Suggestions for Beginner Rider Schedule?

[shoerbee]

Hi all!
It is SO great to have found this fabulous forum!
So, I have a verrry cheap, heavy mtn bike that I am just starting on. Will gift myself with upgrade after proving myself I will stick with it.

My question is: How much should I ride? I want to build strength, stamina, to see improvement.
I'm 5'6" and 200lbs, so need to lose significant weight.
I can ride an hour or two at a time........even rode 18 miles last weekend!!! But my average ride has been about 5 - 8 miles over about an hour...

Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks in advance!
Brigitte

[Grog]

Hi Brigitte and welcome to TE! Lovely name! (I have the same.)

I'd recommend you set achievable goals. Don't increase your mileage/time too much every week, many experts recommend 10% a week MAX, and only 3 out of 4 weeks (the fourth week you take it a bit easier because your body gets fitter when you're resting).

Don't keep your eyes on the scale, but pay attention to how you fit in your clothes and how you feel. Even put the scale away maybe.

Riding 3 times one hour a week is fine as you start. You burn the most calories when you're riding at a very comfortable pace, not when you're struggling, so find a comfort zone and stick to it. On one of your rides, you can push yourself a bit more in "intervals": go hard for a few minutes (or hit a hill) and then take it a bit easier.

The good thing about your heavy mountain bike is that it will make you work harder. The bad thing is that if it doesn't fit you well you could hurt yourself pretty badly and that that could impair your efforts to get fit. Be careful: if you feel pain, it's not just you, and you might need to make adjustments to your steed.

The most important thing for now is probably making sure you enjoy the rides. Of course you will still have to kick your b*** to get out of the door - we all do - but once you're there you should focus on having some fun. That's how you'll become addicted!!

Enjoy!

[Bad JuJu]

Re: kicking your b*tt to get out the door: as Grog said, we've all been there. So here's a tip that has worked for me when I feel like I just don't have it in me: tell yourself you're going to go out and ride for just 10 minutes or so--just a little mini-ride. I can almost guarantee that once you're out the door and in the saddle, you'll end up doing a longer ride. Sometimes, it's all in just getting out the door.

Definitely be on the lookout for pain your bike might be causing you. You don't want to end up thinking you don't like cycling when what you really don't like is the way your bike fits.

[Offthegrid]

Hey, welcome. I'm just starting up again after an absence, too.

I just wanted to tell you that you will be AMAZED if you buy an entry-level road bike compared with what you are riding now. You will be able to go so much faster with less effort than you're doing now. And speed = more fun = more likely to stick with it! Yippee!

Hmm ... the holidays are quickly approaching ...

[velogirl]

Riding 3 times one hour a week is fine as you start. You burn the most calories when you're riding at a very comfortable pace, not when you're struggling, so find a comfort zone and stick to it.

Hey Grog! I know what you were trying to say here, but the way you said it is a bit misleading.

We burn more calories at a higher intensity. However, our body uses a larger contribution of fat at a lower intensity (ie the "fat-burning zone"). This, of course, is dietary fat (not adipose tissue -- the stuff around our hips). And since weight loss is about calories in versus calories out, exercising at a higher intensity will yield a higher number of calories out.

But, I think what Grog was trying to say is that if you ride at a more moderate pace (ie a lower intensity), you will have a more positive experience and thus ride for a longer period of time (which might mean more calories burned).

Good luck shoerbee! Be patient with the process. Enjoy seeing the change in your body and your energy level. And be proud of your accomplishments.

Lorri

[Grog]

Hummmm, that's not what I was meaning to say, but velogirl is right nonetheless! Do what she says!!

[RoadRaven]

Hi there bee...

A general rule of thumb for exercise to lose weight is a minimum of 3 workouts per week for a minimum of 40 minutes at an intensity where your heart rate is lifted but you can still talk without gasping.

You also work with your metabolism - a cold or cool drink when you wake up, exercise first thing in the morning, eat breakfast half an hour after you have finished exercise.

Cold (not icey unless its summer or your body is used to it - too cold can make you feel ill) water gives your metabolism a 'kick start' to the day.

Exercise in the morning lifts your metabolism significantly for the whole day so your burn more energy (fat) all day (exercise in the evening tends to build muscle rather than burn fat, because you boost the metabolism then go to sleep).

Eating food half an hour later means your body has to start "chewing on itself" cause there is no food in the tum (remember - you havent eaten since last night...).
Important: after a long or intense ride, if your body tells you to eat then eat... fueling your body after a hard ride is an important part of recovery

Now... having got the weight thing over... listen to the previous posts in this thread. Sure, have a weight loss focus, but the key thing is to set yourself rides that are achievable and you enjoy. Many gals here will attest that it is highly addictive and it wont be long before you find you are able to make more and more time for the bike. Priorities change.

When I first started riding in October 2004, one of my goals was to lose weight. At the end of 2005 I weighed the same - BUT (and this is a BIG BUT - talking about the conjunction - leave my butt outta this! )...
... at the end of 2005 I weighed the same (110kg) but my shape had changed and I had dropped TWO dress sizes.

