting rides are ridden reasonably quickly :-)

roger_merriman

lost_in_thought wrote:

It's interesting that so many people just do weekend rides and their commute. When I was commuting full-time, and doing weekend rides, I didn't find I was getting that fit, so I started going to the gym, and latterly rowing. I found after that that I enjoyed the cycling a good deal more, because I was fitter.

Now that I'm working from home, and frankly have had a very lazy winter, I've started getting out on leisure rides a lot more after I've started back at the gym.

So, in my case, fitness leads to cycling more, which leads to more fitness and so on. However, it seems I can also get into laziness spirals...

I was interested to know if it's just me, and it seems like it might be!

Maybe not stopping the commute is, in fact, the answer. Ah well.

My job is active I spend a lot of time on my feet doing stuff.

not sure I'm any fitter but I'm lighter.

means (at least when fresh) I fear no hill and can knock out 50/70 or so miles on a ride with out being wiped out.

wyadvd

if I wanted to spend all weekend exercising and not spending time with my family Id have taken up running. As it is a 20 mile 5 day a week round trip has totlally transformed my body, outlook on life and emotional wellbeing. thats enough for me.

wyadvd

what im trying to say is that if i wasnt commuting, id still be taking no exercise so im happy with that!

Stevo_666

wyadvd wrote:

if I wanted to spend all weekend exercising and not spending time with my family Id have taken up running. As it is a 20 mile 5 day a week round trip has totlally transformed my body, outlook on life and emotional wellbeing. thats enough for me.

Good point. Commuting is a seriously time efficient way of getting exercise when you can't always do exactly what you want on the weekends....if my legs would handle it I'd do it more often

hells

commute to work which varies in distance shortest 5 miles all round, longest 20.
commute to Ta on a wednesday evening ikf not working which is 30 miles all round.
potentially do pt at Ta
abdominal, back and arm exercises every other day at home when I wake up.
1 sometimes 2 midweek rides if I can (work nearly all weekends).
Lift and carry people of various sizes at work

I want to add some running and some roller and turbo sessions to this but it depends what shifts I am on. I am on nights atm so I am too tired for extra atm. I also have very important exams coming up in June which I need to start intensley studying for on my rest days.

rf6

Well, I've got a bad back, so I'm not allowed to do much of anything at the moment, but normally;

commute in and out, but its only a few miles,
leisure rides (but need to up the number and distance),
gym once I get into work,
swimming once a week or so,
running a couple of times a week (only 3 miles mind, no marathons!!)
walking the dog for 1 to 2 hours a day (less if she comes running),
pool in the pub when I'm off on a Friday afternoon (I'm counting it as a sport!!)

looking forward to getting back to normal - this loafing about is expanding my belly.

londonbairn

Commute, weekend ride, and gym 4 times a week, mainly strength workouts. I find doing good strength workouts really helps my riding.

prawny

With the kids I don;t get to ride at weekends/evenings so commuting only for me at the mo.

I did try doing a weights session before setting off a few times but it makes my arms wobbly which isn't nice. I can't handle much more riding than my commute anyway :oops:

iPete

When not injured.. *cries*

Commute 4-5 days a week, (140-170 miles)
Run, 1 long outdoors (6-8miles) and 1 in the gym (5k speed session).
2-3 core weight sessions in the gym, maybe a spinning class to boot.

Changes constantly though, that was in training for a half marathon, I'm now, when my running injury clears, training for a 1400 mile tour, 7 weeks and counting, need to be back on the bike...

After that, I might add swimming and have a go at Tri but I've a long way to go... :twisted:

The Running Man

At the moment I'm relying on my commute and a longer Sunday ride to keep in something resembling decent shape.

On any rest day (Ha!) I usually get a nice relaxing 30 minute session in on the rowing machine : and I am starting to very gingerly try some gentle running ... only 10 or 15 minutes so far but hopefully the pelvis is going to behave itself and I can at least feel confident about some post Dragon summer races ......

