Fitness, DH (etc..) & Me..

Sghost · Sep 15, 2009

Ride your bike to trails, do the ride, then get your ass back.

mullet_dew · Sep 15, 2009

Go on the 75% diet, just leave 25% of everything on your plate, it may seem like a waste but if it goes to your belly is it really being used? Also try riding everywhere you can, like for little errands. You can go to the store a few times a week on your bike and fill your backpack with non breakable groceries, then get eggs and stuff like that on your way home from work in your car. The scale of NYC is way beyond me, but if you live close enough you could ride to work a few days a week. Find some city park trails or maybe some dirt jumps to ride to on your hardtail.

That was the long way of saying eat less/ride more.

norbar · Sep 15, 2009

mullet_dew said:
Go on the 75% diet, just leave 25% of everything on your plate, it may seem like a waste but if it goes to your belly is it really being used? Also try riding everywhere you can, like for little errands. You can go to the store a few times a week on your bike and fill your backpack with non breakable groceries, then get eggs and stuff like that on your way home from work in your car. The scale of NYC is way beyond me, but if you live close enough you could ride to work a few days a week. Find some city park trails or maybe some dirt jumps to ride to on your hardtail.

That was the long way of saying eat less/ride more.

I'd add walking instead of using a car/public transport anywhere you can. I do around 10km on foot/day when I'm not forced to study and it helps a lot. It's not really slower than a car/public transport in a big city full of traffic and you don't have to worry about your bike. Though the best thing you can do is to have a nice diet (a lot of proteins, no fat, little carbs except for the high exercise time) and cross train on your bike and gym[really heavy 1-1.5h gym training really helps]. If you really want to loose some weight fast (that will give you better fitness for sure) you can use some mild fatburner suplement the bodybuilder guys use. I'd read though about the side effects of the one you'd consider as some of them can be pretty annoying. Still they can work miracles and really don't do much more harm than drinking/smoking/crap eating to your body so if you have nothing against it it may be owrth a try.

bdamschen · Sep 15, 2009

Here's one that helps a ton:

Always remember to eat breakfast.

It seems counter intuitive, but that sort of jump starts your metabolism for the day.

soul-skier · Sep 15, 2009

I feel your pain. When I lived in Mammoth I was super, no, hyper-active. Between skiing 120+ days a year and MTB'ing 5-7 days a week plus riding 6 miles to and from work 5 days a week (thats a 2500ft elevation gain to work at the Mammoth Mountain Inn) My legs were ripped and my lungs were huge. I consumed over 6000 calories a day and weighed 119lbs (I'm 5-4, small build). Then I moved back to NY to attend Culinary School and I gained 40+ pounds. I hardley ski anymore and only ride DH on the weekends. My weight is now down to 145lbs. I have a gut and no lungs. There is no way I'll road ride or hit the gym. I'm considering the cocaine diet. Who's with me?

Jim Mac · Sep 15, 2009

I ate less and rode more*, lost 10 lbs in the last 2 months, down to 180.

*rode more = more intensely, not more time, as that is something I have little of nowadaze!

jonnynails · Sep 15, 2009

I did the same as J mac above - ate better foods and less of them and stepped up the intensity of my rides. Lost 10 lbs initially, but I've been stuck lately as I fell off the wagon diet wise. Trying to balance the diet better as far as protein - I have always eaten a diet very high in carbs. Working on making sure every meal has 20-30 grams of protein in it and trying not to eat "empty calories" that don't have any nutritional value for my body. Going to make sure that I ride/train thru the winter - lots of base miles at lower intensity and weights.

Big J · Sep 15, 2009

soul-skier said:
Then I moved back to NY to attend Culinary School and I gained 40+ pounds.

Same thing happened to me, Culinary School, bought a bar, drank beer, ate...turned in to a Food Blister. DH racing saved me...I shed 20lbs but lost way more than that in body fat and my fitness just keeps getting better.

What had the biggest impact on me was a diet adjustment....healthy eating and changing the format of two meals; bigger breakfast, much lighter dinner.