This year I have finally started "losing" weight and am 101kg (goal is to be under 100 by the new year).

My long term goal is to get under 90kg - 85kg would be great... but this is not because I want to look better - that might be a nice side effect... however, the interesting thing about becoming dependant on this cycling drug is priorities change. I need to lose weight not so I can get into a smaller pair of jeans, but because I keep getting dropped on hills in races, and I want to be faster up hills, and it will be easier to stay with the bunch if I weigh something similar to other cyclists.

So chuck out the scales, enjoy noticing your body shape change, enjoy noticing new firmness (I have never had muscle definition in my thighs before ).

Get on and ride and tell us your successes, which may include weight loss, but it is likely other goals will become as important if not more important than this.

Welcome to our haven
Enjoy
~Raven~

[shoerbee]

Thank you SO much ladies!! I cannot tell you how much all of your input is helping me! I love the riding and eating advice. What gets me very excited is to hear how you all started, got into it, and saw improvement in your riding (and body) !!!
KEep the suggestions coming! I appreciate all of the input, and am eating it up with a passion!!!
A VERY lovely name indeed Grog!!! I have never met another Brigitte!!! Mine is the German pronunciation...assuming yours is French?
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
b

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Welcome friend!

This is a great support team place.
One thing I would recommend is to be sure you drink plenty of water when you ride- stop and drink some every 15 minutes or so. And I would not recommend going for a long (more than say 30 minutes) ride without any food in your stomache.
If your body runs out of calorie fuel, you can actually feel suddenly ill and be unable to continue riding. Nibble little snacks like apple, granola bar, fig newtons, banana, nuts, pretzels, etc. before and/or during your ride. The saying I hear is "Drink before you are thirsty, Eat before you are hungry".

It's true that after a month or two of regular biking, you may notice changes in your body shape more than changes on the scale. But it's GOOD change! You may lose fat while gaining muscle, thus staying the same weight for a while. You will start to LOOK different however.
Don't be discouraged!
Keep your goals do-able, concentrate on slowly improving your overall health instead of the weight thing, and keep looking at your little accomplishments along the way. Focus on stuff like "Hey, I rode for 20 minutes three times this week instead of last week's three 15 minute rides!" Don't focus on the stuff you can't do (yet), don't beat yourself up. The more FUN you make it, the more you will want to keep doing it. Remember you are already DOING it, you are starting to get fit ALREADY!

[light_sabe_r]

My question is: How much should I ride? I want to build strength, stamina, to see improvement.
I'm 5'6" and 200lbs, so need to lose significant weight.
I can ride an hour or two at a time........even rode 18 miles last weekend!!! But my average ride has been about 5 - 8 miles over about an hour...

Hey Shoerbee! If you're only just staring my advice would be keep doing what you're doing!

try squeezing in rides here and there, and if you feel up to it, ditch the car and start commuting to work! That's how it started for me. My commute is 4.5km (a little under 2 miles I think) each way. That got my base fitness up enough to start taking... DETOURS on the way home, shopping expeditions etc... ^_^

Just get out there and have fun and you'll notice improovements in WEEKS!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

if you feel up to it, ditch the car and start commuting to work! That's how it started for me. My commute is 4.5km (a little under 2 miles I think) each way.

Good advice! But... as a farrier, she might have trouble hauling that pesky ANVIL up the hills on her bike!!!!

(hey wait, I bet she could could get into shape REAL FAST that way?...)

[Haudlady]

Good advice! But... as a farrier, she might have trouble hauling that pesky ANVIL up the hills on her bike!!!!

(hey wait, I bet she could could get into shape REAL FAST that way?...)

Good call, Lisa!!!

Welcome, Shoerbee! I know it has been said before, but one of my favorite things about cycling is how I feel... not necessarily how I look! Okay, so my body is stronger now - which is a great side effect - but I would still be on my bike even if my body weren't "improving." Don't get so wrapped up in all of these calorie calculations that you forget to have lots of
FUN!

[shoerbee]

My thoughts exactly on that 'pesky' anvil Lisa! LOL Heck, maybe I'll start a trend. I do hope that riding helps my overall strength and flexibility needed for work as well.
I can see quickly that , though I pulled out the bike to start getting some exercise to lose weight, the fever of riding is over riding the weight loss program......though it seems the body benefits will just follow along...
You ladies ROCK!!!!

[Viking]

Shoerbee...

I have to ask - what type of tires do you have on this mt bike?

Knobby and wide?

If you're riding on the street not trails, switch over to "slicks". These tires are smooth (no tread) and not as wide, it will make riding a bit easier.

Slicks are available on line at Performancebike.com and bike shops, cost is $14range for each tire.

Good Luck and have fun!

[shoerbee]

Hi viking.
Thanks for asking. I have a knobby tires. Have been riding pretty much exclusively on dirt roads....some well maintained, others more like double tracks.....though yesterday rode on road and realized I could pack a bunch more miles on riding on road. Will go investigate those slicks!
Thanks!!!
Have been needing to learn how to change tires....