Training & Nutrition - What type of training have you done to drop those extra pounds?

Currently I have been riding five times a week for 1 - 2 hours at a hr of 140-165 bpm. I have managed to go from 238 lbs to 214 lbs, but I need to drop some more weight before I get on the road. Heart Zones (http://www.heartzone.com/index.shtml) calculator tells me that I should be training at 60-70% (113 - 132 bpm) to burn the most fat and loose weight. The problem is that I never feel like I am working out when I am at this level. I think I prefer the 70 - 80% range since I feel like I have actually worked out and this is where I trained when I was in college. Does anyone have any feedback on weight loss vs. HR? I am considering just doing two weeks at 60-70% to see if I drop weight quicker. I want to be at 200 by the end of April and 175 by the end of July. I have determined these numbers by plotting my weight since I started training in December. I hate to stay away from Cardio for two weeks, but it would be interesting to see if my weight would drop quicker if I stayed in this range for an extended period of time.

Let me know what you guys think.

Lower intensity will burn larger %fat but less overall calories per unit of time.Higher intensity will burn lower % fat but more overall calories and will raise your overall metabolism more allowing you to burn more calories later during regular activity where a large % is fat.For best results particularly as fat levels get lower I suggest a varied approach to take advantage of the strengths of both it is particularly important to keep a high metabolism in this situation.For low intensity you should work on extending the duration as if you can go the same time at higher intensity you should probably just do that.A good comprimize may be to try varying the intensity during your workout doing intervals of higher and lower intensity.

RWTD is right on! (based on all the research stuff i've read)

a "myth" has kind of developed from all the hype that those wanting to lose weight should only do low intnesity because it burns a higher PERCENTAGE of fat.

but as RWTD correctly states, higher intensity usually burns MORE overall fat per unit time of exercise, although a lower PERCENTAGE or the total calories burned, but with the extra benefit that it works your body harder and increases your metabolism more.

i.e. both low intensity and high intensity burn calories derived from fat, and a combination of both is probably best for weight and fat loss.

another advantage to higher intensity is that you get more training effect and more calories burned for a given workout time - i.e. if you're like most people you don't have unlimited time to spend 2-3 hours per day doing low intensity workouts, but 1 hour of high intensity may be more "doable"...

although you should include significant low intensity training as this "teaches" your body to efficiently convert fat to calories better than high intensity as for the high-calorie demands of high intensity the body must also use other sources to meet the calorie demands.

i think probably doing what feels the best and mixing it up a little is probably the best thing...

P.S. i'm on the other end of the weight-gain/loss scale and am on an aggressive program to gain weight - weight training minimum 3 times per week + massive eating: i am 6'1" (185cm) and since my lowest weight in 5 years last November of 68kg (150lbs) i am up to 73kg(161lbs) = +11lbs... shooting towards 77kg (170lbs) by the start of summer, but i'd be happy with 75kg(165lbs)

RunYun, sounds like you're doing just fine. just make sure you continue to enjoy and make the cycling and workouts a life-long habit as well as working on healhty eating and you success will continue for a long time!

nathank makes a good point about learning to train to use fat as an energy source during low intensity by the way it sounds to me like he is an easy gainer rather than a hardgainer lol. Seriously it is probably due to muscle memory making gaining back previous lost muscle easier than gaining it the first time. nathank when you reach your previous set point I suspect it will start getting tougher to put on size.RunYun make sure your goals are not so aggressive that if they aren't reached on time you get frustrated.As bodyfat levels get lower the job gets tougher and you can't exspect to keep taking off fat at the same rate.

nathank when you reach your previous set point I suspect it will start getting tougher to put on size.

i suspect that you are correct -- back 4 years ago i kind of reached a platue... and i have never gained like this before (hey, but don't burst my bubble with the muscle memory thing - i like to think i just learned a whole lot about working out and nutrition and all...)

but then i would be quite happy when i get back to 170lbs and 4% body fat again... (if i can)

IF i make it there (or hit a platue again in general) then i'll have to try some new stuff and i'm sure i'll ask you for some help then... but yeah, 10lbs in 4 months can't continue for too long i don't think, especially for a "skinny" hard-gainer like me... plus cycling season is approaching and i always lose weight during the summer with all my riding miles.

for now, i know it's still working as i still have the major muscle soreness for 2 days after each workout (yesterday was extra good and i feel it today sitting here at my desk!), so i know i'm really working the muscles to new levels of stress! (and making them BUILD)

in the beginning you see results fast, and then after that every little gain is a major effort (cycling performance is that way too!)

The upside is you don't have to worry as much losing a little muscle while cycling or gaining some fat while weight training knowing you can get back to where you were fairly quickly.And of course for hardgainers strict attention to diet/exercise/rest are essential even here so I didn't mean to take anything away from your effort. Im a little jealous about the muscle soreness though as I love the feeling of leg muscles so sore you can barely walk or biceps so pumped they feel like there ready to explode and I rarely experience either of those anymore though have have been seeing pretty good results myself.

