heart rate for newbies

[eagles633]

Excellent. The "Felt great" bit is what really counts - as long as you're feeling good after a ride, you'll want to keep doing it.

yeah felt good. feeling a bit ropey now mind as i did push myself up the hills .
The garmin has given me another 72 hours estimated rest needed.
Feels about right to me at the moment.

 

[ADarkDraconis]

And as each mile went past you no doubt heard a blob or two as varying degrees of blobby blobby dropped off

I'm sure this was meant well, but forgive me for saying that it sounds kind of rude. Just because someone is working on losing weight, referring to any part of them (yes, even their fat) as blobby blob is kind of disgusting and degrading.

Insinuating that it will fall off that quickly is also delusion or ignorance (some people think that very overweight people just need to move at all and the weight comes off, like they are overweight because they are sedentary and the slightest exercise will make a thin person in them magically revealed.) It will help them but it takes time and hard work.

As someone who was always heavier, even a healthy diet and cycling daily as my sole form of transportation was not enough to help me lose a lot of weight, I had to do more. Even though I felt healthy and fit I have never been small. I think it is more helpful to encourage someone to *feel* better (which is what counts!) and the weight loss is a big plus. Automatically assuming the weight will fall off will make the new rider all the more frustrated if it doesn't. Muscle also weighs more than fat, and the scale often goes up a bit if you are working hard and converting fat to muscle, but a lot of times it doesn't show right away as far as appearances either. You can, however, recognize that you feel stronger and have more endurance.


You're doing a great job, Eagle633! Keep it up and build that confidence!!!

 

[si_c]

I'm sure this was meant well, but forgive me for saying that it sounds kind of rude. Just because someone is working on losing weight, referring to any part of them (yes, even their fat) as blobby blob is kind of disgusting and degrading.

Insinuating that it will fall off that quickly is also delusion or ignorance (some people think that very overweight people just need to move at all and the weight comes off, like they are overweight because they are sedentary and the slightest exercise will make a thin person in them magically revealed.) It will help them but it takes time and hard work.

As someone who was always heavier, even a healthy diet and cycling daily as my sole form of transportation was not enough to help me lose a lot of weight, I had to do more. Even though I felt healthy and fit I have never been small. I think it is more helpful to encourage someone to *feel* better (which is what counts!) and the weight loss is a big plus. Automatically assuming the weight will fall off will make the new rider all the more frustrated if it doesn't. Muscle also weighs more than fat, and the scale often goes up a bit if you are working hard and converting fat to muscle, but a lot of times it doesn't show right away as far as appearances either. You can, however, recognize that you feel stronger and have more endurance.


You're doing a great job, Eagle633! Keep it up and build that confidence!!!

I'm fairly sure the comment wasn't intended to offend, and was probably a light hearted reference to Mr Blobby

Possibly a bit UK-centric though!

 

[ADarkDraconis]

I'm fairly sure the comment wasn't intended to offend, and was probably a light hearted reference to Mr Blobby
View attachment 399256

Possibly a bit UK-centric though!

Perhaps. I am not sure I would be pleased to be compared to that, even in jest. It would be kinda like someone comparing you to Eddie Murphy's Nutty Professor/Klump character... yes, he's supposed to be funny (in an obnoxious sort of way) but it is still pretty unpleasant to be referenced as such.

And considering the commentor's previous remarks on people's weight I was unsure of the intent and if there was anything underlying.

 

[buzzy-beans]

No offence implied to anyone the World over who has a clinical condition which results in them being overweight.

However for the very vast majority of overweight people, their conditions are entirely controllable, so if they cut out all sugary drinks, stop eating almost all processed food and do regular exercise then their condition should be controllable.

This makes for some interesting reading http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/

As does this: - https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity

In the UK any person working for the Army, Airforce or Navy have to undertake regular fitness tests, as such, generally speaking, it is a rare sight to see an obese person working for these institutions. Now in stark contrast, the UK's National Health Service go on so much all the time about obesity being arguably the number one cause of so many health issues and yet, why is it that so many people employed by them are so grossly overweight?

When you are doing your shopping at the supermarket, you will see one hell of a lot of overweight people which is no surprise when you see the kind of foods and drinks they are buying, such as fizzy drinks, pizzas, cakes, chocolates, crisps, oven ready chips you name it and very little fresh meat, fish, fresh vegetables etc. etc.

