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| Fitness | Help me please - Gym question | Oct 30 2007 18:55 (UTC) |
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| Any gym worth the price of membership should have staff that is available to show you proper use of equipment. I would say that you should grab someone. Our gym even has a file system so you can keep your lifting plan there with all the seat position numbers, etc., so when you hit a machine, you don't have to fiddle around with the positions. At best, an improperly set machine isn't going to work the correct muscles; at worst, you could end up hurting yourself. | |||
| Motivation | Goals for Today & Did you accomplish them? | Oct 29 2007 11:26 (UTC) |
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Oh, boy, yesterday didn't go as planned. First, my eyes popped open at 7:00 a.m., and I just couldn't sleep any longer. I ended up stretched out on the sofa dozing with our cats for awhile until my husband got up. I did get the presents, which was the most important thing, and husband finished the laundry, but we got in a fender bender in the mall parking lot. No big deal, but it ate up a lot of the day with police reports, etc. That meant we didn't have enough time before the mall closed to also get shorts and t-shirts, though we did get husband some much-needed new pants and socks. The cleaning and pedicure are also delayed since we had to go to get some rubbing compound and I fixed our bumper scratches and taped the broken taillight back together (husband has little experience with car stuff, and I sorta like it). So, a little touch-up paint, some more rubbing compound, and replacing the taillight lens, and it should look fairly good. The other lady's bumper needs to be repainted, but we'll take care of that for her (we bumped her backing up), again, no big deal. So, goals for today:
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| Fitness | Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... | Oct 28 2007 01:58 (UTC) |
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| I completed my first half metric century today! My average is slowly climbing -- I'm at 12.6 mph now, though I had some flats where I went up to my big chainring and cruised at about 19 for awhile. Still slow, but we had some real whoppers for hills today. I also practiced climbing out of the saddle some. It's still disconcerting how the bike tips from side to side, but I'm getting there. Great event, very well organized and supported with SAG wagons, police and motorcycle escort, good rest stops, great food options, and a nice turnout. | |||
| Motivation | Goals for Today & Did you accomplish them? | Oct 28 2007 01:51 (UTC) |
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| Just checking in! Sorry I've been away for a bit. I've been sick, then things just got too hectic. Anyway, the class reunion was a lot of fun, though only about 20 or so of us showed up. Most people looked really good, and I got voted Mosted Changed since high school. I'm not sure what that means, but maybe it's attitude and becoming athletic. Who knows. A couple of people got really big, which was surprising. One was actually trying to get pregnant while obviously at lesat 80 pounds overweight which was a little scary. I completed the half metric century today at my fastest average speed yet! Woot! Not bad for only having worked out 1 day and not putting my butt on my bike for two weeks. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I was pulling on my arm warmers, honestly. The route was gorgeous, we had over 130 people ride, and the event was just wonderfully organized. A really great first charity event! Plus, I won one of the top fundraising awards. It's only a pair of socks, but it matches the jersey I bought, and I wore them with pride today. Tomorrow's goal:
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| Weight Loss | is cycling same as running?? | Oct 25 2007 17:59 (UTC) |
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| :) Well, trying to be a long-distance cyclist. I'm hoping to do my first century (100 miles in a day) next summer. No, a lot of muscle mass on my upper body wouldn't be great, but I do two hour-long upper body training sessions a week (push and pull). I've put on a lot of muscle before starting to up my cycling distance, so I've experienced the other sort of training, too. Now I'm just trying to lose fat so I can tackle long hill climbs without feeling like I'm throwing a PE.
