how far to travel to get fit

SimonAH

notsoblue wrote:

SimonAH wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

If you want to lose weight, go running. Cycling is exercise for the lazy!

I have a plastic kneecap legacy of a motorcycle accident. No impact stuff for me.

Swimming then?

OT, but how much are you limited by your plastic kneecap in daily life?

TBH absolutely not at all - I just stay clear of impact stuff.

jimmypippa

notsoblue wrote:

Everyone looks like crap while they're running... Some people (even the attractive ones) have ridiculous running styles. Best just to zone out the rest of the world and focus on your own pace. Besides, its hard to take criticism for being overweight from some passing douche seriously if you're actively doing something about it.

Even highly successful Olympic runners...
I give you:
Emil Zatopek (video)

And Michael Johnson's running style was "unique".

Stevo_666

notsoblue wrote:

If you want to lose weight, go running. Cycling is exercise for the lazy!

Don't say that - running is dead boring (and it does my back no favours). Can't I just cycle harder/longer to make up for it? :-)

Cafewanda

Oy! Running is not dead boring. I run so I can eat whatever I like, however that reason gets harder as I get older so I've started being a little more healthy. Cycling, on the other hand, has introduced me to burger and chips, cheese chips and Guinness in quantities I wouldn't normally eat/drink!

optimisticbiker

Stevo 666 wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

If you want to lose weight, go running. Cycling is exercise for the lazy!

Don't say that - running is dead boring (and it does my back no favours). Can't I just cycle harder/longer to make up for it? :-)

Running on a treadmill is boring: running outside n a towpath or cross the fields is much like cycling, you get to see whats around you, if you open your eyes. On my 20mile training runs when i training for London Marathon (admittedly a few years back now) I used to enjoy seeing the countryside and the boats on the canal, and often had chats with people who lived on/by the canal path.

Flyingbogey

I just finished the '7 lbs in 7 days' juice diet (supporting wifey). Worked though. I lost 1 st 1 lb

Stevo_666

OptimisticBiker wrote:

Running on a treadmill is boring: running outside n a towpath or cross the fields is much like cycling, you get to see whats around you, if you open your eyes. On my 20mile training runs when i training for London Marathon (admittedly a few years back now) I used to enjoy seeing the countryside and the boats on the canal, and often had chats with people who lived on/by the canal path.

Don't get me started on treadmills - never lasted more than 10 minutes on one ! Running might be more interesting if I lived somewhere with decent scenery but suburban SE London isn't one of those places - maybe one of the things that makes the bike so much more interesting than running for me is that I can go far enough to get out into some nice Kent/surrey countryside :-)

roger_merriman

I've got Bushy Park close by so keep thinking I should have a run around, got the strava run app installed! walk to and from Bushy should be a warm up/down.

This said i keep thinking might be a good idea but I never do!

welkman

I am thinking about doing the Couch to 5k Plan. Just google it. It seems like a good idea to me.

suzyb

Stevo 666 wrote:

OptimisticBiker wrote:

Running on a treadmill is boring: running outside n a towpath or cross the fields is much like cycling, you get to see whats around you, if you open your eyes. On my 20mile training runs when i training for London Marathon (admittedly a few years back now) I used to enjoy seeing the countryside and the boats on the canal, and often had chats with people who lived on/by the canal path.

Don't get me started on treadmills - never lasted more than 10 minutes on one ! Running might be more interesting if I lived somewhere with decent scenery but suburban SE London isn't one of those places - maybe one of the things that makes the bike so much more interesting than running for me is that I can go far enough to get out into some nice Kent/surrey countryside :-)

I got a treadmill a number of years back. Lasted two minutes on it before I was so knackered I almost passed out

I would think suburban running would be more interesting than country running. In town there is more to see, in the country it's just fields and farm animals.

daviesee

suzyb wrote:

I would think suburban running would be more interesting than country running. In town there is more to see, in the country it's just fields and farm animals.

Peeping Suzy!

Stevo_666

suzyb wrote:

I got a treadmill a number of years back. Lasted two minutes on it before I was so bored I almost passed out

FTFY ;-)

suzyb wrote:

I would think suburban running would be more interesting than country running. In town there is more to see, in the country it's just fields and farm animals.

Horses for couses I guess - living in suburbia I see that all the time so running round it again is just 'yeah, whatever'. I just like to get out into the countryside and see fields & sheep but it's too far to run for me.

il_principe

FFS this is a cycling forum, please take your filth elsewhere. :roll:

Everyone knows that cycling is the exercise of the Gods. Running is for people who simply haven't discovered cycling, or just lack imagination. :P

bdave262000

I went from 20.5 stone down to 16.5stone by cycling 26miles a day on my commute to work. Just went striaght into it, no build-up just jumped on the bike one morning and have kept it up for the last two years. Started of slowly so it was taking me over an hour to do 13miles but everytime I cycle try to push myself as hard as I can (safety first of course) now have got it down to between 45-50min. I think if you get your heart rate up for a reasonable period while cycling you will start to loose weight.
Cylcling along at a leisurely 10mph will have some benfits but not the same than if your hitting 15-20mph. Obviously if you go home and eat kebabs and pizza for dinner everynight this is not gong to happen.

