Training & Nutrition - Cycle Full Pace 11 Hours a Day Possible

Okay, so where I work we are doing this fitness challenge. It is corporate wide across all of about 25k employees. We all get pedometers to count steps, as well conversion charts to take every day activities and/or other sports, and convert them to steps. Jogging = 212, Football 242, Cycling Full Speed 364, etc....

Well, after 1 weeks worth of results I had about 160,000 step equivalents. As I am going through the standings chart, I note some guy has 1.8 million!! After only 7 days... So I just did some quick math in my head and it came out that if he was doing something that equaled about 400 steps per minute, that he would have to do that for about 11 hours a day, for 7 days... I called BS, sent a letter to the coordinator, and recv. the response back below...



Hi Greg,

Chuck is a race cyclist who rides to and from work, on his lunch hour, pretty much all evening long (and even while watching TV, and he cycles up to 18 hours a day on the weekends. We know him very well (we have see this each year) and even he asks if he shouldn't participate. The interesting thing is that he is the most motivating man you would ever want to meet. Everyone in Portland knows what he does and confirms it.

Remarkable, isn't it?


So wait.. He cycles for 18 hours a day on the weekends? When does he eat, sleep, shower, do laundry? And physically, when do his muscles have time to repair themselves!!?!?!

I used to cycle myself at a pretty decent level... So I somewhat know what the training is like...

Opinions? Can someone really cycle and average of 11 hours per day, or 18 hours each weekend day? I am not, and do not want, want to call this guy a liar. But this just doesn't seem like something you could do for any extended period of time, weeks, months, etc... I'm not sure I buy this?

And on the chance this guy is a member here, I'm not saying it isn't true, but I am saying it is very hard to believe... Muscle repair takes longer than what the math says you would ever come close to giving them. Which means your muscles would be in a permanent state of damage, and thus never get stronger...

Thoughts everyone?

Just because you are unable - on unwilling - to do something doesn't mean that others aren't. If you are going to question someone's honesty, you should have some actual evidence.

Just because you are unable - on unwilling - to do something doesn't mean that others aren't. If you are going to question someone's honesty, you should have some actual evidence.

He needs to talk to Dr Phil.:eek:

Just because you are unable - on unwilling - to do something doesn't mean that others aren't. If you are going to question someone's honesty, you should have some actual evidence.

I question it because of what I know of the human body, and how muscle repair works. If you are training the same muscles like that every day, when do they ever have a chance to repair themselves?

Rather than try to beat up the newb, why dont you try to help educate him, and explain how one could do this, and still have time for their body to recuperate...

That said, what kind of evidence are you requesting?

As I said before, I'm not and will not call him a liar.. I just find it hard to believe, and am looking for information on the how...

Doesn't seem possible to me but I wouldn't point it out or anything it will just make you look like an idiot. If the guy is lying he is pathetic. Who cares?

A buddy at works reply, as many of us have been discussing this in disblief:



Okay so let’s put a few things into perspective here:
1,792,944 steps in a week equals 256,135 steps a day which if using the conversion tables for fast cycling (a rate of 364 steps a minute) equals 703 minutes of activity, that’s 11.716 hours a day, cycling fast, continuously! Now this is the average and according to the response received, he cycles for 18-hours a day at the weekends. Can you smell it! Well anyway, here’s my fictional account of a day in the life.

Monday thru Friday
5:00am wake up
5:30am cycle to work (1-hour)
6:30am arrive at work, shower, change, etc.
7:00am start work
11:00am break for lunch, go cycling (1-hour)
12:00pm back to work, shower, change, etc.
12:30pm hard at it
4:30pm cycle home from work (1-hour)
5:30pm arrive home
6:00pm eat dinner
7:00pm go cycling (8-hours)
3:00am stop cycling and go to bed

Add it up – that’s 11 hours (the average breakdown)

Yes, that’s right 2-hours of sleep, long lunches and no life whatsoever (on-average) and you too can amass 1,792,944 steps in a single 7-day week!

In my humble opinion, that is a very hard task to accomplish. It might be possible to do it couple of days a month in a the regular basis. For Le Tour de Frace the training can be intense just like any other big race. Around 8 hours average on the bike is what they do during tranning. To me honest a hourse' sattle might help to keep a person in the bike for a couple of weeks following that rhythm (18 hours a day) WoW!!!! he must not have human needs or anything else to do. He must be going green. ZERO pollution.
All my respect for the audience of this forum but I can't buy it. Agree with Greg and Excellent brakedown by bontspeed

Uh, nope. Doesn't even sound plausible.

Tell him you're impressed and ask the same questions that you're asking us. I feel like if he were lying, he wouldn't give such an extreme number for his steps. His steps might be correct, but maybe whoever told you that he cycles for 18 hours per day got it wrong. For all you know, he's an ultramarathoner or he spends his weekends hiking along with cycling. Tell us what happens, because I'm curious.

One of my co-workers found a picture of the guy... Identity removed to protect the innocent... But this to me, does not look like the body of someone doing an average of 11 hours a day of vigorous cycling... (Again, I could be wrong...)

http://web.sitepros.net/stuff/superman.jpg

Tell him you're impressed and ask the same questions that you're asking us. I feel like if he were lying, he wouldn't give such an extreme number for his steps. His steps might be correct, but maybe whoever told you that he cycles for 18 hours per day got it wrong. For all you know, he's an ultramarathoner or he spends his weekends hiking along with cycling. Tell us what happens, because I'm curious.

