Any advice for a complete newbie

patzer

Hi All,

as stated in the title I am a complete newbie to this and want to start cycling this "summer" to try to lose a bit of weight.

What I was hoping to find was some resources relating to very simple training regimes so that I don't knacker myself.

Also any advice on the hardware end of things would be greatly appreciated. I bought a Claude Butler San Remo a couple of years ago (s/h from a mate of mine) which has been pretty much parked in the shed. Is this a suitable piece of kit for me who's over 93kg and hasn't done any exercise in the last 2 years, or would I be better starting with something a little more forgiving.

All comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated and then most probably ignored as I find myself stranded somewhere on a deserted couch:D

Pat

Raam

Hi Pat,
all that matters is that you get out and enjoy riding the bike. Take the distance handy at first, 10km, 15km and build up gradually over the weeks. With time, the fitness and weight loss will come. If you feel tired, listen to your body and take a rest from the bike for a day or two.

When you are comfortable with longer distances and know that you want to keep it up, then you can consider a new bike, if indeed you need it.

P

Lumen

The bike looks fine.

Keep your chain, cassette and derailleurs clean and lubricated.

Ensure that your tyres are appropriately inflated to the correct pressure (don't guess, it's easy to underinflate). This is particularly important at your weight, as it's easy to get pinch flats (two holes, like a snakebite).

Always carry a pump, spare tube and patch kit, and know how to use them.

Enjoy!

CheGuedara

Yup Raam's right - The no. 1 thing is to get out and get going, after that it's just details.

A few of the details that WILL make No.1 easier is getting cycling shorts (which will make your cycles more comfortable) , a jersey (which are are lightweight and don't get weighted down by sweat like a t shirt would) and gloves (because vibrations thro. the bars can cause people trouble, like numbness etc).

Without wanting to open a can of worms (it sometimes happens on Boards) - a helmet is widely regarded as a good idea and common good manufacturers to look for are Met & Giro.

Hope this helps

Caroline_ie

Yo -

It is important to not eat what you are cycling!

It takes you about 2700 Cals/ day to maintain the 93 kg you weight at the moment. Lowering the Cals intake to 1800 or 1900/ day and adding an hour of easy cycling a day or every 2nd day will allow you to drop a 2 or 3 lbs a week healthily ( or more if you're cycling more ).

FrankGrimes

Lumen wrote: »

Always carry a pump, spare tube and patch kit, and know how to use them.

...and tyre levers - you can get them for a couple of Euro and they make removing the tyre a breeze.

+1 on the cycle shorts and jersey - I used to get freezing cold from the soaked sweat when cycling in a normal t-shirt but with a cycling jersey this doesn't happen.

WD40 isn't the best for bikes - pick up a bottle of lube for a fiver at your local bike shop.

Focus on speed not what gear you are in. A lot of people make the mistake of trying to pound a big gear when if they dropped a couple of gears they would actually go much faster due to the increased cadence (number of pedal revolutions per minute). Don't be macho about it - drop the gears and keep the speed then when you get better you can work on increasing the speed by increasing the gears while keeping the cadence high (not very good at that myself).

The above is particularly true when climbing steep hills. I used to try stay in a high gear as long as possible; now I drop into one of my lowest gears straight away and just focus on getting up the climb; I can always increase the gearing if I feel I have the strength for it at that time, but it's very difficult to recover from over-exerting yourself at the start of a climb.

The day after your first long cycle (regardless of what you define as long) the body (and ass!) will be aching and you won't want to even look at the bike. It's crucial that you get on the bike that day and even do 5km on it just to get past that mental barrier - after 5 minutes you'll have shown yourself that the hardest part was getting on the bike and once you're on it you're grand.

Get a cheap cycle computer to start you off - always easier to motivate when you can track how you're doing. Just to give you ballpark speeds for reference (based on my own non-expert opinion): 20km/h over rolling terrain (most routes aren't fully flat) is what you should be aiming for as a novice. 25km/h is a decent speed to maintain when riding solo for over an hour and it's exponentially more difficult to push it up from there but within months you'll do it.

blorg

+1 what Caroline says, it is a lot easier to lose weight through diet. Too many cyclists attempting weight loss up their calorie intake to counter the exercise (it's a natural impulse.) Lot easier to cut 1,000 calories out of diet than to burn them. This is of course not to say don't cycle as it is very helpful but watch diet, you need to develop better habits regarding what you eat.