Doing 50k Saturday, and I'm still trying to figure out the right pre-ride carb loading for it. The estimated caloric output for that ride is 3000k+, so I have to eat up the lunch and dinner the day before, then eat a quality breakfast. Funny enough, my trainer called to ask if I wanted to train Saturday (forgetting about the 50k), and when I reminded him, he was all, "Um, no, forget I said anything. I would suggest a NAP after a turkey sandwich instead!" Further justification to not mix my cardio and weight days! |
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| Weight Loss | Can I do Anything Else?!? | Oct 25 2007 13:31 (UTC) |
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| My first thought is that you really need to add some weight training to your routine. Adding some more muscle mass will increase your BMR. I think this is most important to your success. The second thought is to take a look at the other 10% of the time that your aren't eating healthy. Are you binging during this time, or just making a choice that isn't as good as it could be? | |||
| Weight Loss | is cycling same as running?? | Oct 25 2007 13:26 (UTC) |
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| I agree with melkor, particularly if you are cycling outside on a bike and not spinning or on a stationary setup. I ALWAYS do weights before cardio (something my trainer pounded into my head), and if I do cardio after, it's always on some sort of indoor apparatus. I think it would be dangerous to lift hard then go out on your bike. You just wouldn't have the right amount of concentration to dodge cars, etc., that you should.
I've never been a runner and don't plan to be one anytime soon. It's just not my thing. Actually, I hate running, and the thought of running even a couple of miles makes me squirm (why can't they make the duathlon swimming and cycling instead of running?). But you put me on a road bike, and I'll go 25+ miles and have a ball. And you can't tell me that doesn't burn calories! Plus, my joints aren't getting pounded into oblivion, and I can certainly cycle for much longer than I ever could run. |
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| Motivation | Goals for Today & Did you accomplish them? | Oct 24 2007 14:31 (UTC) |
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| Sorry I've been gone so long. I went to California last week, then to my 15-year HS reunion in Indiana, and I've been running like mad since to catch up. I made it back to training Monday, but I woke up sick this morning. Yuck. My goal today is to get some much-needed rest and try to go to training tonight. The Tour is this Saturday morning, so I have to stay fit and get well fast! | |||
| Fitness | Overtraining? | Oct 23 2007 20:21 (UTC) |
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| I think it's possible to have cardio over-training, but it takes awhile to get there. I think part of it is what sort of base you are starting from, physical endurance, and the sort of training. I've read personal accounts from distance cyclists where they've literally had to be peeled off their bikes because everything just sort of shut down. Afterward, all thoughts of continuing to train sort of go out the window. They become apathetic and lose all ability to get any gains from further training. At this point, the only thing to be done is to rest and reset. Now, these accounts are from people who ride like 300+ miles a week on average and compete in endurance centuries and double centuries.
I did experience some over-training myself early in my training, but that was a combo of weight training and cardio. Just a case of going nuts and doing WAY too much too fast! |
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| Motivation | Cool "Side Effects" of Weight Loss | Oct 22 2007 20:55 (UTC) |
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| Fitness | Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... | Oct 22 2007 18:21 (UTC) |
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| Thanks, guys! Yeah, the Bay Area is just a very big change from the places I used to live. Even when I lived in Indy, it was really, really easy to get out to some open expanses, and the Triangle is just very suburban. I spent all of last week pretty much downtown San Jose and saw a lot of the bike lanes, etc., but couldn't imagine doing much distance riding. I will take a look around for bike shops, and a friend is putting me in touch with a friend who owns a shop there, too. And I'll look for the book. I think I was just having a panic attack. I found a local club that has a lot of grizzly bear rides (yeah, the hill rides are intense in Bay Area), so I think I just need to connect with some local cyclists when we get moved.