J

ronnyg801 · Sep 15, 2009

Google: harris benedict equation. Be honest with your self about your body fat level and your activity level, that will give you a base amount of calories you need to consume for a desired goal. STICK TO YOUR DIET. You will not make near the progress you are looking for without sticking to it. Try and exercise as much as possible but I promise you what you take in is way more important.

mtakahas · Sep 15, 2009

1st you should eat less... doesn't mean starve - just don't eat until you are stuffed! Keep in mind that just because you are starting to ride and exercise, doesn't mean you can eat everything and anything. Next, if you are short on time, you might consider riding your hardtail with slick tires on - like you said... that way you can start your workout as soon as you leave your house... no time wasted driving to trail, and driving back. That should give you a good start... just remember, losing weight is a numbers game... burn more calories than you take in each day....

Jeremy R · Sep 15, 2009

Steroids.
According to you, it worked for Lopes. :twitch:

DirtyMike · Sep 15, 2009

From OCT 2006, to March 2007, I dropped from 330ish, down to 235. Felt awesome. It was easy. Simple trick, old school count your calories, and work out three times a week.

Burn calories, work to build muscle. It will drop fast. remember Muscle burns fat, start with good cardio workout, then lift, then cool down with a light cardio.

Sghost · Sep 15, 2009

Hang out with some XC racers, just hope they don't start complaining about having to pedal their DH rigs.

blender · Sep 16, 2009

if you can, commute to work on your bike

NoUseForAName · Sep 16, 2009

Huck Banzai said:
My intent is to grab my hardtail (with smoothish tires pumped up) and get some miles in - boring or not

Don't waste your time doing stuff you find boring. Riding on the road is dull - that's why roadies ride in groups

If it's boring, it'll be harder to stick to.

Get yourself a fluid trainer, do half an hour to an hour every night watching the simpsons or something. Means no excuses from the weather, or wrong clothes.
Burning fat = 60% HR.
Make sure your wife likes you in lycra in the living room.

stringbean · Sep 16, 2009

keep some variety in what you do, doing the same thing all the time gets boring.

ride once or twice a week, go for a run, do some weights, take the dog for a walk, get off the bus a few stops earlier and walk. it's good and well to say ride all the time, but you'll get over it and loose motivation, then you'll go back to your old ways.

also draw up a plan of say 2 or 3 weeks, and vary the activity each day so you dont have to think to hard about what you want to do.

JRogers · Sep 16, 2009

NoUseForAName said:
Don't waste your time doing stuff you find boring. Riding on the road is dull - that's why roadies ride in groups
If it's boring, it'll be harder to stick to.

Get yourself a fluid trainer, do half an hour to an hour every night watching the simpsons or something. Means no excuses from the weather, or wrong clothes.
Burning fat = 60% HR.
Make sure your wife likes you in lycra in the living room.

Agreed- the biggest thing is to find something (more or less) fun. Though I would note that riding on a trainer is just about the most boring workout imaginable. With TV and movies it's not too bad, but those are basically required if you plan on spending a decent amount of time on it. I end up riding my trainer a lot in the winter; it is a very good workout if you push yourself a bit.

SDH · Sep 16, 2009

Become a XC geek.............

Here is how I lost 20-25 lbs since January

Exercise

I joined the local XC MTB club. They usually have structured rides for all abilities and have about 2-3 rides a week. Set a goal, like "I am gonna hang intermediate or fast guys 1 night a week". In a few months you will not believe how fit you will be and you will not lose any bike handling skills. After a month or two incorporate strength training. Work the big muscles to burn as much fat as possible. I joined a rock gym and climbed and did a lot of climbing body weight exercises. Set your schedule that you ride one day and strenght train the next taking like a Friday and Sunday off until it becomes routine and then take only one day off you will amazed at your gains.

Food
Eat breakfast make sure it has a protein and a complex carb. At other meals fill half your plate with veggies. The other 1/4 should be lean protein and the other 1/4 a carb.