Lumen

Caroline_ie wrote: »

adding an hour of easy cycling a day or every 2nd day will allow you to drop a 2 or 3 lbs a week healthily ( or more if you're cycling more ).

Easy cycling is not better for weight loss than hard cycling.

Don't be lured into boring slow cycles in an attempt to get thinner.

edit: ^ that wasn't directed at you Caroline!

I'll stop digging now

blorg

Easy cycling is easier to keep up for a newbie and is probably almost as good for weight loss though. More weight off for the amount of effort expended.

Caroline_ie

Chances are, if you are unfit, you won't be cycling 'hard', maybe it will be 'hard' for the 'n00b' cyclist though. That what I mean by 'easy'.

I know I lost 2 stones a few years ago cycling while dieting. I cut down on food and cycled what now would be for me a very slow beginner 1 or 2 hours a day, 4 times a week.

One thing as well, your body will get used to the same exercice and will not burn as much after a while (now obvioulsy that takes several months ) - It's good to take advantage of the shock your body will have when you 1st introduce it to cycling.

Remember to drink water too, you will get dehydrated.

Ryaner

1 hour a day isn't going to have you burning 2-3lbs per week unless you diet. Each lb of fat is 3500 Calories. I know I average just 1000 Calories per hour while on the bike for the first 3-4 hours at which point it drops off due to slowing down.

If it was *that* simple, then it'd work, but you'll find that you eat more (you have to) and it also isn't just Calories in and Calories out, same reason that someone can eat Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries and not end up nearly a lb heavier.

With a diet / controlled eating, cycling will help you quicker than most due to the avg length of time on a bike being longer than most other activities.

it's mick

i've cycled everywhere i go for years but put on weight when i started college, then i started to ride fixie and lost a good bit of weight in no time. maybe not the best idea since you don't seem to be used to cycling much at the moment.
just something else to think about.

googlehead

Ryaner wrote: »

1 hour a day isn't going to have you burning 2-3lbs per week unless you diet. Each lb of fat is 3500 Calories. I know I average just 1000 Calories per hour while on the bike for the first 3-4 hours at which point it drops off due to slowing down.

If it was *that* simple, then it'd work, but you'll find that you eat more (you have to) and it also isn't just Calories in and Calories out, same reason that someone can eat Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries and not end up nearly a lb heavier.

With a diet / controlled eating, cycling will help you quicker than most due to the avg length of time on a bike being longer than most other activities.

i have started back cycling again, i am cycling 4-5 times a week, averaging about 125-160km a week. flats mixed with hills,i usually take around 1hr.15mins to 1hr.35mins for each cycle,i push myself hard enough i am eating ok. still eating a few bars of chocolate a week. i am a few pounds overweight,doing some weights during the day,would a 1lb a week be easy enough with that regime??

xz

blorg wrote: »

+1 what Caroline says, it is a lot easier to lose weight through diet. Too many cyclists attempting weight loss up their calorie intake to counter the exercise (it's a natural impulse.) Lot easier to cut 1,000 calories out of diet than to burn them. This is of course not to say don't cycle as it is very helpful but watch diet, you need to develop better habits regarding what you eat.

I originally started cycling last year to lose weight, it worked, I lost 3 stone in about the same amount of months, but as Blorg has said, I am now eating more because of the exercise, and have been eating the wrong types of food and have put back on a stone, even though I am regularly cycling.
So, yes diet, combined with the cycling is the wat to go......................where did I put that Big Mac.

xz

googlehead wrote: »

i have started back cycling again, i am cycling 4-5 times a week, averaging about 125-160km a week. flats mixed with hills,i usually take around 1hr.15mins to 1hr.35mins for each cycle,i push myself hard enough i am eating ok. still eating a few bars of chocolate a week. i am a few pounds overweight,doing some weights during the day,would a 1lb a week be easy enough with that regime??

try some days of "NOT" pushing hard, you would be surprised at how "little" effort can go a long way in weight loss, but just cycle at a nice steady pace that makes you sweat but not fatigued

blorg

1-2lb a week is generally considered a sensible rate. If you are TRULY only "a few" pounds overweight it can be tough to shift! If you are a few stone it is a lot easier to get it going 1lb/week should be possible but it will be mostly down to your diet.