On a side note, my first half metric century is this weekend! Woot! |
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| Fitness | Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... | Oct 18 2007 14:10 (UTC) |
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| Does anyone here live in the Bay Area (CA)? The reason I ask is that I'm moving here, and now I feel like it might be a huge mistake, mostly for my cycling goals. I'm sort of locked in now. Maybe I'm just spoiled by NC, maybe I don't know where to look for the right rides, I don't know. But right now, I can just hop on my bike and ride in my neighborhood. San Jose is fairly urban, so road riding for training will require me to drive my bike someplace, I think. But maybe I'm wrong? Maybe I'm hyper-ventilating over nothing? | |||
| Fitness | Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... | Oct 15 2007 02:07 (UTC) |
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| Hey there! I completed the 28-mile course today and felt great! Hungry, but great at the end. My legs are a little tired, but not bad, though I'm sure they will be much worse since I have to fly from NC to CA tomorrow (sitting in a coach plane seat for that long is not fun anyway). The course was mostly rollers, though there were a few long, steep hills in there, and NO flat spaces at all. Most of the rollers weren't big enough to coast much, so I pedalled almost the entire time. I ended up riding alone the whole time since I got dropped by the front pack and dropped the guys behind me. Great fun, and my average came up by .5 mph this ride. Yay! | |||
| Motivation | Goals for Today & Did you accomplish them? | Oct 15 2007 02:02 (UTC) |
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| Just a quick note to let you guys know that the Fall Rally was a blast! I completed the 28 mile course, and I really wasn't that torn up at the end, though very hungry. I hit the spaghetti last night and had waffles for breakfast this morning, and that made a huge difference. I rode it alone because I'm sort of between two groups of riders for speed, so I didn't get to draft at all. That was sort of hard, and my overall avg. was just 12.6 mph, but I had a really good ride. I'm definitely going to sleep well tonight (after I finish packing for my trips)!
Have a great week, and I'll touch base with everyone when I get back! Keep up the great work! |
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| Foods | Allergic to lettuce? | Oct 13 2007 23:41 (UTC) |
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| There's also a preservative that restaurants use on prepacked salads, sandwiches, and salad bars that they spray on the lettuce to make it stay nice and green and fresh looking, particularly iceberg. I know someone who can't eat salads from salad bars because she gets the same issues you are probably experiencing. You might experiment a bit and see if you get the same ickiness from iceberg someplace else. Chances are you are probably not allergic to it, but you may have an intolerance to it (as someone with a lot of food allergies, I know that the ones I'm allergic to make me itch A LOT, while intolerance usually produces tummy problems). If your mouth or face itches when you eat it or you feel your throat swelling, that's an allergy. It could also be IBS or some other gastro issue. | |||
| Vegetarian | Vegetarian Sushi recipes? | Oct 13 2007 23:18 (UTC) |
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| Actually, sashimi isn't really vegetarian at all because sashimi shouldn't include anything but raw fish. Sushi refers to small bites including seasoned sushi rice. The kind on little pats of rice is nigiri sushi, while the rolled kind is maki. The rice is never plain, it has to be seasoned with sugar and rice vinegar (and traditionally salt and kombu, a type of seaweed) to be sushi rice. And never use long-grain rice for sushi -- it will never taste right. Likewise, you MUST wash your rice thoroughly in cold water before steaming for the flavor to be good. Honestly, proper rice preparation is the hardest part of sushi, I think. Here's a good recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recip e/0,,FOOD_9936_1362,00.html I think one of the places you went wrong was the green bell peppers because that's something you don't really see in traditional sushi. Zucchini doesn't really find it's way in sushi very often, either. The best bet would be to find traditional recipes and keep it fairly plain to begin with. If you eat eggs, you can make omelette (tamago) sushi, too. Toasted sesame seeds and nori are also your friend, especially with vegetarian sushi because they add a lot of flavor. Be sure to toast your nori or make sure to buy nori that is especially for sushi, too. Hope this helps. |
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| Fitness | ugh how do you people do it? | Oct 12 2007 20:59 (UTC) |
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| I think part of what keeps me going is that I found a couple of things I really like to do, so my exercise is when I get to focus on nothing but the wind on my face, the air in my lungs, my legs turning and the road up ahead. It also helps that I cycle with a club and we have to RSVP for the rides. If I RSVP and don't show, everyone wonders where I've been and nags me about it. I also work out with a trainer, so I HAVE to go to the gym, but you can easily find classes or a workout buddy to make you accountable. Make sure you are getting enough sleep and enough to eat, too. Snacks during the day will help you keep from starving at the end. What did I give up time-wise to work out? A little time with my husband and tv. My house is also not as spotless as it used to be, but I'm soooo much healthier than I used to be. And healthier means I'm a better wife to my husband, a better co-worker, a better friend.