Booze
Only once a week if you must, best time to drink it is after a ride, it takes less to get you loaded and your body will process the calories quicker since you just road. ;-)

manhattanprjkt83 · Sep 16, 2009

-revise your diet
-ride your bike more
-get on a situp, pushup, pull up routine it is all you need to stay upper body fit for riding a bike. My has really enhanced over the years because of a regular work out schedule that i can do from home

Polish Rambo · Sep 16, 2009

By a jump rope. They are about $10-20 for a decent "fitness" model. Jumping rope will kick your ass and get you into shape in a short amount of time, its easy to do and you can do it about anywhere. Add it in to everything else mentioned and you shouldnt get bored or working out.

Good Luck

ender · Sep 16, 2009

Crossfit and Paleo. There is nothing better

Hesh To Steel · Sep 16, 2009

This is true for everyone, but ESPECIALLY when you get further into adulthood: the exercise you do is probably about 25% of the progress you make, ESPECIALLY when talking about body composition. Change your diet and your body will change, with or without exercise.

I was a gym rat in college, I was either lifting or playing basketball 3-6 times a week, but eating complete garbage, pizza every day, barely any fruit/veggies. I was in great shape, could run full court basketball games for 3 hours at a time, had a decent amount of muscle mass, but still a decent amount of fat as well.

Since the end of december 2008 I've started watching my diet, hitting the gym 3-4 times a week, and I've lost about 30 lbs and just feel a lot better day to day. Trust me, the diet is the MOST important part.

I'm at work 9-10 hours a day and I commute an hour each way as well, so it can be done.

Riding alone isn't going to get you the results you want unless you have tons of time to throw at it.

LMC · Sep 16, 2009

Huck Banzai said:
Obstacles are an 8-6 work day & allergic to many fresh fruit and vegetables (apples, pears, potatos, berries, etc.. must be cooked) as well as fish altogether.

Other side is I will very likely never touch weights - Ive been very fit, always lean/thin, and always despised weights; still bigger than pretty much everyone so I still got to win the fights! - but never been interested or able to commit to weights, always calisthenics, etc...

I like the jump rope idea - maybe the nighbors wonr.. bah!

why is it you dont like weights? do you get bored working out with them?

also can you post a typical days food and times you eat?

slyfink · Sep 16, 2009

Buy the James Wilson MTB strength program. It's good. and do all the other stuff about eating too.

I would say the main thing to do is remain happy. Don't do anything that makes you unhappy.

slowitdown · Sep 16, 2009

1) Eat 6-7 small half-meals a day, not 2-3 big ones

2) None of these: soda pop, flavored water, pseudo-juices. orange juice is good, but grape is bad, as is apple. most everything but real orange juice is sugar+water+minor amounts of fruit flavor

3) None of these: potato chips and the like (fritos, "sun chips", doritos, cheetos, etc)

4) cut the butter

5) cut the fats -- including things like bacon, hamburgers, etc

6) quit drinking alcohol until you get your fitness (see 7 below)

7) ride your bike. a lot. what is "a lot"? enough that you can go on a moderately-paced 4 hour ride without dying.

8) sleep at least 7 hrs per night.

manhattanprjkt83 · Sep 16, 2009

Hesh To Steel said:
This is true for everyone, but ESPECIALLY when you get further into adulthood: the exercise you do is probably about 25% of the progress you make, ESPECIALLY when talking about body composition. Change your diet and your body will change, with or without exercise.

I was a gym rat in college, I was either lifting or playing basketball 3-6 times a week, but eating complete garbage, pizza every day, barely any fruit/veggies. I was in great shape, could run full court basketball games for 3 hours at a time, had a decent amount of muscle mass, but still a decent amount of fat as well.

Since the end of december 2008 I've started watching my diet, hitting the gym 3-4 times a week, and I've lost about 30 lbs and just feel a lot better day to day. Trust me, the diet is the MOST important part.

I'm at work 9-10 hours a day and I commute an hour each way as well, so it can be done.

Riding alone isn't going to get you the results you want unless you have tons of time to throw at it.

I agree back when i was in college i looked in the mirror and realized i was 'fat' i had been in great shape my whole life but put on about 20 lbs, made a conscious effort to lose it...