125-160km would probably net you over 3,500 calories which = 1lb all right. Maybe even 1.5. Just need to make sure you aren't eating more. A "few" chocolate bars a week is fine, I ate pure stong dark chocolate when I was trying to lose weight as you tend to eat less of it.

blorg

xz wrote: »

try some days of "NOT" pushing hard, you would be surprised at how "little" effort can go a long way in weight loss, but just cycle at a nice steady pace that makes you sweat but not fatigued

+1 on this, if you are trying to lose weight, rather than race etc. I would look at plain distance and don't worry about how long it takes you at all. Just aim to rack up the miles at a steady pace that you can repeat the next day.

Another thing to watch (after you are done!) is if you are off the bike for any length of time due to injury or whatever, it is hard to kick that cyclist's appetite, I have fallen victim to this one myself (badly) after injury.

ROK ON

blorg wrote: »

Maybe even 1.5. Just need to make sure you aren't eating more. A "few" chocolate bars a week is fine, I ate pure stong dark chocolate when I was trying to lose weight as you tend to eat less of it.

Very good advice for choccie addicts trying to shift a few lbs.
Dark choc is richer, more difficult to eat and is high in antioxidants (thus general health benefits).
People who eat a lot of chocolate have a perceived need o eat a lot as most choccie is tasteless and full of sugar.

googlehead

i have not found i eat alot more from cycling, usually a couple of oranges extra a day or something, i am doing a 75mile run in july, i won't be racing as i am not good enough, but i want to challenge myself to put in a good time. so i am trying to push myself hard, and i am finding that i am getting better every day at hills because of this. but i also hope to get very fit and loose 6-7 pounds during this time.

patzer

Guys

I just want express my thanks with the response from all of you. I couldn't believe that there were so many replies to the thread this morning.

It's very encouraging to know that I'm not the first to be in this position (and won't be the last).:p

The practical advice about distances, diet, gear etc is exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm going to try to make a start at the weekend, weather permitting.

A question about the bike size. I'm 5'10" with and inside leg of 30", what would you recommend as being the best frame size. I can't remember the actual size of my own bike but I have a sneaking suspicion that it might be a bit ob the big size.

One other question,

How does an exercise bike in the gym compare to the real thing. Can i use that as a replacement if I dont get out on the road enough during the week?

Again many thanks

Pat

Lumen

patzer wrote: »

A question about the bike size. I'm 5'10" with and inside leg of 30", what would you recommend as being the best frame size.

54cm, probably.

Larger frame = greater reach (distance to handlebars), less drop (from saddle to handlebars).

This will help you find whether your bike is the right fit. Pay attention to limb/torso angles and arm bend.

patzer wrote: »

How does an exercise bike in the gym compare to the real thing. Can i use that as a replacement if I dont get out on the road enough during the week?

It's like real cycling, with all the fun bits removed (unless the wildlife in your gym is particularly interesting).

fenris

I started back cycling earlier this year, I have a good bit of weight to shift (118kg) and not much time to dedicate to cycling as a seperate activity (sprogs).

My approach has been to try and work my cycling into my normal routine, in this case my commute from Bray to Fitzwilliam square (both car and bike take approx. 1 hour so no excuse!) and have a slightly longer term goal (wicklow 100). Usually one goal or the other will get me onto my bike, thinking about going out takes longer that just doing it!

Don't get too hung up on kit, there is a long way to go before your kit will have any real influence (although never underestimate the power of the placebo!).

I found cutting back drastically on the food is really counter productive, not so much a double hit for weight loss as a double whammy physically, slows you down and makes recovery into a real bitch which makes it hard to get back onto the bike.

