So I signed up for a bike ride...

MIghtyG

...I am not a smart man...

So im 28, 6f1in and about 277lbs last time I weighed myself, id like to say im big boned and have allot of muscle, thats kinda true, but my bones and muscle seems to be made of fat.... For some reason, to motivate myself into getting fit I guess, I signed up for a short bike ride which is going to be about 35-40miles YAY! im told its mostly flat but I have no idea what it will be like.

I have about 60 days until the big day so any pointers on how to get myself into shape for something like this?

My diet was pretty terrible but the past couple of weeks I have cleaned it up allot and now my day to day is something like this:

Breakfast:
Home made protein bars (Homemade No-Bake Protein Bars
1 x Large orange or a banana
1 x huuuuge cup of tea with semi skimmed mile (its a teeny tiny splash of milk though!)

Lunch:
Few slices of cheese (pre-sliced edam or similar)
few slices of cold meat
few table spoons of greek yougurt
more tea

Dinner:
This is more variable from home made curries to roasts with loads of veg. Usually always some rice or potatoes but im slowly cutting these down.

Looks a little something like:


Exercise wise I am trying to go for a little and often, I have been aiming for 30min a day, 5 times a week. I usually go home from work at lunch time and sit on a rowing machine or cycle for a while (recently bought myself a set of rollers which are ace!!) I aim to get my HR into the cardio zone which for me I think is 70-85% of my max so ~134-161bpm.

This is my usual on a rowing machine:


And my performance on the bike (an actual bike but on rollers):

(the trophs are me either knackered or falling off!)

(last 5 min on each graph are my cool downs, so I can record my recovery (lack of) performance)

So, If I can keep this up Mon-Friday what are my chances of not dieing trying to cycle 40miles?

Any adjustments or improvements you can recommend?

And just for the hell of it heres my lovely new bike (I really need to start commuting to work more too!)

Charlts

Good man. The way I look at it, you've bought your bike, use it. Cycling too and from work is little and often, the good thing with cycling to work is that it's easy to see progress either in times or how easy it feels.

MIghtyG

Yeah I used to cycle to work quite allot but recently (past 4-5 months) its getting harder and harder, I often need to head out when im at work to the other end of the city for meetings, used to be a once in a blue moon thing now its multiple times a week. I also have a dog I need to get home to let out for a walk at lunch time, my misses cant make it back every day due to her work so I need to do it and its too far to cycle there and back at lunch as well as in the morning/evening, I dont get a long enough break to do it sadly.

I am going to try and squeeze it in where I can but for now I am going to stick to cycling indoors or in the back garden, rowing and maybe see about squeezing in some light jogging.

Need to take easy on the jogging though, I have injured my ankle in the past (torn ligaments) and it can flare up quick when I run on it too much.

I might try and go for a short cycle at the weekend though, just to get the bike out on the road

Charlts

Running is for children and convicts, not men of our stature! Our old German Shepherd was terrific at running on a long lead whilst I cycled with him - Maybe an option? It sounds like you've got a good plan in place, just keep to it an keep on keeping on.

By the way I've got a fair bit of weight on you, it's nothing but a number and it all helps on the downhill stretches!

scatterbug

I would look at introducing some longer rides. I presume the 35-40 mile target event is going to take you 2hrs ? No need to go out for that long if you can't fit it in but you want to acclimatise your arse to prolonged saddle time. Being non-load bearing you can make the actual event as hard or easy as you like.

MIghtyG

yeah thats my plan, if I cant get out on the road I will be hopping up onto my rollers and getting some time in the saddle. I have cycle shorts but that thin layer of padding can only help so much....need to get my arse used to it haha

MIghtyG

I think I pushed it too hard on Sunday, either that or my body just dosent like exercise...

I had a short walk then jog to warm up, 20min or so on the bike then 15min on the rowing machine. I was pushing myself a little harder than I have been in the past though with my heart rate around ~145-155bpm for the duration compared with ~135-145bpm.

Anyway, I was knacked and pretty chuffed with my work and had a quick stretch once I was finished, focusing on my legs and lower back.

Later in the evening though I started getting a tightness in my left calf (its in my right one too, just not as pronounced) it feels almost like its on the verge of cramp at any minute but im well hydrated and I dont think im low on salt!

So, is this just a usual ache from working out or should I be taking a day off? (Im leaning towards the latter)

Anyone have a decent ~30-45min upper body workout I can do so I can give my legs a rest? All ive done the past week is cycle, run and row so my legs could be doing with a rest I think

Charlts

Have a gentle walk followed by a really long stretch off. Be well worth investing in a foam roller it'll transform your life:

Delvey

Same age as you. Little bit lighter. I started cycling in October but stopped through the whole of December and most of January. Since then I bought a decent Road bike and hit 25 miles at least once a week. The key thing is my average Mph is going up each time. I'm looking at the great Manchester cycle ride which is 26 or 52 miles

MIghtyG

Still going although maybe not quite as hard as I was going at it last week.

The thing which has really kept me going is seeing what it is doing for my health. The weight is slowly coming of, not enough to change a trouser size just yet, but my testing heart rate is dropping like a stone. I know it can't keep falling at this rate or I'd be dead in a month but it's a nice early motivator!!