RunYun-

As your fitness level increases, the intensity of your exercise must also increase. If you go back to the heart zones site and read the document they have about how exercise can make you fatter, you will be able to read about how Heart Zones advocates spending time training at different intensities to get the best results. See this link for details: http://www.heartzone.com/warning.pdf

What Heart Zones advocates is working within a periodization program to develop your fitness level. Once you get to the point where you complete your base training and begin on the other parts of your periodization program, you'll start incorporating other higher zones into your training. By the time you get to the power training, you're doing all the zones- and spending a specific percentage of time in each of the zones to get the full effect and benefits of training in each of the zones. What I like about the periodization program is that it's specific for your needs- you can adjust it as your fitness levels increase (or decrease if you're spending more time working on building that a$$ grove into your lazy boy chair, ya know? ;) ). As you begin adding more zones in and working through the periodization program, you will definitely see an increase in your fitness level- you will be able to do more work at lower heart rates AND your anaerobic threshold will increase. As that happens, you deliberately increase your training intensity to reach the higher heart rate levels and still be able to remain aerobic, so you will continue to burn more fat.

Check up on that link I included in my post- it goes into a lot more detail. Also, as I always emphasize, you should have a professional conduct a fitness or stress test in a supervised setting so that you can ascertain what your accurate heart rate ranges are. From there, you can develop a training program, and just make sure you go back for a test every 4- 6 months. Keep in mind, there's also this FITT formula (frequency, intensity, time and type of training) too that you should take into consideration. If you are doing lower intensity work, you should increase your time in training to get the benefits of burning fat, as the total numbers of calories burned from a lower intensity exercise is less than higher intensity exercise, just as RWTD and nathank stated. For higher intensity training, shorter bouts of training are needed, as muscles are strained from high intensity training, and working out too long at high intensities all the time will eventually break the body down and over the long run, you will not be able to continue doing high intensity exercise and your anaerobic threshold will decrease, which means your fitness levels will also decrease.

As an aside to the heart rate training, you could also work on developing more muscle mass, since muscles burn more fat than just doing cardio by itself. A good training program that balances cardiovascular fitness as well as weight training will help you to burn more fat. I would suggest hiring a personal training at your local gym and sit down with them and tell them what your goals are. They can take you through a good weight lifting plan that suits your needs. You only need to work with them one or two times- the people that hire personal trainers for long term use are mainly looking for motivational coaches to get them through their routines, but it sounds like you're plenty motivated- you just need to figure out how to do it. Guys are lucky- testosterone keeps metabolism high, and by increasing muscle mass, your metabolism goes waaaaaay up. Women could work out until the cows come home, but the amount of testosterone we produce is negligable, so we have to depend on doing a lot more cardio to get the results we would like to achieve.

Good luck with your training.

Koffee

I'll leave the scientific explanations to those more knowledgeable in such matters. But, I suspect the most significant weight loss comes from what happens to your metabolism from exercising... you'll keep losing weight after the work-out.

What works for me is long rides. Say, one 70+ mile ride a week, in addition to my commutes and shorter evening rides/workouts, will jack up my metabolism and cause me to lose weight without having to think about it. If you live in Buffalo, that option may not help you meet your goal by April.


Just stumbled across this. Some more data if you aren't sufficiently confused.
http://www.velonews.com/train/articles/3543.0.html

I start lossing weight when I bust 125 miles/week, everyweek!

Thanks for the feedback.

I used my heart monitor when I raced in college, but to tell you the truth I never really used it to train. I was training with the group and only used it as a reference so I knew how hard I was working. I am going to continue on my current course and train the way that I have been. I just started seeing a lot of info about this and thought maybe I was not on an optimum plan to lose my weight. All of my other cycling breaks were short so I never had any significant weight to loose. My goals are not set in stone and I am aware that as I get closer to my ideal weight it will be tougher to loose body fat. But hey you have to have a goal.

And I do need to get back into a weight lifting program. Not like when I was in college, but a modified version. Towards the end of college I had built up so much upper body strength that it was a pain to get up hills due to my increased weight.

Thanks,

Well, I am not a big fan of intense workouts for losing weight. When I ride with the local "A" group in our club, we do long periods at near the anaerobic threshold. At that level of intensity, people can not ride more than say 50 miles, or not much more. And when I get home, I have a keen desire for a sugar fit - pancakes and syrup! I suspect that these intense workouts increase my fitness but do little for decreasing my fatness.

I find that I can lose quite a bit of weight by going slower and farther especially if I don't pig out. I have done multiday tours averaging over 70 miles per day with a fair bit of climbing and I have no trouble losing 5 lbs per week. Of course, some people on these tours GAIN weight because they eat hot fudge sundaes and cheese burgers and stuff. I guess no matter how much you exercise, you can always offset it with the "proper" diet.

And I too have noticed that riding in the less intense or fat burning zone feels like I am not working. What I do is alternate intense workouts with easy ones. The easy ones being the fat burning ones. And I try to set an easier pace on long rides - 70+ miles.