I found that adding some isotonic to my water made a huge difference, I used to drink plenty of water but it just wasn't helping, I was ready to fall over after 45 minutes and had to force myself to keep going, tried drinking more but just felt sick. A couple of scoops of High5 in the camelback seems to have sorted things out.

A computer is handy to get a more subjective view of what you have done. Mine also does heart rate and means that I now know that the difference between a commute at 75-85% and 85-95% is about 2.5 minutes in time (a traqffic light) but is much less comfortable and recovery is much slower leaving me reluctant to get back on the bike in the following couple of days - that being said a hard spin is great for the head - not enough oxygen left over for thinking about work.

I am working to push up my cadence, when I started I was averaging 46rpm, now it is about 75rpm, cycling is now much more comfortable even though it felt silly and counter productive at first, now I find hills much easier as I just change gears to keep my cadence up and don't worry about the slope (mostly).
This is the main thing that I would change about how I started back, instead of building distance any way that I could, I should have got my cadence sorted and things would have been much easier!

Caroline_ie

fenris wrote: »

I found cutting back drastically on the food is really counter productive, not so much a double hit for weight loss as a double whammy physically, slows you down and makes recovery into a real bitch which makes it hard to get back onto the bike.

Ah yes but if you're heavy it is because you eat too much of the wrong things. So yes, cut down on your portions. What might view as a 1 person portion might actually be a 2 people portion. Cake is good, after a 6 hours spin, cake is not good after a 1 hour spin.

I recommend doing a spreadsheet: with Cals in and Cals out.

ROK ON

Caroline_ie wrote: »

, cake is not good after a 1 hour spin.

Cake is always good (unless its carrot cake).:D

hynesie

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I recommend doing a spreadsheet: with Cals in and Cals out.

Or if you're quite nerdy you could go for the hackers diet: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/

patzer

mmmmmmmmmmm cake

and even carrot cake can be good if you have no cake at all

Ryaner

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Ah yes but if you're heavy it is because you eat too much of the wrong things. So yes, cut down on your portions. What might view as a 1 person portion might actually be a 2 people portion. Cake is good, after a 6 hours spin, cake is not good after a 1 hour spin.

I recommend doing a spreadsheet: with Cals in and Cals out.

It isn't a case of eating too much to be heavier. If I was to get to a BMI of say 25, the number where obese starts, I'd have sub 10% body fat. That'd put me around the 85kg mark too.

Cal in v Cal out is hugely dependant on the type of cals in, and how you burn the calories going out.

Caroline_ie

Ryaner wrote: »

It isn't a case of eating too much to be heavier. If I was to get to a BMI of say 25, the number where obese starts, I'd have sub 10% body fat. That'd put me around the 85kg mark too.

Cal in v Cal out is hugely dependant on the type of cals in, and how you burn the calories going out.

I think I didn't explain myself properly

Overweight vvvvv


Reason: Not because he's a rugbyman, because he is very keen on donuts and cheeseburgers.

If this man eats 3000 cals a day, whether is it 3500 cals/ day worth of cheeseburger or 3000 Cals worth of lean chicken, he will not lose weight. However, I agree, he might be a little less bloated, he will have better skin, and his transit might be slightly better, yes. He will will be fat.

If my friend body builder has a 31% BMI, doesn't mean he is obese, it means he is heavy and probably a lot stronger than me and you, muscles do weight more than fat, we all know that.

As well a man with 25% BMI is not the same as a woman with 25% BMI, because of the body composition.

25% BMI by the way is not considered as obese, unkess you are comparing yourself to Posh spice and the like ... ( never thought I'd mention her in a cycling forum, mind you we did mention bekham just last month )

For athletes BMI doesn;t not really matter unless you are able to calculate it with all sorts of machines.

In the OP case, he has said before, he is not an athlete, not yet a cyclist, he's just overweight. ( no offence OP )

blorg

If you have a BMI of 25 with sub 10% body fat you don't have a weight problem but I suspect a look in the mirror would be enough to confirm this to your own satisfaction... Bit of common sense here really, I am presuming someone who posts here looking to lose weight is not being weighed down by their enormous, heavy muscles.