I agree, you just have to say that this is a priority. Treat it like a prescription from your doctor. Tell yourself that this is important to having a long, healthy life, and don't let things stand in the way of it. Before long, the exercise will start to help your metabolism, and you'll start to sleep more soundly and adjust to the new routine. Then you'll think, "How did I NOT do this before?" |
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| Fitness | Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... | Oct 12 2007 18:18 (UTC) |
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| Yup, this Sunday I'm riding in the Fall Rally here, on the 28-mile course. Mostly rollers, but average grade is only 2. That should give my knees and lungs a little break, but it's 7 miles more than last Sunday. Then I'm off for a whole week due to travel, then the half metric Oct. 27. I figure if I can do the 28 mile course, 31.2 will be a piece of cake. | |||
| Foods | diet or health foods you wouldn't touch | Oct 12 2007 18:15 (UTC) |
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| hee! pop -- it's just a common protein IN latex and these foods that causes the allergy. For those of us with a latex allergy, there's a whole slew of vegetables and fruits that have common ancestry to rubber trees or just are chemically similar which can cause a reaction. They also cause reactions at different levels. I can eat bananas with just a might itchiness, but mango makes my whole face break out. My mom would always know when I drank pineapple juice as a kid because my lips would get all red and itchy, like clown lips. | |||
| Foods | diet or health foods you wouldn't touch | Oct 12 2007 15:39 (UTC) |
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| I think my top nasty healthy food has to be spirulina. Now, I'm half-Japanese, and I eat kelp all the time, but I can't go for the algae. I've tried it dried, in smoothies, a bunch of different ways, and the taste and smell are just too much. I love green tea, though, probably because I grew up with it. I drink it Japanese style from powder.
I also can't stand: green beans (my dad made me eat WAY too many of these as a kid) avocado okra cottage cheese anything in the squash family I have a bunch of food I like but can't or shouldn't eat much because of allergies, too: "fatty" fish like salmon or tuna because I'm allergic to fish oil (ironic with my Japanese blood). I can also have a reaction if I eat the wrong kind of fish sauce (the kind made from anchovies). My mom also has this allergy. yogurt -- my system can't seem to handle the cultures blue cheeses -- mold allergy pineapple, tomatoes, bananas, papaya, mango, zucchini (and a bunch of other things) because I also have a latex allergy and these have the same protein as latex. Surprisingly enough, I actually have a rather diverse diet, despite this. And I eat bananas quite a bit even though they make my mouth itchy. |
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| Fitness | running - side cramp issues | Oct 12 2007 12:58 (UTC) |
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| What you're describing sounds like a stitch, which is your diaphragm getting unhappy. If you find that if you push in on your side and slow down or stop running and it goes away, this is a stitch. I don't get these on the bike, usually, but I definitely get them if I run on the elliptical trainer and I'm not paying attention to my breathing. Less water is definitely NOT the way to go. Learning cadence breathing will help you keep your diaphragm under control and stop this spasm. Check out: http://www.time-to-run.com/tips/breathing/cad ence.htm | |||
| Fitness | Need gym/exercise advice! May seem silly, but... What Anti-perspirant Works for you??? | Oct 12 2007 12:52 (UTC) |
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| I use Secret Platinum. I seem to be allergic to any of the gel formulas which would probably not mark up my clothes. But Secret has always worked for me and it washes out just fine. My pits are probably that only place I don't sweat at the gym! | |||
| Weight Loss | A Not-So-New Topic -- What am I Doing Wrong? | Oct 12 2007 12:47 (UTC) |
