[Smelly]

so i got some extra #'s on me. i'm 6', 215. i rationalize the extra 15 lbs or so because i'm in decent shape (better than most of my non-riding friends, sadly), but, i'm still on the chubbier side of people and want to do something about that. i'm in college, so expensive stuff like a personal trainer isn't up my alley. also, i really hate going to gyms; i do go periodically though because at school i can go for free. i do pushups and situps every so often, but i just get bored doing those kinda things. i'd rather do real exercise like ride my bike, play soccer or raquetball, hiking, whatever.
one more thing: stretching. i need to work on my flexibility too. any good websites or books with good lists of stretching exercises and what they do?

so, what do you guys need to know about my lifestyle to give me good advice?

 

[quadricolour]

Road bike.

 

[w00dy]

I've started forcing myself to do incline push-ups and or situps during commercials, which is great for these reasons:
1. I hate commercials and this is more productive.
2. I watch less TV knowing that I'll have to work out, which keeps me active doing other things.
3. The muscles which cycling just doesn't work out are finally starting to shape up.
4. It's free and hard to forget, whenever I feel I'm being programmed to be a consumer whore, IT'S TIME TO WORK OUT!

For the record I always had trouble sticking with those two exercises before.

As for stretching, you learned all the stretches you needed in Gym class. Go from head to toe and stretch every muscle. Just go by how it feels, you know how to stretch your muscles better than anyone else. keep in mind that stretching should feel good, not hurt. If you're trying to improve flexibility, hold the position for a couple of minutes longer than you normally would, don't just try to push it further.

 

[Smelly]

Road bike.

definitely. one of my housemates this fall has a road bike he never rides, so i'll probably steal that regularly

 

[chicodude]

I used to think roadies were lame, and most still are

But that damn road bike of mine has improved my endurance so much, I cant turn away from it

 

[Special K]

You should definitely get Joe Friel's book -- putting his plan into action has really helped me with my riding -- I went from a lousy sport rider in cross country to pretty good expert rider, and stretching is key -- make sure to stretch those hip flexors

 

[LordOpie]

Roadbiking? Ugh

 

[Pulser955]

You should definitely get Joe Friel's book -- putting his plan into action has really helped me with my riding -- I went from a lousy sport rider in cross country to pretty good expert rider, and stretching is key -- make sure to stretch those hip flexors

Whats the name of the book?

 

[Special K]

Joe Friel's Book is The Mountain Biker's Training Bible - Good Luck!

 

[Slider]

ride, run, chase cars, what ever is fun for a minimum of 50 to 90 perecent of your Max heart rate. the key to weight loss is intensity 60 percent for an hour is great for wieght loss 80 to 90 is great for cardio. Oh yeah the more muscle mass you have the more callories you body needs a day to run itself so get huge this winter.