Going to lard

[jiggerypokery]

I'm not proud of this as really this is my fault and my fault alone

Work in my field is concentrated in the M4 Silicon Valley and in order that my wife and sproglets don't have to uproot down to Fleet and leave behind their immediate family and support network of friends (and my wife's job for that matter) I commute daily down to Fleet. In the good old days I rode to work every day come rain or shine and was a racing whippet and all the fitter, leaner and generally healthier for it. As is the way for all middle management road warriors (thank god I don't actually do sales) sitting on my ass for 4 hours a day in the car is turning me to fat. I get home too late and have to leave too early to fit in rides at the start and end of the day and because I'm away for a good part of the day and abroad a lot I daren't use up any of my weekend in the battle of the bulge.

Now...strangely enough, at my company we are encouraged not to work through lunch, actively encouraged to get out of the office and to block out our diaries to prevent meetings slipping in... so, I have an hour, I have my bike in the boot of the car, how can I maximise the time I have on my bike to shift the flab, do I go all out for the hour at max HR, do I do intervals, should I invest in a turbo trainer and go nowhere in lab looking like a right tit...or is there something else you guys can suggest...

Stu

 

[buggi]

if you go all out, are you gonna fall asleep at the wheel on the way home?

 

[jiggerypokery]

A bucket load of espresso takes care of thatalong with The Archers

 

[ColinJ]

I sympathise with you, but it sounds to me that you are still eating your cycle commuter diet!

Aren't you going to have to use at least 10 minutes of your hour for changing and washing/showering? And when are you going to eat? I reckon you will actually only get 45 minutes of riding in so I'd be tempted to go the turbo route because it's easier to maximise your efforts when you are not stuck in traffic somewhere.

You should use at least 5 minutes to warm up (it takes me a lot longer than that) and 5 minutes or so at the end to warm down. I'd be tempted to gradually wind up the effort from easy to pretty hard for 15 minutes or so and then alternate hard (for as long as you can) and easy (for as long as you need to) until the last 5 minutes and then just slow to a crawl and finish.

I reckon you could get pretty fit with regular exercise at lunchtime but the best way to lose weight is to keep to a sensible eating plan. I'd be surprised if you could lose more than 0.50-0.75 pounds a week just through lunchtime exercise sessions. Knock 500 Calories a day off what you'd normally need to maintain your weight and that'd be about another pound a week lost. Don't eat anything extra (or drink anything other than water) to fuel the exercise - that's what your fat is for! 

 

[buggi]

I know a cycle coach and he swears that 1/2 hour everyday makes a difference. so don't worry about the time too much.

Take the turbo to work and use it if the weather is bad (as it's bound to be over next few months) and do a good intense work out for 1/2 hour ... and then just unhook it on the good weather days and get out for a relaxing ride to break up the boredom.

you can also use the turbo at home so you're still around the house even while you train (you can get a 2nd cheap one of ebay for either work or home, i got mine for £20 off there)

 

[ColinJ]

I know a cycle coach and he swears that 1/2 hour everyday makes a difference.  so don't worry about the time too much.

It's definitely true - a mate of mine got a lot fitter and lost significant amounts of weight over a period of time by doing a 1.5 mile commute to and from work on his mountain bike and a 5 mile ride at the weekend. That's just 20 miles a week!

 

[jiggerypokery]

As it happens I think I've just found a basic turbo on Ebay in Solihull for a few quid so I'm on a roll!

You're right about the diet though ColinJ, I guess it's compounded by the fact that I'm eating late too when I get home and I believe the idea is to NOT eat late in the day as all you do is consume fuel that does nothing but turn to lard while you're sleeping - so I guess a light evening meal won't kill me and a big bowl of porridge in the morning will do me a world of good.
Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[Steve H]

I sympathise with your situation jiggerypokery. I also have a long commute, but not quite as long as yours.

Couple of other suggestions:
- any chance you can work at home one day a week / one day a fortnight. I find that as long as I plan this in with my diary and boss in advance I can make it work
- how about staying over near your workplace 1 or 2 nights a week. Again if you plan well in advance you can often get pretty good rates on Premier Inns and the like that will be similar cost to the amount of diesel you are probably racking up each day. If your missus is anything like mine - she won't like this idea at first, but if it saves you 4 hours on the road this will probably make a big difference.

You could then get a couple of longer rides in as well as lunchtime efforts

 

[Banjo]

As it happens I think I've just found a basic turbo on Ebay in Solihull for a few quid so I'm on a roll!

