New to cycling, wanna get trim

T-Square

New to cycling.

This could be the wrong place to post, sorry if this is the case, mod please move as appropriate.

With that out of the way, hello everyone, I have recently started cycling.

I want to lose weight, and the moobs, and the belly.

I'm cycling about 12km every second day, and 25km on Sundays.

It takes me 30 minutes to cycle the 12km.

Should I be doing more km's? cycling faster?

help!

Ryaner

30 min to do 12km is none too shabby. I still average around the 20km mark on my spins out and about including breaks.

scottreynolds

T-Square wrote: »

New to cycling.

This could be the wrong place to post, sorry if this is the case, mod please move as appropriate.

With that out of the way, hello everyone, I have recently started cycling.

I want to lose weight, and the moobs, and the belly.

I'm cycling about 12km every second day, and 25km on Sundays.

It takes me 30 minutes to cycle the 12km.

Should I be doing more km's? cycling faster?

help!

More would be better. I'd say 2 hours would be better.... but really anything is good. Pace is unimportant really 24km/h seems fine.

Bunnyhopper

I'd say that if you're new to cycling then that's a reasonable average speed to sustain for half an hour. You could gradually try for a few longer spins, maybe try a little interval work, but it sounds like a good start. Keep it up

(And I reckon this is one the best places to ask these sorts of questions. You'll generally get helpful and friendly responses.)

Caroline_ie

cycle more, as in longer* and cut down on the food, portion your meals and be consistent.

Captain Havoc

I've just lost 5kg and I need to lose about 3-4 more. I found that going out with a group helps. Find out if there are any beginners groups near you. We have one on a Monday night in Kilkenny. The maximum distance for that seems to 40km but there are turn off points before and we don't leave cyclists go home alone. It's a friendly atmosphere. Any involvement in sport will only be good for you in the long run, you could try and go approximately 10% more every week, that's what I do. Also I find cycling more enjoyable with the bike in good shape, once a week give the chain and frame a quick clean, oil and pump up the tyres to the correct pressure (about 40psi for a mountain bike and 100+ for a road bike, it'll say it on the side of the tyre). A good functioning bike will make cycling more pleasurable. You should only spend 30mins max cleaning it every week (you can spend more if you like).

Planet X

Get a good breakfast down yer neck before ye set out........




......



or ya might get "the knock'

Captain Havoc

What in the name of mother of is that?

FrankGrimes

Fair play OP, you've done the hardest part by getting into a routine of doing some exercise as opposed to just talking about it.

Is the hardest part at this stage now the thinking about it and after 5 minutes on the bike it's not actually too bad at all? I was like that for a while and you just gotta keep telling yourself it'll be grand when you're on it and then keep finding a way instead of an excuse. For me that mental aspect is the main challenge, it doesn't have to be that physically tough cos you can adjust your pace and route to suit.

Scott is spot on - get out there and do a 2 hour ride not worrying about what distance you'r covering. That'll help shift some weight and when you have that under your belt you can then set your next target to keep it interesting. Get a speedometer and measure your distance and time for that 2-hourish route and then set a target time to hit for that route. When you've done that you'll have proven a lot to yourself and the world is your oyster then. After that just keep it fresh by upping the stakes by trying new routes and adding climbs into the equation (drop to easiest gear on the climb and just spin up it gradually, keep heart rate low and don't bust a gut - you can worry about that next time when you know you can make it all the way up). Then there's the Boards spins if you're in Dublin and sportives to target to stretch yourself and enjoy it at the same time.

Stick with it and results will come, just don't expect instant results. There will be days it doesn't go well and times you feel results are slower than expected. Just grind it out as much as you can and it'll come. This forum has answers to every question you could ever have on cycling so search around and you'll learn loads.

Apart from that though, you have to have a look at your diet. Do the above while also improving your diet and you'll then start seeing noticeable results. Read up on the Fitness forum starting here. I did the same and lost a fair bit of weight based on new advice I read on there.

Start with one simple change: a big bowl of porridge in the morning with some pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and a teaspoon of honey. Tastes grand and fuels you for ages, meaning you'll cut out snacks and then also be better placed to follow the advice on having a salad for lunch as you won't be starving.

Good luck with it and let us know how you're getting on. Hope to see you at a boards spin or a sportive sometime soon!

DePurpereWolf

I've been running and I'm thinking of picking up biking.
(I need to loose weight as well )
The thing with running and also cycling is that you mind your eating automatically if you do it regularly. If you eat too much, or the wrong things, you'll notice it while exercising.

You'll only start burning fat after 40 minutes or so of exercise, that's with any sport. But I would suggest doing short sprints, 10k or 5k in the weekdays. And then 1 or 2 big spins in the weekend. Start with 25k though, build up slowly.

