good exercises to combine with the cycling

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Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
I feel I am about to make another confession. I am not a 100% committed cyclist!

My other obsession is table tennis. I started playing when my first cycling club had a table on their Friday night club night. Got the bug and joined a table tennis club and started playing. The two sports go very well together. Cycling more prominent in the summer and table tennis is a winter sport.
When I have had commitments that reduced cycling time, I fell back on the TT and the competitive nature of this sport keeps me motivated and keeps me active.

You might think of TT as a low intensity exercise, but when you put in 2 to 3 hours practice or play a closely challenged league match, you feel just as tired as if you had ridden a 50.

So if you are looking for another activity to complement cycling have a think about an activity like table tennis. You can play at all levels and at all ages, so is a sport you can play with your children and your parents! Just find a club and join in.

I think the key thing is just to be active and the activity must be something you like doing and can be sustained year on year, rain or shine.

I think I am probably only 80% committed to cycling and the other 80% committed to table tennis!

Cheers Keith
 
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Middleton Mouse

Active Member
Location
central Scotland
Yeah you can do it in your living room, just watch you're doing it all correctly, maybe find a big mirror to check as you do it? Kettlebells also worth looking into, something else you can do at home and even a beginner kettlebell routine will work your whole body and give good results. Have a look at fitness blender on youtube, they have some good kettlebell workouts, but again, watch your posture.

I also struggle with not feeling full but find foods like eggs, fish and chicken along with tons of veg seem to work better for weight loss than bread and pasta.

I'll need to think of an alternative to chicken as the only meat I eat is fish and bugs. Someone else did suggest I try to make meals based more around veg than carbs so I might swap to wholemeal pasta and bread and cut down the amount of rice I eat with my curry.
 

sazzaa

Guest
I'll need to think of an alternative to chicken as the only meat I eat is fish and bugs. Someone else did suggest I try to make meals based more around veg than carbs so I might swap to wholemeal pasta and bread and cut down the amount of rice I eat with my curry.

I'd probably have bread and pasta as treats instead, wholemeal or not, I wouldn't have them every day. Have you tried using quorn instead of chicken? Or making your curry a veg stir fry instead of eating it with rice?
 
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Middleton Mouse

Active Member
Location
central Scotland
I'd probably have bread and pasta as treats instead, wholemeal or not, I wouldn't have them every day. Have you tried using quorn instead of chicken? Or making your curry a veg stir fry instead of eating it with rice?

hmmm I do normally have a portion of rice, pasta or potatoes a day that'd be a hard habit to change. I'm not a huge fan of Quorn unfortunately.
 

sazzaa

Guest
hmmm I do normally have a portion of rice, pasta or potatoes a day that'd be a hard habit to change. I'm not a huge fan of Quorn unfortunately.
I found quorn was a good low fat replacement food, the mince for making chilli and the pieces for curry, or anything you'd use chicken in, brilliant in stir frys with a chinese sauce. Try replacing potatoes with sweet potatoes, they're nicer and much healthier! Maybe add more nuts or muesli to your diet instead of bread? Pasta is just pasta I'm afraid, there's no getting round the fact it's not the healthiest of foods...
 

sazzaa

Guest
Saying all that, maybe the best approach is to first of all decide if you really want to change, you don't sound like you're quite ready yet.
 
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Middleton Mouse

Active Member
Location
central Scotland
Saying all that, maybe the best approach is to first of all decide if you really want to change, you don't sound like you're quite ready yet.

thanks for the vote of confidence. I am very keen to make changes otherwise my bike would still be in the loft and I'd have £22 in my wallet rather than the unlimited swim pass I bought. I started this thread to find out about exercises that might be an option but I don't really think its necessary for me to make too many changes at once. Small achieveable steps in the right direction will be better than nothing which was what I was doing before.
 

sazzaa

Guest
thanks for the vote of confidence. I am very keen to make changes otherwise my bike would still be in the loft and I'd have £22 in my wallet rather than the unlimited swim pass I bought. I started this thread to find out about exercises that might be an option but I don't really think its necessary for me to make too many changes at once. Small achieveable steps in the right direction will be better than nothing which was what I was doing before.

I wasn't trying to be a d***. I think I'm more just trying to say that determination is needed, change doesn't come through doing as little as possible. It's hard work and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying! And yes, your diet does matter. If you try to get fit but eat all the wrong foods then you're basically wasting time and energy, and the whole thing becomes rather pointless.
 

vickster

Legendary Member
hmmm I do normally have a portion of rice, pasta or potatoes a day that'd be a hard habit to change. I'm not a huge fan of Quorn unfortunately.

All about portion size, max 60g of basmati or brown rice or wholemeal pasta, a small baked potato or 4 new potatoes. All low/medium GI. Avoid all breads. Porridge for breakfast

Have a large glass of water before and one with meal will help fill you up.

Weight loss is really hard psychologically (well it is for me) - aim for small steps, say 2lbs a week, don't go for the I need to lose 3 stone by Christmas approach or whatever. If you have a lapse don't beat yourself up. Weigh yourself once a week, same day and time of day, morning good
 
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Middleton Mouse

Active Member
Location
central Scotland
And yes, your diet does matter. If you try to get fit but eat all the wrong foods then you're basically wasting time and energy, and the whole thing becomes rather pointless.

I'm aware it matters but I'm skeptical that going from no exercise to getting something every day, reducing portion sizes and making better food choices is going to do nothing at all for me.
 

screenman

Squire
I'm aware it matters but I'm skeptical that going from no exercise to getting something every day, reducing portion sizes and making better food choices is going to do nothing at all for me.

Surely doing all those will do a lot for you. I lost 4 stone a while back and it changed my life.
 

sazzaa

Guest
I'm aware it matters but I'm skeptical that going from no exercise to getting something every day, reducing portion sizes and making better food choices is going to do nothing at all for me.
I must have misunderstood you... I thought you were reluctant to change your diet or cut things out.
 
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