I am sorry to hark on about it, but I once had what was thought to be dangerously high bad cholesterol levels I was also borderline diabetic and my weight was becoming a bit of a problem, so I sat down with my self taught dietitian of a wife (by qualification she is a food hygienist) and we planned out a diet and exercise regime programme and within 3 months we had both conditions under control.

 

[ADarkDraconis]

No offence implied to anyone the World over who has a clinical condition which results in them being overweight.

However for the very vast majority of overweight people, their conditions are entirely controllable, so if they cut out all sugary drinks, stop eating almost all processed food and do regular exercise then their condition should be controllable.

This makes for some interesting reading http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/

As does this: - https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity

In the UK any person working for the Army, Airforce or Navy have to undertake regular fitness tests, as such, generally speaking, it is a rare sight to see an obese person working for these institutions. Now in stark contrast, the UK's National Health Service go on so much all the time about obesity being arguably the number one cause of so many health issues and yet, why is it that so many people employed by them are so grossly overweight?

When you are doing your shopping at the supermarket, you will see one hell of a lot of overweight people which is no surprise when you see the kind of foods and drinks they are buying, such asfizzy drinks, pizzas, cakes, chocolates, crisps, oven ready chips you name it and very little fresh meat, fish, fresh vegetables etc. etc.

I am sorry to hark on about it, but I once had what was thought to be dangerously high bad cholesterol levels I was also borderline diabetic and my weight was becoming a bit of a problem, so I sat down with my self taught dietitian of a wife (by qualification she is a food hygienist) and we planned out a diet and exercise regime programme and within 3 months we had both conditions under control.

There are very thin people who can eat nothing but 'fizzy drinks, pizzas, cakes, chocolates, crisps, oven ready chips you name it and very little fresh meat, fish, fresh vegetables etc. etc.' and who are terribly unfit and have underlying health conditions (both of my grandfathers and my mother were whip-thin and yet all had diabetes and heart conditions), and there are heavier people who do watch what they eat. A lot of it has to do with body type and ectomorphs generally are more slender and have a harder time gaining weight in either fat or muscle while endomorphs gain fat and muscle easily but have a harder time losing it; don't even get me started on mesomorphs. For an example- for years I was always much fitter than my brother, who ate nothing but junk food (he could/can eat 3 medium pizzas in a sitting, drank nothing but soda and ate junk constantly) and sat on the couch playing video games with no physical exercise. I was a strict vegetarian who ate mostly fresh veggies and legumes and deliciousness, in moderation, never enjoyed sugary drinks, and exercised regularly. He has always been excessively thin (with a 'cyclist body' even before he cycled) while I have always been heavier even though I was in better physical shape. I have never had any health problems caused by weight (that just as many thin people have as well), I just have a bigger jean size. No one tells the thin yet unhealthy people to stop eating like crap and exercise, they just always comment on how they wish they could eat like that and still stay thin I am am endomorph while he is an ectomorph, it shows in body shape and characteristic.

So it irritates me when people assume all overweight folks just need to do is stop shoving cake at their face and move a bit and the pounds will melt off, as in the real world that is not how it works for most folks. Also assuming that thin folks=healthy exercisers and overweight folks=sugar guzzling slugs is ridiculously small-minded.

But we are straying a bit far from the topic...

 

[buzzy-beans]

So it irritates me when people assume all overweight folks just need to do is stop shoving cake at their face and move a bit and the pounds will melt off

Apparently, it is less than 1% of overweight people who have a proven medical reason for being so.

 

[ADarkDraconis]

Apparently, it is less than 1% of overweight people who have a proven medical reason for being so.

'Proven medical reason' is not the same as someone's natural body type, that would be something akin to a thyroid probelm or medication that causes weight gain, things of that nature. With body types it is your body's natural state of affairs, and not a physical ailment, that leads you to these predispositions of shape and mass. Do some research and have a think before you start berating heavy people for your apparent dislike of them and prejudging their lifestyles. I see you have no judgement for the naturally thin but unhealthy folks...