This is quoted text from him:



My average weekend day starts at 5:00 am with a short warm-up ride. Two hours and 41 miles later, I head out for a ride with **removed team name** for a ride in the hills outside of **removed city**. The ride starts off easy, but within two miles the road heads upward at 6-7 % grade for about four miles. We ride a total of 106 miles with a total of 7000 feet of elevation gain. Afterward, at 5:30pm, I settle in for some vigorous stationary bike riding. I watch 2-3 movies while pedaling along at between 10-35 miles an hour. The movies make the time go by quickly, but I enjoy being out on the road more. This pretty much sums up a typical Saturday for me so its time to sleep so I can start all over again. (I logged 259,085 steps for this day.)

Guess you'll just have to invite him on a ride.

Liar.

Beat him up for lying.

Very hard to believe...

I question it because of what I know of the human body, and how muscle repair works. If you are training the same muscles like that every day, when do they ever have a chance to repair themselves?

Rather than try to beat up the newb, why dont you try to help educate him, and explain how one could do this, and still have time for their body to recuperate...

That said, what kind of evidence are you requesting?

As I said before, I'm not and will not call him a liar.. I just find it hard to believe, and am looking for information on the how...

I don't want any evidence. I am suggesting that you not "call BS" unless you have evidence that the person is not doing what he says. I'm not trying to beat you up. It's you who made an unsubstantiated allegation against someone.

There are people who can do extraordinary things. The coordinator for your program confirmed that the guy is real, so what more do you want?

I don't want any evidence. I am suggesting that you not "call BS" unless you have evidence that the person is not doing what he says. I'm not trying to beat you up. It's you who made an unsubstantiated allegation against someone.

There are people who can do extraordinary things. The coordinator for your program confirmed that the guy is real, so what more do you want?

That belly is evidence.

It's you who made an unsubstantiated allegation against someone.

To me, common sense is how I substantiate my question.


There are people who can do extraordinary things. The coordinator for your program confirmed that the guy is real, so what more do you want?

I concur, people can do amazing things. But usually, there is an explanation of some sort.. Other than, to just believe it cause someone said so... I'm a skeptic... Just because someone says they can run 50 miles per hour, does not mean I am going to believe it.. I want some sorta proof, other than hearsay. Perhaps you are the type of person who believes and/or accepts anything people tell you, no matter how far fetched... But I am not...

Don't rely too much on that photo... could be the wrong guy.

Email him, say, hey let's ride sometime.

The photo as well the text quoted, is from his blog...

Ok, so let's assume he's lying to the fitness challenge people.

What then? You want to get him fired? Want to have him stripped of his (assumed) victory, so you can move up a place in the standings? Do you get a more valuable prize for that?

Or do you just want to "out" him as a hopeless loser?

What's your real motivation here? And I mean that sincerely.

Well, just a "for instance" from personal knowledge. One of my riding buddies is a guy who rode 34,000 miles last year. You figure it out. My group does what we think of as long, strenuous rides every weekend. This guy rides to them from home and then goes out and does a lot of additional mileage afterwards. He rode to and from a recent 200k and wanted wanted to ride 100 miles to and from a recent 300k, but the weather was really bad. Though he plans on toning it down to maybe 20,000 miles this year.

I once asked him what he ate. He said "lots." Favorites: half a pan of lasagne and chocolate soup. My guess is that if he wasn't married with two kids and a full-time job, he could ride lots more.

Ok, so let's assume he's lying to the fitness challenge people.

What then? You want to get him fired? Want to have him stripped of his (assumed) victory, so you can move up a place in the standings? Do you get a more valuable prize for that?

Or do you just want to "out" him as a hopeless loser?

What's your real motivation here? And I mean that sincerely.

Nothing as harsh as getting someone fired, and quite honestly I could care less where the standings are... I will not be remotely in the top anyways, at least not on a corporate level.. Perhaps for my tiny BU of 140 people, but not in the grand scheme...

My real motivation is my quest for knowing the truth... I'm one of those people who has to know.. When I come across something that interests me, I dissect it to the most minute detail, and learn about all it's inner workings.. Makes me good at some things, but also may seem a bit OCD to some..

Maybe his math/calculations are wrong and he thinks that he is doing more steps than he really is.

Have a browse around these sites ... maybe they'll open your eyes to what's possible on a bicycle, and by fairly ordinary-looking people:

http://www.ultracycling.com/
http://www.rusa.org/
http://www.audax.org.au/public/
http://www.audax.uk.net/index2.htm

http://www.ckap.ca/
http://www.ultramidwest.net/main/bdmain.aspx

http://www.raceacrossamerica.org/



And ....... since you've been told he is a bicycle racer in Portland, and you know his name, have you googled him to see what kind of racing he does? Perhaps he's into 24-hour races, and feels he needs to ride 18 hours a day on the weekends to train.

I can see prepping yourself and competing in 24 hour races. But I can't see keeping a cycling routine of 11+ hours of all out paced cycling, every single day... Because like said, muscles would never have time to repair themselves.

And yeah, a few people here have googled his name... As well we even went to the website of the club he is a member of... We found no mention of him anywhere, and not a single photo in the hundreds they have there in their galleries...

Oh yeah, and work 8-hours a day!

Like I said. Invite him on a ride.