Road Cycling - Back In Shape

I am, an ex pro hockey player, whoi has stayed athletic all my life. I am currently 6-1 260, with mainly a beer gut.. I play hockey two days a week, mountain bike a few days, golf the whole leasure life of a salesman, who works from home.

In my younger days, oh I am 32, I used to ride 250-300 miles a week road only, and some mountain biking. I want to drop 40-50 lbs and get back into the groove. I need some help. Diet, Bike, and a suggested riding schedule, and is the trainer in the house for the bike a good investment?

I am riding 15 20 once a week trails and I am getting through it no problem, so dont be afraid to load me up.

Trek is a good bike for me since I have a huge dealer around the corner. I just dont want to drop 3 grand right away!
Is some of the 7-800 dollar ones a good start?

Need some help

Shouldn't a former pro hockey player that used to road ride 300 miles a week know how to get in shape on his own?

The shape wasnt an isuue scoring goals and drinking beer, when I was playing 7 days a week fitness was not an issue.
Now it is, diet is a stuggle and the biking i thought i would seek some advice.
I am sure I could figure it out but this forum seems pretty friendly and helpful.. or maybe not?

Start easy. Maybe even consult your local bike shop about a training program, even get a HR monitor to check the zones you are in. I love my trainer for the winter months. I would suggest spending the extra money on a fluid-based one though - it provides much more realistic resistance. I'd suggest changing your diet a bit too, though the nice thing about getting bike fit is that the bike will ultimately take care of your diet for you! If you want a good and painful way to cut down on the drinking do this: drink a good 8-12 beers on a Friday night. Wake up early on Saturday morning and go ride 40 miles at whatever pace you like. Your drinking will drop off rapidly after that or you'll never bike again - your choice!

If you start to ride regularly and do so at a pace that will burn fat and get your aerobic capacity up, you will be able to enjoy a varied diet without all the nasty side effects. No way will I give up my chinese or Indian food, but I know I have to earn it!

Either way, best of luck.

I am, an ex pro hockey player, whoi has stayed athletic all my life. I am currently 6-1 260, with mainly a beer gut.. I play hockey two days a week, mountain bike a few days, golf the whole leasure life of a salesman, who works from home.

In my younger days, oh I am 32, I used to ride 250-300 miles a week road only, and some mountain biking. I want to drop 40-50 lbs and get back into the groove. I need some help. Diet, Bike, and a suggested riding schedule, and is the trainer in the house for the bike a good investment?

I am riding 15 20 once a week trails and I am getting through it no problem, so dont be afraid to load me up.

Trek is a good bike for me since I have a huge dealer around the corner. I just dont want to drop 3 grand right away!
Is some of the 7-800 dollar ones a good start?

Need some help

Yes, you can get a decent Trek or other entry-level bike for $700-800. Watch the sales, etc. Most important is that the bike fits you as you well know.

I don't think there are any secrets to getting in shape or losing weight that you likely don't already know.

1. Eat high quality food - leave out the fats, perhaps 6 small meals daily with fist-sized portions of whole grain carbs and fist-sized portions of low-fat proteins such as turkey, etc. and all the veggies you want, at least two servings per day.

2. Keep well hydrated. Keep your electrolytes in balance - use some gatorade or whatever you can stand.

3. Listen to your body as you keep increasing your length and intensity of biking. Rest is just as important as exercise, so when your body says "stop, I can't stand this anymore" then STOP! Wait a day or two and continue. Pace yourself to whatever seems good. There are some interval training routines, etc., and after you have about 1,000 miles, you might want to consider them.

4. The biking must be fun for you, or you likely will not keep it up. So do fun things on your bike. Explore new areas, meet new friends - whatever turns you on.

A trainer can be a good investment for winter (I use one) but they are boring as he**. Good training videotapes can be a great help (i.e., www.spinervals.com )

Hope this is helpful. I am sure others will have additional, more in-depth comments. There are some pretty knowledgeable folks around who like to help!

HAVE FUN!

Since you are already riding, do you need a new bike? However, $800 will buy a fine bike.

What to do? Go out and ride. Keep your heart rate between 70% and 80% of your maximum so you stay aerobic. Ride 3 or times a week. 15 to 20 miles should be good. Ride longer if you can and have the time.

Look closely at what you are eating. Ditch the chips and beer. Eat a low fat diet. Stop eating out so much.

Stop driving your car. Use your bike to run errands, grocery shop, etc.

Quit drinking beer.

Start just by putting in alot of miles. Do not worry too much at first about "how fast" just go ride for either a couple of hours or for 20+ a ride and do that 3 or 4 times a week.

Build up a good base of riding, then get into a more specific training program.

Indoor trainers are good for when the weather is bad outside and for riding safer when it is dark out.

Heart rate monitors are great. Try this book for help with traing with one
heart rate training for indoor and outdoor cyclists, by sally edwards.

But just go ride, and then ride some more.