Lumen

Cycling is pretty much the best exercise to lose weight. With a bit of practice, you can cycle for hours without injuring yourself. Without cycling, you are fatter. With cycling, you are thinner.

So think long term.

The greatest threat to your long term weight control is giving up cycling. Plan to do it until you get so old that you can't sit on a saddle any more, then ride a recumbent until you die.

You can relax about the weight. If you try to become the best cyclist you can and are reasonably restrained in what you eat, you will get thinner, but this objective will be superceded by more interesting goals: distance, speed, cake, smoothness, cake, efficiency, and so on.

In the short term, listen to your body, cycle as regularly as you can and try to avoid overtraining, resting when you need to.

</ramble>

thebouldwhacker

First of all, Welcome,
You ARE in the right place but you may also be intrested in our funny friends in the A.R.T. forum, there is a sub forum with training logs which are good to read through.
Well done on your times and distances, pretty good for a beginner (what kind of bike do you have?)
As Luman said above concentrate on times and distance will take care of itself, as with your weight, once you get into cycling, being the best cyclist you can be will become your main goal and all else fits into place. Stick with it and this time next year you'll be comparing split times for your first WW200 (by then you'll also know what the WW200 is:D)

biomed32

your not alone there, im pretty new to the cycling myself picked it up in april after i was involved in a charity cycle from maynooth to galway and back again. im trying to loose about two stone and become fit enough to do the cycle next year, so far i have lost a stone just by reducing the amount i eat and improving the quality i eat:)

Acoustic

op

im in the same boat

i picked up cycling a month ago , started 10k spins and now im averaging id say around 30-35km spins and its addictive

regarding my weight , im 20 stone and at 6"2 i hold it well so im always told and always told i look about 16 stone etc , doesnt matter I KNOW what i weight and wanna drop the weight

i havnt noticed weight loss because i didnt check my weight at the start but have noticed my legs like rocks also jeans a tad bit looser

id say the only reason i havnt lost much weight is because of the crap i eat , so im making up a excel sheet to imput what ive done , distance , time , average speed , etc and also calories expended , and try the weight watchers way of losing weight , when i start that i should drop it good

just enjoy it , its free , good for you and some nice people on here to point u in the direction

biomed32

+1 to that mate

Jawgap

Hello OP and welcome!!!

My advice would be - first, stick with the cycling and the weight will melt off.

Second thing I'd do is buy a cycle computer (if you haven't already gotten one) - nothing fancy.

Then I'd start be setting yourself different goals or objectives for each time you ride - aiming to do a route a little bit quicker. or going a few km further than you went the last time you did a partcular route, etc. If you're out cycling and there's someone in front, try and catch them - in other words push yourself just a little harder on each spin.

Plan out a variety of routes.

Tell people what you are going to do - if you say to your family "Tomorrow I'm going to do 20km on the bike (or whatever)" it's much more difficult to not do it.

Eat sensibly but I wouldn't worry a whole lot about that initially - I found the more I cycled, the more I was forced to eat sensibly - it's difficult (for me anyway) to do a long spin after a Chinese and a bottle of wine the night before!!

Reward yourself - I usually buy a new bit of kit everytime I pass a significant milestone on the bike!

Good luck!

SerialComplaint

Try to build cycling into your daily routine - Can you commute on the bike? If you are commuting, can you add to your route?

**Timbuk2**

Your making a great move going into cycling.

According to your original post, you can do 12km in 30mins, which is an average speed of 24 km/h, which is very good for a beginner.

My advice would be to increase your distance each time by about 10%. So if you cycle 25km this time, try for 28km next time, 31km next time, 34 km and so on.

It may seem like small steps but it helps to prevent any injury.

Also, after a long cycle (more than 50km etc.) don't go really fast at the end home - this can cause your muscles to ache afterwards. Instead, shift into an easy gear and go slow, while still turning your legs to get rid of all the lactose. This is known as a 'cool down' or 'warm down' and some argue that it is more important than stretching (but remember to stretch if it was a long cycle).

biomed32

thats a great way to cool down, when i come back into my estate i tend to do a few slow, easy laps around, which reduced the aches and pains lol

T-Square

Hi everyone, and thanks for the nice welcome.

I covered about 30km on my Sunday run yesterday.

The niggles I was having with the bike (Apolo CX10 from Halfords) are now fixed. The brakes were squeaking and not fully disengaging, and after getting four punctures in a row, have ridden for over a week without incident. The tyres are a bit odd, they are "v-grove" and if I don't nudge them into position, at 70psi, the tyre comes off the rim and the tube bubbles out!