 

[eagles633]

Been out for another 11 wet and windy miles today. Tried the new settings on the garmin and the results were almost identical. Still 60% in the red zone for the ride.
Going to be interesting to see if anything changes as i get fitter.
On a positive note the recovery time from the garmin adviser has gone down from 72 hours to 68 hours
As for the weight. Iv'e booked a holiday for may. Iv'e set myself a target of losing a stone before then. Gonna be easy i reckon

 

[nickAKA]

Been out for another 11 wet and windy miles today. Tried the new settings on the garmin and the results were almost identical. Still 60% in the red zone for the ride.
Going to be interesting to see if anything changes as i get fitter.
On a positive note the recovery time from the garmin adviser has gone down from 72 hours to 68 hours
As for the weight. Iv'e booked a holiday for may. Iv'e set myself a target of losing a stone before then. Gonna be easy i reckon

Without reading every post in the thread here's my quick 6-month breakdown on cycling for fitness/weight loss using a HRM, so apologies in advance for any repetition...

I started cycling 'semi-seriously' last summer, getting out for 30-60 minutes whenever I could but aiming for 60km a week minimum. I bought a garmin vivoactive, HRM & speed & cadence sensors to track things.
The local hills killed me initially, but the HRM taught me to know when I should stop - if I hit 175bpm+ I'd topped out so I had a rest, end of. Bought a turbo trainer when the weather turned and boned up a bit on training for fitness with online articles & books, using strava & the stravistix extension to track improvements.
Subsequently I went for a smart trainer & zwift to improve the experience, which has worked really well (for me).
Stravistix reckons my fitness score is now double where it was at the end of last summer, and I can really tell... I did one of my old regular loops at weekend, smashed my PBs on every climb but as an example of how my threshold has improved, on one particular climb where I'd sometimes hit 180bpm and stop, I got no higher than 160bpm which I'm really pleased about (can you tell? )
Stravistix fitness trend chart also tells you when you're overtraining & need a rest which is important... I do 150km a week now comfortably, I have got over most of the mental barriers that were stopping me before, plus I've lost about 10% of my total body weight so crack on as you are, don't be frightened to push yourself a bit harder, you can do it!

TL;DR, you can't have too much data!

 

[eagles633]

Without reading every post in the thread here's my quick 6-month breakdown on cycling for fitness/weight loss using a HRM, so apologies in advance for any repetition...

I started cycling 'semi-seriously' last summer, getting out for 30-60 minutes whenever I could but aiming for 60km a week minimum. I bought a garmin vivoactive, HRM & speed & cadence sensors to track things.
Looking good. Iv'e never heard of stravafix before.going to have a google now.
I can't do the
The local hills killed me initially, but the HRM taught me to know when I should stop - if I hit 175bpm+ I'd topped out so I had a rest, end of. Bought a turbo trainer when the weather turned and boned up a bit on training for fitness with online articles & books, using strava & the stravistix extension to track improvements.
Subsequently I went for a smart trainer & zwift to improve the experience, which has worked really well (for me).
Stravistix reckons my fitness score is now double where it was at the end of last summer, and I can really tell... I did one of my old regular loops at weekend, smashed my PBs on every climb but as an example of how my threshold has improved, on one particular climb where I'd sometimes hit 180bpm and stop, I got no higher than 160bpm which I'm really pleased about (can you tell? )
Stravistix fitness trend chart also tells you when you're overtraining & need a rest which is important... I do 150km a week now comfortably, I have got over most of the mental barriers that were stopping me before, plus I've lost about 10% of my total body weight so crack on as you are, don't be frightened to push yourself a bit harder, you can do it!

TL;DR, you can't have too much data!

Without reading every post in the thread here's my quick 6-month breakdown on cycling for fitness/weight loss using a HRM, so apologies in advance for any repetition...

I started cycling 'semi-seriously' last summer, getting out for 30-60 minutes whenever I could but aiming for 60km a week minimum. I bought a garmin vivoactive, HRM & speed & cadence sensors to track things.
The local hills killed me initially, but the HRM taught me to know when I should stop - if I hit 175bpm+ I'd topped out so I had a rest, end of. Bought a turbo trainer when the weather turned and boned up a bit on training for fitness with online articles & books, using strava & the stravistix extension to track improvements.
Subsequently I went for a smart trainer & zwift to improve the experience, which has worked really well (for me).
Stravistix reckons my fitness score is now double where it was at the end of last summer, and I can really tell... I did one of my old regular loops at weekend, smashed my PBs on every climb but as an example of how my threshold has improved, on one particular climb where I'd sometimes hit 180bpm and stop, I got no higher than 160bpm which I'm really pleased about (can you tell? )
Stravistix fitness trend chart also tells you when you're overtraining & need a rest which is important... I do 150km a week now comfortably, I have got over most of the mental barriers that were stopping me before, plus I've lost about 10% of my total body weight so crack on as you are, don't be frightened to push yourself a bit harder, you can do it!