The diet change was the biggest, being in college you are obviously going to drink...I existed for an entire year on bananas, wheat toast, peanut butter, spinach and tuna...sounds gnarly but i just got used to it...Dropped 20 lbs in about a month and a half...

Oh and drinking, that is one thing i struggle with, i am a complete beer snob and we all know the good beers have the most calories, if you are going to drink do Rum & diet or Vodka Soda...it's about as low as you can get, that will make a diff to.

manhattanprjkt83 · Sep 16, 2009

and like said above, it is INCREDIBLE how much better you feel even dropping 10 lbs, you feel like a new person.

LMC · Sep 17, 2009

Huck Banzai said:
I find them extremely boring, and I have to make, or go to, a dedicated space to make use of them.

Typical day is part of the problem.

I usually have a bowl of cereal and a banana for breakfast at work; I will have an orang juice or a vitamin water with breakfast - but try to do water or unsweetened green tea. I have, in the past, added to this with either a chocolate croissant, a Bacon Egg and Cheese sandwich, or both -- needless to say this has been eliminated (except on occasion) and is clearly less than ideal (the additional ~1000-1400 calories being missed has to be a plus)

Lunch: Whatever comes up at work; can be a variety of things; I have been making an effort to consume smaller portions, and make better choices. I have at least 2 'salads' for lunch a week (Lettuce, Onions, Tomatoes, maybe some avocado, and vinaigrette dressing - I MUST HAVE SOME DRESSING! -- occasionally I throw in some chicken), and if I have eaten more for breakfast than I should, I will often just have a small (8-10oz) of watermelon for lunch,

MOST TROUBLED AREA: Dinner & Evening - VERY unpredicatble; I get really lazy and eat too much, eat late. I also tend to eat/snack throughout the evening, when I know and have been told that I shouldnt eat for 2-4hrs before going to bed.

- Riding and new exercise should use some of this time; build some habits around this will be a help.

- I have been greatly improved regarding beverage intake - used to drink 4-8 Juices/Vitamin waters a day (office supplied, free - never would pay!) but have that down to 2 a day max, replaced with water, green tea (unsweetened) or the occasional coke zero.

DISCIPLINE! and form these habits -- thats what I figure is key, but helps to have confidence in goals via advice from others, such as you Monkeys!

you actually have a pretty good idea already but i would make the following points..

1) as has been said before eat 6 small meals instead of 3 big ones, this will make a big difference to your weight loss, as well as your energy and blood sugar levels during the day.
At the minute im guessing you get peckish at about 11 and by lunchtime you are starving and craving sweet foods.. if u split your meals up and eat small portions apprx every 2-3 hrs your blood sugar remains constant so no peaks and crashes, and more importantly your metabolism speeds up, which leads to weight loss.

2) obtaining calories from low GI foods like brown bread and wholemeal rice is good but not as good as obtining them from healthy fats, olives, olive oil, avocado, nuts, peanut butter. These release energy in an even slower manner so u feel full for longer and also the energy is less likely to be stored as fat.
so when possible substitute carbohydrates for the above, for example chicken, tomato, avocado and olive salad dressed in olive oil.

from my own experience i actually cut out all carbs aside from oats at breakfast and i got way stronger and leaner, only reason i stopped was due to the cost and also your meal choices are somewhat limited.

about training, im assuming u hate weights as much as i hare cardio, which is alot, but if you can force yourself to do it it will make a huge difference to your body composition and strength.. again as has been mentioned check out MTB strength coach, he really does know his stuff and his workouts dont take a huge amount of time.

Luke

LMC · Sep 17, 2009

manhattanprjkt83 said:
and like said above, it is INCREDIBLE how much better you feel even dropping 10 lbs, you feel like a new person.

yeah u feel so much quicker and lighter.. your body has been used to lugging that extra ballast about so your strength to weight ratio is up.. feels great

Total Heckler · Sep 17, 2009

Huck Banzai said:
Obstacles are an 8-6 work day & allergic to many fresh fruit and vegetables (apples, pears, potatos, berries, etc.. must be cooked)...

Wow someone else who has the same BS as me. That really makes dieting more difficult when you can't eat most of the things you should be eating.

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