Managed to set the High and Low limits on the front derailleur too, so no more annoying grinding.

Must admit the legs are a bit stiff today, not sore, just a bit stiff. Will cycle 14km tomorrow evening.

I like the idea of a cycle computer, which one of these should I buy?

No road rage encounters yet, but I tend to stick to the cycle paths in the park. I did find a Renault parked sideways across the bike path, that's kinda selfish isn't it. Maybe I'm being a bit petty?

My wife says I'm getting slimmer, but not by much she says she's seeing real definition in my legs now. When I visited my mum, we hugged, and she immediately noticed my back, and said "you've lost weight"

I can't believe I'm only doing this for a few weeks/month and it's having a real effect (kinda cutting down the carbs too) No more the foot long cuisine de France roll, with a breaded chicken fillet inside. Instead I munch on a salad.

Hopefully, as was said, the weight will melt off!!

Ryaner

Congrats. It is all about sticking with it. Cycling is great for loosing weight too as you can end up spending hours on the bike without really noticing it.

Re: cycling computer. Cateye is a good choice if you are in that end of the Market. Also on the off chance that you haven't seen it, http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ although be warned, this could be dangerous if your credit card is to hand!

FrankGrimes

Fair play dude, great to hear you're sticking with it and making progress. That you took the initiative to learn how to adjust the derailleur is a good sign - once you start investing time learning about it it's a lot easier to spend time on the bike and maintaining it, I'd say you'll grow to love the bike but I haven't heard too many love stories about Halfords bikes! Maybe use that as an incentive - if you get to weight X and save up cash amount Y you'll reward yourself by buying a nice fancy bike and once you experience the joy of cycling a road bike it's a lot easier to motivate yourself to get to the next level.

Keep focusing on the food intake and making small improvements to your diet where you can, planning ahead to take fruit to work etc. Have to say though, you're showing all the signs of someone that has the willpower and focus to make real progress and I honestly think you either have that or you don't and you do so there's no reason to think this is only the start of it.

In addition to the free high of the endorphins, it does the morale no harm at all to be seeing signs of progress and hearing it back in comments from those around you, particularly those you care about. Keep inching things up from here and there's no reason why you can't get a 100km event under your belt before the summer sportive season is over and why not aim for something as ambitious as the Wicklow 200 next year? A year ago I wouldn't have thought I could do it either but a year is a long time and I'm a big believer that the most important factor is mental strength and if you have that there's no stopping you.

Keep setting yourself small incremental targets and post back here letting us know how you're getting on. You don't have to post personal details but I find that kinda holding yourself to account by posting status updates does help with motivation.

There will be tough days and setbacks ahead and times when the rate of visible progress isn't what you expected but keep on going through it and this could be the start of something great for you so you won't regret it.

What you might regret though is discovering www.chainreactioncycles.com and www.wiggle.co.uk and www.probikekit.com - all 3 sites have fantastic selections and quick free delivery to Ireland so they're a much better option than Amazon but beware, when the bug bites it bites hard as my credit card bills will testify!

blorg

If your primary goal is weight loss, diet is also very important- cycling certainly helps and is a great support but the primary focus needs to be on diet control- you seem to be aware of this already which is great. Make sure whatever you do with regard to diet is sustainable over several months, e.g. don't overdo things either.

During the weight loss phase I would tend to focus on long steady efforts that can be sustained on a restricted calorie diet- it really is difficult and probably counter productive to try to get faster while you are not eating very much, you will tend to bonk. So increase distance gradually (10%/week) but don't worry about average speed at all. You can work on that after you have lost the weight.

ednwireland

just started up again guys this year (used to race mtb's - unsuccssefully in my 20's) computers and travel for work put me up to 17.5 st back to 17 now did 94k on sun avg 19.7km (hoping to do the tour of yeats country 160km at the end of aug as an incentive)
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/ireland/donegal/436124626960675855
4hr 45mins

so keep it up

dermiek

starting again myself. I took up cycling about 3 years ago to lose weight for a holiday, joined weight watchers too. Basically changed the way I cooked food -grill instead of a fry - and more salads. In the space of 10 weeks I lost 2stone 4 lbs. Went on holiday and promptly stopped cycling until now!! Why did I do that??? I dont know. Any way, I am 48, overweight and bitten by the cycling bug again. this time until I can no longer cycle. Was in France a few weeks ago. Visited Lourdes and also drove up the Col Du Tourmalet. Jesus, what a mountain.
In the next 5 years, I am going to cycle up that, just like the hundreds of others who didi it the day I was there. Restaurant at top with great coffee. Good incentive to do it. (the coffee).