TL;DR, you can't have too much data!

Looking good. So it can be done
Never heard of stravafix before i'l have to check it out. Do you need strava premium for instance?
Iv'e not got the option of a turbo trainer as i'm in a 1st floor apt. don't think the neighbours would be to impressed. tbf though i don't mind the bad weather, makes me feel iv'e achieved more when i get home.
The only problem with the cold is all the salt on the roads. i'm struggling to clean the bike living on the 1st floor. I did wash my bike in the bath when i first got it. got a bit of a telling off for that though
How many miles a week before the weight started coming off for you was it?
tx for posting

 

[bpsmith]

I got a Karcher OC3 portable pressure washer to save getting my huge hose out. Works brilliantly to be fair.

Others have had good experiences with the push pressure garden sprayers too.

 

[eagles633]

I got a Karcher OC3 portable pressure washer to save getting my huge hose out. Works brilliantly to be fair.

Others have had good experiences with the push pressure garden sprayers too.

never thought of the garden spayer before. great idea. that would work perfect.
This forum is great tx

 

[nickAKA]

Looking good. So it can be done
Never heard of stravafix before i'l have to check it out. Do you need strava premium for instance?
Iv'e not got the option of a turbo trainer as i'm in a 1st floor apt. don't think the neighbours would be to impressed. tbf though i don't mind the bad weather, makes me feel iv'e achieved more when i get home.
The only problem with the cold is all the salt on the roads. i'm struggling to clean the bike living on the 1st floor. I did wash my bike in the bath when i first got it. got a bit of a telling off for that though
How many miles a week before the weight started coming off for you was it?
tx for posting

If you've got a computer with google chrome (browser) installed - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stravistix-for-strava/dhiaggccakkgdfcadnklkbljcgicpckn?hl=en

Hope that works as it's a link from my browser & may be linked to my account... Stravistix gives you some of the extra functionality you get in strava premium, for nothing basically. Shows you how effective your training is, keeps track of your mileage, fitness & fatigue - you probably get most of that with garmin but I just prefer the layout & presentation it gives plus there's lots of info on what it all means.
As regards my 'journey' to fitness, I cut out lunch completely 5 days a week and did 4 years family cycling without thinking about weight/fitness much at all and inadvertantly lost a few kilos. Once I got the road bike I upped my game, bought some connected scales (we never had any scales in the house before, which in retrospect was a poor decision), a fitness band and used a fitness app to track my data.
I continued losing weight slowly but the real change came when I got the turbo and could get on the bike whenever I had time (I'm a fair-weather rider, to my eternal shame). I've been doing 4-8 hours a week which is nothing compared to people who commute every day for instance, but I've tailored it to suit my goals by doing workouts designed to increase fitness & FTP... I was dropping a kilogram every couple of weeks at first, then a kilogram every 4-6 weeks and kow maybe half a kilogram a month but that's fine, I'm happy with that!
If you're willing to go out whenever, it shouldn't be any different for you, just keep pounding away at 140bpm+ (do some short climbs, get out of the saddle!) and you'll be doing enough to have a good training effect on your body until you get to the next level... The first thing I noticed changing in myself was the recovery time; max out at say 170bpm, stop & time how long it takes you to get back to recovery of about 120bpm. garmin has apps for that too...
good luck!

 

[vickster]

Looking good. So it can be done
Never heard of stravafix before i'l have to check it out. Do you need strava premium for instance?
Iv'e not got the option of a turbo trainer as i'm in a 1st floor apt. don't think the neighbours would be to impressed. tbf though i don't mind the bad weather, makes me feel iv'e achieved more when i get home.
The only problem with the cold is all the salt on the roads. i'm struggling to clean the bike living on the 1st floor. I did wash my bike in the bath when i first got it. got a bit of a telling off for that though
How many miles a week before the weight started coming off for you was it?
tx for posting

To burn the calorie equivalent of a pound of fat a week, you'd need to ride around 100 miles at reasonable intensity (rough estimate of 30-35 calories a mile)

Cutting calories from your diet coupled with the exercise will yield better results