You're right about the diet though ColinJ, I guess it's compounded by the fact that I'm eating late too when I get home and I believe the idea is to NOT eat late in the day as all you do is consume fuel that does nothing but turn to lard while you're sleeping - so I guess a light evening meal won't kill me and a big bowl of porridge in the morning will do me a world of good.
Thanks for the tips guys.

Different schools of thought there. Some say it makes no difference and only the total calories consumed is important.

Even if you only exercise for 30 minutes it has to make a significant difference .

Why not use the turbo in bad weather and get out on the bike in good weather?#

Nice to see that your company is sufficiently enlightened to realize that you need to destress as well as eat.
Would they allow you some flexibility to maybe take an extras half hour once or twice a week and make up the time at the end of the day? Then you could throw some 1 hour plus rides into the mix.
Good Luck

 

[jiggerypokery]

Working at home is something I try to blag when I can. For a company thats at the cutting edge of the mobile industry there's a strange need to have to been seen to be in the office in order for peopleto percieve that wwork is being done - theyt equip me with iPad, Mackbook, iPhone, VPN and even pay for my broadband at home - but woe betide me if I'm not in the office???? My staff however get to work at home whenever it's convenient for them - me however, because my Dir is anal, I have to be seen to be in the office. Staying over - I'd love to but we have a new baby and a toddler and I miss them terribly as it is and Mrs JP deserves not to be left on her jack, especially seeing as I bugger off abroad now and again to really nice places that must secretly drive her mental - last one was Austin, Texas where I went on a group ride with Mellow Johnny's - though I obviously played up the hard and boring work aspect of the trip.

Adding time to lunch time and then paying back later in the day would be a bugger, business at the moment is very competitive so my working time is jam packed, must be the only job I've had in my life where I haven't had skiving time lol

I'm going to go with the Turbo route and download a couple of training plans to follow and make sure my iPod is stacked with inspirational tunes, will also try and fit in a real ride once a week.

Part of the problem is that since I was a nipper I've never had an ounce of spare fat on me, have allways been able to fit in exercise, in fact have never really thought about it as riding to work has been part of my daily routine for nearly twenty years and as a result doing Tri/Sportive/TT and the fast club runs has never involved any extra training. 2009 Dave Lloyd Mega challenge involved no training at all and I was dead chuffed - this year, new job, new routine, for the first time I have a spare tyre, I feel unfit and to be honest the lack of exercise is making me a tad miserable because I don't feel like the man I used to be and I so don't want to be a bulging middleaged middle management wind bag.

There's also an element of 'older dad' niggling away at the back of my mind. My dad was 23 when I was born and I remember him being like a ball of pure energy around my sister and I. At 39 with two littleys I have aspirations of being the same bundle of energy for them

lol what a moan - honestly I am happy with my life, this bit just freaks me out

 

[ColinJ]

I don't have any evidence to support this view, but I reckon that the main problem about eating late in the day is that you might have gone a long time without food so you will be very hungry by the time that you eventually do eat. It is easy to overeat in that situation.

Try to make sure that you have something to eat late afternoon, before you begin your long drive home. Hopefully, you would then eat a smaller meal when you get there. Just make sure that the total Calorie count of the 2 smaller meals is less than that of the original big meal!

 

[gb155]

Back to basics

Food Diary....Thats a great wake up call mate.

I only used to cycled 1 hour a day, 25 mins in the Morning and 35 at night ....Truth be told I dont NEED to cycle the 30 miles a day that I do right now to lose weight, I am doing it because I LOVE it. So an hour a day, all at once will be fine. The more the better, but if you can "Leave it all on the bike" im sure it will be just fine.

 

[Moodyman]

I used to find it difficult to find time for exercise.

I followed the long work day and evening gym pattern for a few years. Wouldn't get home until after 9.30 / 10pm and kids would be asleep.

Then I looked at my daily schedule and found I had 5 x 1 hour lunchtimes that were dead time. I started running at work 2 times a week - we're lucky we have showers for cycle commuters.

Then, after one lunchtime run, I got talking to a cycle commuter who was heading home early. He answered all my concerns about cycle commuting and I've never looked back. That was 2 years ago.

I'm now cycling commuting 10 hours a week and getting 2 x 40 minute runs in whilst not having to find extra time for them. I've done away with the gym and am getting home before 8pm and catching the kids for an hour before they sleep.

You can find the time if you really look at your schedule.