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| iamme1270 -- You probably really need to reevaluate your calorie intake. Generally, women should not fall below 1200 calories a day, and you need to eat to support your training activities. I didn't get this before -- I was eating 1300-1400 calories and working out hard 6 days a week and not losing. My trainer and I reviewed my input/output, and needless to say, I'm now taking in 1800 calories a day and losing. Honestly, according to my trainer, much more that 1000+ calorie average deficit is not only difficult to maintain, but it will likely slow down your metabolism and seriously start affecting your performance at the gym. You might also change up your cardio routine. I know that as soon as I started road biking, I lost weight quickly and got off my plateau. It also happened when I switched out stationary biking for the arc trainer. | |||
| Weight Loss | A Not-So-New Topic -- What am I Doing Wrong? | Oct 12 2007 12:38 (UTC) |
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| I agree with elin, stick with it! You'll probably find that you will have a few plateaus as your body adjusts to what you are putting it through. I actually usually end up breaking plateaus after I have a cheat meal or really change up my exercise. I think you are mostly doing things right, but you might want to throw in some weight training in your exercise program. Changing your body composition by adding muscle mass will help speed up your metabolism. Don't be alarmed if this results in your weight fluctuating more -- muscle weighs more than fat! Inches and how your clothes fit will be better gauges for awhile. Good job sticking with your routine! You'll get there! | |||
| Weight Loss | whey protein? | Oct 12 2007 12:29 (UTC) |
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| I'm not really sure why someone would call whey protein fattening and I'm not really sure about the metabolism claim. I drink whey shakes all the time (even doubling the whey/milk ratio), but I use them to help me build muscle and recover from weight training sessions. That's a very common use of whey. Some people use whey for a meal replacement drink, but I can't do that because I need more calories than that. If you are worried about calories, you can also mix whey with water, though I've never cared for the taste of that. I'm a girl, btw, so both girls and guys can benefit from whey and weight training. :D | |||
| Fitness | Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... | Oct 11 2007 20:55 (UTC) |
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| Hi, Dan,
I'm riding in Le Tour de Femme, which is a women's ride for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and The Angel Fund, a fund for cancer patients at a local hospital. It's a small ride, just 100 riders so far, but I thought it would be a good one for my first event. One of our club members who also rides slower is my partner for this one, so we're going to hang together, which makes both of us feel better about it. She has ended up riding solo on a few event rides and is glad for the company, and I'm glad to have someone to help me pace for my longest ride yet. According to the cue sheet, we have only one rest stop, but I'm only riding in a 1/2 metric, so 31.2 miles. I actually didn't know how long I should stop, so I appreciate the 10 minutes or less tip! Most of the club members are really nice about riding sweep with me, but last week I could tell that the guy riding with me really wanted to ride faster which made me feel bad for him. He let me draft off him for awhile, which helped pull me in some, but his average is usually like 17-18 on a ride like that, and mine's 12-13. Lots of people were getting pounded on the unexpected hilll course and heat, though, so most of the club was in the 13-14 range. I'm sure if he had ridden by himself he would have beaten that, though. I know I just have to keep getting out there, though. We switched formats because we are doing more weekend rides, though, and while I was leading the newbies the last couple of rides, the rest of the newbies aren't coming out for the longer rides. Which means I'm with the faster, more experienced riders now. That means I'll train harder, I know, but I gotta get my head wrapped around it. |
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| Fitness | Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... | Oct 11 2007 19:21 (UTC) |
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| Yup, I'm actually working my way up to a half metric on Oct. 27, and I have increased my calories up to 1800 a day. Normally, I wouldn't have increased the length of my long rides so quickly, but I need to get ready because it's a charity ride and people have already donated. I feel I owe it to them to do this, and to myself. I do plan to take it easy for a couple of weeks after, though, just doing some shorter, easier rides.
