Bike Bod

[KSH]

So curious, what has cycling done for your body? What has it done for your health? What do you hope to accomplish in 2007?



I'm looking for encouragement for New Years Resolutions


I hope to accomplish better aerobic capabilities, to get some hot legs , and to be able to go biking together with my family.

Honestly, 2 years of cycling have made my legs look better than running or weights ever did.

I have never had the greatest legs in the world... and they certainly aren't perfect... but now days I like to take a peek at how strong and muscular they look... when I walk in front of mirrors...

Just about every time I have worn shorts around people who haven't seen me in awhile... they have even commented how great my legs look.

Keep riding and you will get some hot legs that others will compliment!

Good luck!

[makbike]

This is why I love my bike -

I've dropped 15 pounds, lost 7 inches from head to toe, dropped 2 sizes, lowered my cholesterol by 24 points (still had to go on Crestor but it is coming down - bad genes), have not had an asthma attack in 2 years, my legs look great, I feel mentally and physically stronger, my confidence has increased by leaps and bounds and have once again discovered a form of exercise I love and want to do every day. Biking has become a regular part of each and every day and the benefits continue to shine through.

[rocknrollgirl]

I got me a mountain bikin' booty....we now refer to it around here as "The Booty"

I did not really discover "the booty"until school started this year. It snuck up on me over the last year or so. I spent the whole summer in biking shorts and running shorts and skirts. Then school started again and I had to morph back in to a grown up ( well sort of)...

And VIOLA.....I now have a booty. My clothes still fit just fine, but I am filling those pants out very differently. At first I was horrified. Now I like it. I think it is my secret power source.....

Long Live The Booty....

Ruth

[Aseradyn]

I started riding for work and errands during the summer - July, I think. I haven't lost any weight (haven't been able to convince myself that losing weight is worth giving up soda) but I'm still way healthier than I was!

The biggest changes I've noticed:

More happy days, fewer depressed ones!
Better wind
Stronger legs, hands, and back

Also, a nice side effect of using my bike for errands is that I can't buy as much crap at the store

[RoadRaven]

Isn't it great how something that we enjoy, that we can be passionate about and have achievement and success with?


Hmmmm... what has it done for me?

In 2004 when I started I realised I could do this, legitimate "me-time" that didn't involve work or running the house... something fun I could also do with my family at times

In 2005 - my first full year of cycling - I lost no weight, but I dropped two dress sizes... I lost fat, but grew muscle... and I also realised that I am competitive with other people!

In 2006:

- I joined the local club, I won the beginner's grade and have been moved up to a grade where peloton racing happens.

- I realised, when shaving my legs one day, that I have increased muscle definition in my calves... and its not from high heels!

- My thighs have muscle development... a new muscle about and to the outside edge of my knee - I have never had any kind've noticable muscle on my thighs, its always been disguised by a layer of "wobble".

- My partner tells me my buttocks are firmer than at any time in our 21 year marriage...

- I have ridden 84km without a break, I plan to do 100km before year end (2 weeks to go!).

- I have 'lost' 10kg and am now an even 100kg - my goal for 2007 is to drop to 90kg.

- I spend more time with my family - my partner loves to ride with me when he can despite being in the top grade in th club and me being in the lowest (now second-to-lowest)... my two eldest sons, both top cyclists in the club also like to do their recovery rides with me, knowing it is a good hard ride for my training goals... my daughter - 18 1/2 - is getting her confidence back on the bike after breaking her arm 2 years ago, and ASKS to spend time with me on gentle rides, something many of my friends/aquaintances daughters do not ask of their mums... and my two youngest boys like to ride with me too on the gentle rides.

- We have established two family traditions... on ANZAC Day, and on Christmas Day, we go for a family bike ride - all seven of us - though being at different levels we dont ride the entire distance together, but for some of it, we do (at Christmas it ends at the river for a swim).

[CyclChyk]

I could go on and on about the weight loss, about the lowered cholestorol, about the energy, the new spandex respect, about the tightened arse and much less flabby arm skin, the loss of my double chin, about the battle scars..............

But the one thing - the BEST thing - is that my F'N saddlebags are gone for the first time in 30+ years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

But the one thing - the BEST thing - is that my F'N saddlebags are gone for the first time in 30+ years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah girl, I HEAR you, Amen to that, good riddance to bad luggage!!!!

[donnambr]

I began bike commuting in April, and can count on one hand the days I haven't biked to work in that time. I've lost 45 lbs, 3 clothing sizes, gotten to a high-normal blood pressure (mine's been high due to meds), not caught any kind of cold or flu, and gained immense amounts of energy. I've been able to reduce the amount of thyroid hormone I take from 175 to 137 mcg - the lowest I've been since I was 18 and lost the thyroid. Oh, and my endometriosis pain is much reduced. Not bad for just riding 35-50 miles most weeks.

[sjf]

I was a runner in my life previous to biking (still do it some for cross training) so was relatively fit when I started biking.

BUT - now instead of people commenting how thin/slim I am, I get more comments about how strong and fit I look. I went to a new doctor and she said to me - you look very fit, what do you do for exercise? (And this was after she saw me with my clothes OFF ) LOL. We moved into a new building last summer and our upstairs neighbor commented to my husband the he noticed I had very strong legs - did I lift weights?

Those kinds of comments are new. For myself, I notice my legs are a lot more muscled and that I now have a butt. Cycling MUST build up the glut muscles because I never had THAT before. At least I hope it's muscle.

I actually weigh a bit more than I used to but according to the fitness assessment I had done at my gym my body fat hasn't increased.

[kellichou]

I have only been cycling for about 4 months, and I love it!