BTW as well 25 is where the "normal" range ends and "overweight" starts. "Obese" starts at 30.

FrankGrimes

Reducing calorie intake does not necessarily involve starving yourself - it should mean eating smarter (e.g. carbs mainly early in the day, not much in evening).

Here is a great thread with lots of info and diet tips. Here is another.

I've started following roughly the diets outlined in those threads for the past week due to needing to drop weight to hit a target for a charity boxing event in early May and have noticed an improvement already and I'm not hungry as a result either.

During a cycle, I would need to take more carbs than normal on that diet (though I'll limit it in non-event sessions), but overall following of that regime would be beneficial and will result in weight loss.

Lumen

The stuff about timing your calorie intake is largely discredited, but whatever works for you I guess.

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I've started following roughly the diets outlined in those threads for the past week due to needing to drop weight to hit a target for a charity boxing event in early May

I wonder whether the Boxing forum has threads on helmet wearing and bell jumping...

MadHatter

hynesie wrote: »

Or if you're quite nerdy you could go for the hackers diet: http://www.fourmilab.ch/hackdiet/

Would definitely recommend this to anyone looking to lose (or simply maintain) weight. The PDF book itself is interesting enough, it's the weight tracking spreadsheet that I find really useful. In a nutshell, you weight yourself daily and stick it in the spreadsheet, it calculates a trend weight (moving average basically) and you can use this to determine if you're losing/maintaining/gaining weight based on current lifestyle. You can then tweak diet/exercise to achieve a targeted weekly weightloss.

In my own case, over the last 2 years I've averaged out at daily calorie deficit of around 240 cals, roughly equating to 2lb loss every 5 weeks, or nearly 3st over 2 years. Max weekly weight loss over that time would have been around 1.5lb a week, so still less than recommended 2lb a week threshold.

The benefit of plotting this data is I get a warm fuzzy feeling when I see the trend line moving downwards, and an early warning indicator when the trend line starts to move upwards. Very handy for keeping me honest.

lukester

blorg wrote: »

I ate pure stong dark chocolate when I was trying to lose weight as you tend to eat less of it.

It's a gateway substance, I'm now on Lindt 99% and can't go back. :pac:

To the OP, don't know where you live, but if you can, try to cycle somewhere nice. Makes it a lot easier to get out than doing laps somewhere dreary. If you can get out with someone else it makes it even easier at the start.

Another thing I found helpful when trying to shift some poundage was using my lunch stop for refuelling,i.e. cycle somewhere for lunch, dinner, and don't eat extra.

I found the South Beach diet guidelines great for general nutritional advice- it was developed by a cardiologist for his patients suffering from heart disease, so only healthy foods were allowed. As a by product he noticed people were losing weight. I always ate a fairly healthy diet, but it's improved significantly since using SBD tips.

Ryaner

blorg wrote: »

If you have a BMI of 25 with sub 10% body fat you don't have a weight problem but I suspect a look in the mirror would be enough to confirm this to your own satisfaction... Bit of common sense here really, I am presuming someone who posts here looking to lose weight is not being weighed down by their enormous, heavy muscles.

BTW as well 25 is where the "normal" range ends and "overweight" starts. "Obese" starts at 30.

I was more pointing out that "heavy" is purely relative. The heavy bones statement some people make is actually quite true as well as it is more my frame than muscles that pushes the overall weight up.

Average people stand on a weighting scales and see a large number and think they are over weight which isn't always the case

doctor evil

Wear Hi Viz so you are visible.

If you come upon a horse and rider on the roads don't come up between them and the outside, fella who did that was v.lucky my girl is as good as gold! If on a 'silent' bike perhaps try shouting bike in case the people ahead are muppets and not regularly checking behind.

patzer

Caroline_ie wrote: »

I
In the OP case, he has said before, he is not an athlete, not yet a cyclist, he's just overweight. ( no offence OP )

No Offence taken - I can handle the truth. It's been quite some time since I considered myself as anything close to an athelete.;)