What to do?

[bikerHen]

I'm in serious weight loss mode. Along with diet I'm doing lots and lots of exercise. With our non winter, I ride almost every day including the days I go to the gym.

So here's my question. Which is better for actual fat loss.

A. Ride seven miles to the gym, 35-45 minutes of weights, ride four miles to work, then eight miles home in the evening.

B. Drive to the gym, do a 15 minute cardio warm up, one hour of weights, then 30-45 minutes of cardio.

Yesterday, I drove to the gym. I did the full hour of weights plus cardio. I felt really good afterwards. I had more energy and was less tired than when I ride to the gym.

I don't know much about how all this works, other than calories in vs. calories out. Lean muscle is good, but how do I best get rid of the fat! bikerHen

[Catrin]

.....Yesterday, I drove to the gym. I did the full hour of weights plus cardio. I felt really good afterwards. I had more energy and was less tired than when I ride to the gym.

I don't know much about how all this works, other than calories in vs. calories out. Lean muscle is good, but how do I best get rid of the fat! bikerHen

I am in weight-loss mode as well, and while I can't speak to your question directly I have noted that when I mix things up that I have better results. Perhaps the best approach isn't either A or B, but both/and - mix it up.

Personally I have noted that when I am doing the same thing every day that I start tiring more quickly. Why not experiment and see how a combination of the two works for you?

[ny biker]

It works by burning calories. Unfortunately in practice it's not easy to figure out. Some things to consider:

Strength training is an important part of overall health, but you're burning more calories doing cardio than when you're lifting weights.

What is the total cardio time for the different workouts? And how do they compare in intensity? If the bike ride days have more cardio time at the same intensity as the drive days, then the bike ride days burn more calories. If the bike ride days are easier workouts over a longer time, you might actually burn fewer calories on those days.

If you have more energy when you drive, it might be because you're not fueling (eating) enough on the days you're riding your bike. A pre-ride workout meal or snack can help you work harder.

If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it's best to do it in a way that does not exhaust you and make you miserable and therefore make you burn out. Also you need to vary the intensity of workouts to give yourself easy days (or days off) so your body can recover from the hard workouts.

Also, read this book:

http://www.nancyclarkrd.com/books/sportsnutrition.asp

Good luck!

[bikerHen]

Thanks for the replies. It is so complicated.

Here's what I'm doing . . .
Monday, Wednesday, Friday are gym/ride days.
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday are 20 mile commute days.
Sunday's, 2-3 mile walks with the dogs, snowshoeing or occasionally just sitting and do nothing.

I do have Nancy Clark's book. I try to read and make sense of it but it just doesn't seem to filter through.

I really enjoy doing weights. I work hard, feel the burn and sweat buckets. I'm working with a trainer that gives me a good well rounded workout. I am kinda burning myself out. I didn't count on being able to commute everyday this winter and it is kinda additive. Maybe that's why I want to skip riding to the gym. I guess the bottom line is, I just need to keep moving and the fat will go away. I'm just a little bit impatient, go figure! I want to get as much weight off before cycling season and a planned 500 mile self supported bike tour in the Canadian Rockies this summer. bikerHen

[artifactos]

The amount of calories you burn while lifting weights depends largely on your body and the way you lift weights. I burn a similar amount of calories (if not more than cardio) while lifting if I'm doing it properly - intense effort, 12-15 reps, very little time between sets. I usually switch from machine/exercise quickly, doing 3 sets of each exercise before moving on to a different muscle group.

For example: Leg press, 12-15 reps - directly to hamstring curl, 12-15 reps - back to leg press, etc. to 3 sets of each

If I am not able to do back-to-back sets of complementary muscle groups (chest/back, quads/hamstrings, abs/lower back, biceps/triceps, etc.), I do tricep dips or wall-sits between sets so I'm keeping my heart rate up. My heart rate gets into a cardio zone while lifting if I'm doing it properly.

Personally.. I'd ride the bike on days when it's feasible, and drive when it's not. Take fun classes if you can - I find that spinning for me has been a lot more productive than me running/doing cardio on my own. Mostly because I have someone telling me what to do and I just obey without thinking about it.

[marni]

one of the key things to focus on when in wieght loss mode I have learned after five years and 125 pounds is that you have to eat a minimum of 500 calories a day less than you eat so in addition to the exercise you have to monitor your calorie intake and be able to break your exercise down into calorie expenditure. Then you have to look at your % body fat vs. lean muscle and work on getting the fat down and the lean muscle up. You do get stale as you repeat exercises which is why you should switch it up. Another method for cardion is to do intervals of very intense vs relatively easy. This not oonly increases you endurance ( yay for endurance and biking) but also increases your calorie burn as the heart revs up and cools down, an improves your overall results.

One thing I swear by which I have used for 3 years is a body bugg, (bodybugg.com) which is a small device I wear on my arm which monitors my real calorie expenditure by measureing my pulse, body temperature etc. As an added bonus, I can put my body weight and measurements in along with my weight loss goals on the data base. The food data base is huge and I track my food daily and the program calculates my calorie intake by total as well as breaking it down into micronutrients, fat, carbohydrates, protein and then calculates the difference between intake and expenditure. Yes the initial cost is a bit high, but it comes with access to a complete website of extras, exercises, preplanned menus, recipes, goals, and an hourly break down of calorie burn for the time I wear the bugg along with an estimate for off times. My trainer can sign in and check my results and discusss with me what is working food wise, training wise, riding wise.

You might want to check it out.

Marni

[GLC1968]

Perhaps the best approach isn't either A or B, but both/and - mix it up.

This.

You definitely need the weight training to keep the muscle as you burn the fat. You won't be able to add sizeable muscle while in a calorie deficit, but you want to retain as much of it as possible. Put simply, if you don't use it, you lose it and that is horribly detrimental to your ability to maintain your loss.

Plus, variety is the spice of life, right? I find that mixing things up keeps me entertained and if I am entertained, I am way more likely to keep going.

Just keep doing what you are doing. Keep the diet in check, keep the activity up, and keep lifting weights - you'll get there. The single most important factor in weight loss is consistency (I should know...I don't have it!! ) and if you have that, you'll get there.

[Zen]

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Did I say intervals?

[ny biker]

I burn a similar amount of calories (if not more than cardio) while lifting if I'm doing it properly - intense effort, 12-15 reps, very little time between sets.

How do you know how many calories you're burning?

[Zen]

How do you know how many calories you're burning?

Some HR monitors can tell you calories used per activity

[divingbiker]

...a planned 500 mile self supported bike tour in the Canadian Rockies this summer. bikerHen

Have you told us about this tour yet? I'd love to know more, since I'd like to do Banff-Jasper self-supported.

[Cherie]

Yes, please tell us about your planned ride in Canada!! I live near Coeur d'Alene and am planning on doing the Selkirk Loop in September.
Cherie

[ridebikeme]

Do you use a heart rate monitor? The trainer class that we have held in the shop over the winter uses them for each and every ride. Anyway, my point to mentioning this to you is if you train at 50-65% of your MHR(maximum heart rate) you actually burn twice as many calories per minute and you are burning fat rather than carbs as with anerobic intervals.

Hope this helps

[malkin]

My thinking:

Do what you like best because you will enjoy it, and will therefore do it more!

[bikermaze]

A balance of A and B is my say on it. You need a wee bit of both to get what you want.

Pair that up with a balanced diet and then you're all set.

Don't forget to pace your training though. Don't overdo it.

You'll lose motivation and will to continue with the routine faster than you think that way.