I've also switched out some of my protein for more carbs (trainer's suggestion) for more fuel for my rides. I screwed up last weekend because I underestimated the amount I should have eaten the day before and morning of the ride and didn't get enough fluids to compensate for the hot, humid conditions. The club also hadn't ridden this course before, and we were told it was a "flat" course -- it was anything but flat! Hillfest was a much better term for it. Not many rollers, more long, steep ascents followed by false flats (the type of hill that pounds me down to 6 mph, then frustrates the crap out of me on the false flat). I do have a copy of a book about training for a century in 100 days, and I'm working up to that program. So, yeah, base mileage is something I need to work on, and I'm getting there. My biggest weakness right now is just these hills! I feel like I could ride at least 50 miles on flats, but when you throw NC hills in the mix, I go to my granny chainring and I'm spinning like mad, and only going 5-6 mph. Which makes me start panting instead of breathing correctly, and I start to panic because the rest of the group has dropped me, which makes me work 10x harder and 10x breathe worse. It's just very, very frustrating. I know we all have to start out newbies, but I feel like I'm screwing other members out of a good ride every time someone has to ride sweep with me in the back! |
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| Weight Loss | protein!! | Oct 11 2007 16:36 (UTC) |
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| It's funny that you posted this because I just talked this over with my trainer last night! The ratios should be adjusted based on your goals. I'm actually trying to stick to around 65/15/20 now because I'm learning to be a cyclist and the extra carbs help me out on long rides. Before, I was really trying to build up my muscle to get ready for this and lose fat, so my protein was bumped up to 30% (and I had taken fat down to 10-12%, which was really hard to maintain). But if you exercise, especially a lot of cardio, you'll probably find that if you swap out carbs and protein more than that, and your performance starts to suffer. | |||
| Motivation | Goals for Today & Did you accomplish them? | Oct 11 2007 14:46 (UTC) |
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| Looks like I'm going to be good to go for the Rally -- Neosporin rocks! Not 100% healed, but not a little hot asteroid of pain, though. I feel like I need to get a good long ride in this weekend because I'm in CA and IN next week and will not be able to train or ride. Then I only have one week before my half metric century (50k, 31.2 miles). I've been trying to build up to it, but my longest ride so far has been 21.1 miles. My legs are a little thrashed yet (I lifted on them last night, too), but I think they should be all good by Sunday morning. I might actually have to break out the arm warmers for this one, woot! Much better than the 90+ degrees from last weekend.
Ohio: I would personally choose the paved trail for your mountain bike. I ride a lot in neighborhoods and around town, but I don't like riding by myself on the highways. I feel a lot better in the pack for that since we have more visibility that way. Either way, make sure you take your cell phone and let someone know where you're headed! My goals for today are to eat healthy at my lunch meeting, train 100% tonight, and get in bed by 10:30. I stayed up too late last night, and I'm already regretting it. |
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| Fitness | Join in the fun; The Calorie-Count Cycling Club... | Oct 11 2007 12:41 (UTC) |
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| Yeah, I screwed up there, it was 5 pounds a WEEK. That's what I get for multi-tasking.... ;) But still, it's a lot of weight to lose really fast. His approach landed him in the hospital because his body started to self-canibalize. I'm building up my distance on my rides. Last Sunday was 21, the longest before that was 15, and I'm doing 28 this Sunday. It doesn't sound like a lot, but I've only been on the bike for a little over a month (spent about three to four months in Spin before that). Like I said, those are also hilly miles, so I'm feeling fairly good about it, too, except I'm slow. I think I also de-motivated myself a little last week because I lifted on my legs the day before, and I think they just hadn't recovered well. I also screwed up on my pre-ride nutrition and dehydrated a bit because it was 90+ degrees. It's all a big learning curve, I guess. But I think that's why I like cycling...I'm very analytical by nature. Thanks for the advice, guys! We are actually moving to San Jose, CA, later this year, and the local bike club (1000+ members strong!) rides year-round. So, I might not have to spent as much time in the trainer as I feared. I will also take Max's advice and practice getting out of the saddle. I had tried just going for it before, and the sudden lurch of the bike always had me sitting back down. I think this is something I need to practice on my own, too, away from the group so I don't take out a bunch of the club with me if I do screw up. :) I think this will help me out a lot with my legs just giving out on the 1 mile+ ascents especially! Eventually, I'm working my way to a century. It feels like a good milestone, and I've already picked out the one I want to do for my first -- the Oahu century. Hawaii and cycling...what could be better? |
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