Before the snow hit (we've been buried here in Denver for about the past 3 days, which is awesome because I got 3 days tacked onto my Winter Break), I was riding 10-20 miles a day, usually 30-80 miles/week. Whoo! I am very pleased. Now for training for a half-century, then a century. . .

My legs have become much more muscular, and I love the hand, arm, and back strength I've gained, too. And my balance and agility have improved! I just feel so much stronger and more confident! I cannot wait for the weather to improve so I can resume commuting the 20 miles roundtrip to work.

I'm a teacher, and a few weeks ago, I had some outdated student grade printouts that I had to throw away. So I tore the stack into long, thin strips, & put them in the recycling bin. My 6th graders were impressed! They said, "wow, Ms. G., you must be strong to tear all those papers up!" I grinned and said, "Well, the Buckley Amendment makes me protect information concerning your grades, and cycling has helped make my hands stronger!" I have the most awesome students in the world, I love my job! And I love cycling.

[tygab]

Since April 06 ish... note I have never been heavy but I have been flabby - my weight has stayed about the same but its composition has changed significantly.

-rock hard calves (they are small but they are solid!!)
-discernable quads and arm muscles
-I now comfortably fit into some pants that I was verging on 'outgrowing'
-I can see my hip bones
-Can run a whole 5k after spin class or just on its own
-general increase in energy and happy outlook
-Everyone at my new company thinks I am an athlete (at least I get that impression), and they know I don't eat junk foods and work out a lot

I am enjoying morphing myself into a more fit and overall happy person on an almost daily basis, and I have a goal for 2007 of doing a few triathlons, and being in possibly the best shape of my life for the big 35.

-T

[inatree]

i havent lost any weight at all from cycling. and my body doesnt look any better. i ride about 16 miles everyday. am i not doing enough or something? anyway it has helped me immensely in a spiritual way tho. im not taking antidepressants anymore. and i sleep better. i have also dealt with an eating disorder for a while and i it seems my cycling habit is replacing my try-not-to-eat habit. i think about food in a very different way now...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Inatree,

I found I sleep better now than when I wasn't biking or exercising. I don't keep waking up all night- I sleep straight through more and feel more rested. Now it's just my bladder that wakes me up sometimes!
16 miles a day- hew that's GREAT!!
Listen, often visible body changes don't become noticable until after a few months- they didn't much with me anyway.
You GO girl...

[RoadRaven]

i havent lost any weight at all from cycling. and my body doesnt look any better. i ride about 16 miles everyday. am i not doing enough or something? anyway it has helped me immensely in a spiritual way tho. im not taking antidepressants anymore. and i sleep better. i have also dealt with an eating disorder for a while and i it seems my cycling habit is replacing my try-not-to-eat habit. i think about food in a very different way now...

16 miles... 25kms... ok, so you are getting a good workout? On a training ride 25kms takes me about 45mins to an hour I guess at a reasonable clip (thats an average of about 25-30 kms, depending on my goal for the day, and wind etc.)

So, at those speeds my heart rate is elevated... and that is an essential element of weight loss by exercise.
QUESTION: when you ride, is your heart rate elevated so that you know it is working harder, but you could still talk to a fellow cyclist beside you?

OK, distance/time... to lose weight, you should do 30-40 consecutive minutes of aerobic exercise (heart rate elevated, but still able to talk) at least 4 times a week.
QUESTION: Is your 16 miles split into two rides? Or done as one ride? If it is done as one ride, it should be enough to start changing your shape. If it is done as two, consider making the first/morning ride long enough to take you to 40 minutes at the aerobic workout level.

K... if you exercise in the morning you will lift your metabolism and it will work harder and more efficiently all day (that is, burn fat for energy and help you lose weight). If you do your 40 minute aerobic workout in the evening, your metabolism is lifted, but then you go to sleep and it will take longer to lose weight.

I have been cycling now for two full years.
In the first year, I changed shape and dropped two dress sizes, but there was no difference at all on the scales (which means I lost some fat, but built muscle).
This year - my second - I have lost 10kgs and continued to build muscle.
In 2007 I want to lose another 10kgs.

You should aim to shift weight slowly and then it will be more likley to stay the way you get it.



I absolutely agree about the spiritual element to cycling, and the "betterment" for my own headspace.
I too also think about food differently now. Its not something I obsess out or crave now - it is a fuel for my body and I think of it in that way without losing the absolute pleasure I get from eating.

[indysteel]

I started cycling and practicing yoga at about the same time in May/June and my body has changed quite a bit. I had already been doing some light weight lifting, but didn't see it all together until I started to drop a bit of weight and body fat, presumably from cycling. I have defined arm muscles for the first time ever. I get tons of compliments on that alone. I also lost inches in my waist, hips and upper thighs. I have better defined muscles in my legs and my butt, while still a little on the flabby side, is smaller. I ultimately had to buy a whole new work wardrobe, mostly in size two or xs. I haven't seen those sizes since I was overworked and overstressed in law school over ten years ago. I haven't had my cholesterol checked since this before I started riding. I'll be interested to see if it's changed (it was already "normal"). My blood pressure has always been low so I expect that it still is.

Most of the changes that really matter to me are mental and emotional. The thought of riding more than five miles at a stretch or doing a backbend in yoga were alien concepts to me a year ago. I haven't thought of myself as an active or athletic person since my running days in high school so to do what I do now on a regular basis is a source of tremendous pride and satisfaction. I am an athlete now, and that new image of myself has opened the world up to me in a new way.

Both cycling and yoga are very "zen" to me. I find peace in both--in different ways. They have both helped me stave off depression and are a reliable antedote to a bad day. I've made new friends, too, which is a great bonus as well. I've spent a lot of money on both this year, all of it very well spent. I feel like I've reinvented myself.