Go for the fitness and the weight lose will follow. Good luck.

Wrath Rob

When I started commuting I lost 2.5 stone, averaging 72 miles a week. I'm now riding 150-200 miles in a good week and have plateaued on the weight loss front. Might have something to do with paying zero attention to what I eat. This year's target is to lose 5kg so hopefully if I starting watching what I eat just a little bit that should fall off, even 0.5kg a week would be good.

sketchley

bdave262000 wrote:

I went from 20.5 stone down to 16.5stone by cycling 26miles a day on my commute to work. Just went striaght into it, no build-up just jumped on the bike one morning and have kept it up for the last two years. Started of slowly so it was taking me over an hour to do 13miles but everytime I cycle try to push myself as hard as I can (safety first of course) now have got it down to between 45-50min. I think if you get your heart rate up for a reasonable period while cycling you will start to loose weight.
Cylcling along at a leisurely 10mph will have some benfits but not the same than if your hitting 15-20mph. Obviously if you go home and eat kebabs and pizza for dinner everynight this is not gong to happen.

Go for the fitness and the weight lose will follow. Good luck.

Question: Just cycling? Did you carry on eating Kebabs and drinking large quantities of beer.

il_principe

Sketchley wrote:

bdave262000 wrote:

I went from 20.5 stone down to 16.5stone by cycling 26miles a day on my commute to work. Just went striaght into it, no build-up just jumped on the bike one morning and have kept it up for the last two years. Started of slowly so it was taking me over an hour to do 13miles but everytime I cycle try to push myself as hard as I can (safety first of course) now have got it down to between 45-50min. I think if you get your heart rate up for a reasonable period while cycling you will start to loose weight.
Cylcling along at a leisurely 10mph will have some benfits but not the same than if your hitting 15-20mph. Obviously if you go home and eat kebabs and pizza for dinner everynight this is not gong to happen.

Go for the fitness and the weight lose will follow. Good luck.

Question: Just cycling? Did you carry on eating Kebabs and drinking large quantities of beer.

Doubt it. Sketchley, if you really want to lose weight you have to cut back on the pizza/kebabs/beer etc.

I've given up drinking in the week and I feel better for it. Also cut chocolate & sweets completely. Actually I'm not missing either that much. Treated myself to a pint of T.E.A on Sunday evening and it tasted fantastic.

bdave262000

Sketchley wrote:

bdave262000 wrote:

I went from 20.5 stone down to 16.5stone by cycling 26miles a day on my commute to work. Just went striaght into it, no build-up just jumped on the bike one morning and have kept it up for the last two years. Started of slowly so it was taking me over an hour to do 13miles but everytime I cycle try to push myself as hard as I can (safety first of course) now have got it down to between 45-50min. I think if you get your heart rate up for a reasonable period while cycling you will start to loose weight.
Cylcling along at a leisurely 10mph will have some benfits but not the same than if your hitting 15-20mph. Obviously if you go home and eat kebabs and pizza for dinner everynight this is not gong to happen.

Go for the fitness and the weight lose will follow. Good luck.

Question: Just cycling? Did you carry on eating Kebabs and drinking large quantities of beer.

Pretty much cycling Sketchley. I still eat the same, knock back a few pints Thursday, Friday, saturday night (although I have slowed down a bit in my old age). I always did eat quite healthy but would blow out on kebabs, fried chicken etc which I still do (I try and take in a few hills to burn this off). I think it was going from being very active to a period of complete lack of physical exercise over the last 10 years which resulted in me piling on the pounds. I reached a level where I'm not loosing any more but I know as soon as I stop cycling the weight will go back on so thats another reaon to keep it up.

sketchley

To be fair I went from ~21st down to ~19st before I took up cycling by going to the gym and starting spin classes. I was inactive for years prior to this. Since buying a bike weight is still the same although I did get down to 17st 5lbs middle of last year only for it to creep back up again at the end....

itboffin

Flyingbogey wrote:

I just finished the '7 lbs in 7 days' juice diet (supporting wifey). Worked though. I lost 1 st 1 lb

WTF are you saying you ate nothing and just drank juice for a week :shock: i'm surprised you have the energy to even type.

flipp

7 miles=cake
no special diet as I had a lot of takeaways of an evening,none of that running stuff but have to admit I don't drink on a regular basis and lost just over 2 stone over the last year on around 15 miles a day ,4-5 days a week

Applespider

Training for a half marathon put me off running for life. It became a chore rather than fun when it came to adding mileage but there are some nice spots to run in SE London - through Dulwich Woods was quite fun as was running the Green Way route. Strange how cycling to work still doesn't feel like a chore though even though I do it more frequently.

Unless you cycle a lot though (more than a hour or so a day), you do need to do something else too. I go the gym and do some resistance training and a Body Combat class three times a week. Combat is just a cardio blast - you do lots of shadow punching/kicking/karate and pretend to beat the living crap out of people. It's very therapeutic.

suzyb

I did a bit of running today. I ran from the office door to my car and back again at lunchtime then the office to the car again after work