:roll:

Mrs_Ragbrutty

I commute up to 5 days a week. I don't do it for fitness, I do it cos I'm tight. :twisted: For fitness I run and swim and sometimes visit the gym.

snailracer

Anyone who ticked 2-7 is doing it wrong and needs to fit some underinflated knobblies onto their bike

Radioactiveman

Commute, road riding (non racing), Mountain biking and the odd bit of running (treadmill in garage)

Couldn't decide which box satisfied those choices

lost_in_thought

I appreciate the 6 people who don't do any sport and just like us. Hi you guys! We like you too...

vorsprung

I tried going to the gym. I was a member for about a month. It's the most tedious place on earth

The best way to be fit to ride a bike is to ride a bike

DancesWithSheep

Havig spent the last 9 months off the bike due to a combination of a broken arm and working abroad I got back on yesterday

It's amazing how much fitness you lose in that time - I'm 6 minutes off my old PB

*cries*

cjcp

vorsprung wrote:

I tried going to the gym. I was a member for about a month. It's the most tedious place on earth

The best way to be fit to ride a bike is to ride a bike

+1. I feel as if a little part of my soul dies when I go into a gym.

CdrJake

my exercise week usually involves my commute, a weekend/Friday ride, running three times a week, playing rugby and during the season playing cricket

rjsterry

cjcp wrote:

vorsprung wrote:

I tried going to the gym. I was a member for about a month. It's the most tedious place on earth

The best way to be fit to ride a bike is to ride a bike

+1. I feel as if a little part of my soul dies when I go into a gym.

Never been near the evil things, and from the reports I got from Mrs RJS when she used the one in Putney, this has been the correct decision. My idea of hell.

Stevo_666

cjcp wrote:

vorsprung wrote:

I tried going to the gym. I was a member for about a month. It's the most tedious place on earth

The best way to be fit to ride a bike is to ride a bike

+1. I feel as if a little part of my soul dies when I go into a gym.

Agree, its hard work but I need to work on muscles that cycling doesn't touch, i..e most things above the waist ! I've never been a 'classic' cyclist build and don't like the bulging thighs/pigeon chest & stick arms look....

jonginge

There are gyms and gyms. I used to really enjoy going to the gym at uni. Dreadfully disappointed by the city gyms I've been to since moving to london. Not the same atmosphere/mentality at all.

cjcp

Stevo 666 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

vorsprung wrote:

I tried going to the gym. I was a member for about a month. It's the most tedious place on earth

The best way to be fit to ride a bike is to ride a bike

+1. I feel as if a little part of my soul dies when I go into a gym.

Agree, its hard work but I need to work on muscles that cycling doesn't touch, i..e most things above the waist ! I've never been a 'classic' cyclist build and don't like the bulging thighs/pigeon chest & stick arms look....

Try press-ups and dips using a chair.*

I should do this, but don't.

rjsterry

Stevo 666 wrote:

...the bulging thighs/pigeon chest & stick arms look....

I like to think I (ahem) 'rock' that look :oops:

cjcp

rjsterry wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

...the bulging thighs/pigeon chest & stick arms look....

I like to think I (ahem) 'rock' that look :oops:

Yeah, there's not a great deal of you, is there ? (Hence why I thought you were the racing snake on the Time.)

I haven't done press-ups or weights for feck knows how long, and I still can't get a pigeon chest. When preparing in transition before my first tri, the chap next to me said, "You look like a swimmer." I just laughed (knowing I couldn't swim for toffee). Body type, I guess*.

I look nothing like a swimmer. I just don't look like a cyclist, and certainly don't look like a runner, so that left only one other option.

CdrJake

I hate going to the gym, it's usually full of preening idiots trying to out do each other in any number of ways. If you think your regular city gyms are bad, don't ever go into a military gym, it is truely a soul destroying experiance unless you are a classic 'jock'. It is however a satisfying experiance when you can out run and out cycle the 21 year old PTI

Bassjunkieuk

rjsterry wrote:

Stevo 666 wrote:

...the bulging thighs/pigeon chest & stick arms look....

I like to think I (ahem) 'rock' that look :oops:

You see what you need to combat that is a selection of weights (or in my case kids) at home to do some exercise :-)
I'm slowly learning not to do the throwing-them-in-the-air tricks when the eldest is around otherwise I end up having to try repeating the same thing with her, except she's not my "little" girl anymore and weighs about 4 or 5 stone :-D

It really is win/win (if you ignore the high running costts....) you can get a good upper body workout AND entertain the kids

Stevo_666

cjcp wrote:

Try press-ups and dips using a chair.*

I should do this, but don't.

I do, when the trouble 'n' strife isn't looking And sit ups, dumbell stuff etc etc....

WesternWay

My answer should really be "I just do my commute, it is not nearly enough, but I am more lazy than I should be"