As for diet, well increase your veggies and cut back on the fat and useless carbs (ie less beer :eek: )

You can always try one of the various diet/eating plans out there. I myself like weight watchers and it seems to work for me, while letting my have some choice in what I eat. SOme like Atkins ( I don't) some like the south beach diet. Check them out and maybe try one that you like will work for you.

Or just simply cut back on what you eat and try making healther choices.

Keeping a food diary can be a HUGE help in this

The Trek 1200 would be a great start. Good solid frame with decent components.

Dropping 40-50lbs will require a change in dietary habits. Basically, don't stuff yourself at mealtimes, don't eat high fat foods, try to eat whole grain breads only, eat 6 small meals instead of 3 larger meals, drink lots of water, and exercise (probably a good 1.5 - 2 hour ride 6 days a week).

Calculate your calorie burn according to your weight and eat only that amount, anything burned during exercise will help to lose weight. As you get more fit, muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue so that's an added benefit.

Use www.activebody.org to track your progress. It's a good motivator.
I'm sure others will have more to contribute.

Thanks guys, i have been getting so much outside advice its hard to get on a routine, I am going to just get out an ride, I havent ridden road in so long, so that is the best advice so far "Ride"

I was running a ton in the last month with no weight loss. I wasnt restricting my intake, but I figured that 5 days a week running would have shed some weight.
Then I hear weight training tends to burn more calories than a full out aerobic exercise session. So that tends to make me want to just lift so I burn more calories.. So I am just going to try and reduce the crap, and keep the Suds to two days a week and ride my little heart out and see where it takes me..

Well, I don't have a written plan for you, but I can tell you what worked for me. There are two sides to the equation, food and exersize. I didn't go on a specific diet, but instead educated myself and watch what I eat. Large portions and empty calories will kill you (lots of beer, candy, simple carbs). Here is a good food link:

http://www.sciam.com/print_version.cfm?articleID=0007C5B6-7152-1DF6-9733809EC588EEDF

As for the cycling, keep it simple at first. Try to ride 5 or more days a week even if you can only squeeze in 30 - 40 min. Anything is better than nothing. Gradually increase the length/intensity as you get better. Personaly, I think you can worry about HR training later when you get back in shape and have a goal in mind. For a little while, just do whatever it takes to get yourself out the door and on the bike.

Bottom line, the equation is simple: Burn more calories than you consume. The problem is breaking old habits and keeping yourself motivated. I say get the indoor trainer if you can. On days you don't have much time or on bad weather days, it pays for itself.

Good luck.

Move more eat less. I monitor my fitness with the holes in my belt and my avg. speed plateaus. I'm down to the second to last hole on the belt and I just jumped from around 18mph avg. around town to 18.6 mph consistantly (over 40 mile rides). I ride whenever I get a chance I hardly ever go less than 20 miles on a trip, I listen to my body and ride to work. I would spend as much on the bike now as I could afford, if you get into riding you will want a better bike so get a bike with a good frame that can be upgraded. Good luck out there.

just start riding 300 miles a week again.

Seriously though, I took 8 years off, gained 45 lbs, got back into riding last fall.

I have lost 28 of the 45, and kept eating what ever I wanted to. I was riding 250 a week, and I could almost see the weight coming off on a daily basis.

I did get tendonitis in my knee from over use, and no stretching, and I found that with the added weight, I was really tearing myslef up down under. I use Chamois cream now, and I never needed it back in my 180lb days.

Any bike will do, as long as it fits you. Comfort will make it easier to ride longer and faster. Your back, neck, feet, ass, and hands are going to hurt once you start roading it.

The heart rate advice above is true, but before you get all technical, maybe just ride the bike and learn to love it all over again? Eveyone is different.

Find out about group rides where you live, and go on some of the easy ones first. I know when I made my comeback, I already had a chip on my shoulder, because of the way I was able to ride when I was younger. Well, the first group ride after 8 years of basically no physicall activity at all was pretty humbling.

Since you used to ride, you know what to do. I would just be carefull not to try too much too soon. A. you may sustain injury B. Too much pressure can lessen the enjoyment.


In regards to running, my buddies wife complains that she is not losing weight despite the fact that she runs every day. Turns out she eats more now that she works out, so its a wash. Also I explained to her that running 3 miles is great, but its a 25 minute cardio workout. If you want a better cardio endurance workout, that will burn more calories, you have to go longer. It's pretty damn destructive to run for 3 hours, but you can ride for 3 hours and reap the benefits.


keep us posted

If $700-$800 is what you want your total biking expenditures to be then the Trek 1200 will take all your money and leave nothing for accessories. You will want some accessories. Exactly which ones you will want will depend on the type of riding you want to do.

Bike Helmet,
Padded Shorts
2nd water bottle mount (1st one is free at myt LBS when you buy a new bike)
lock
air pump
spare tubes/patch kit
cycloputer
gloves etc...........

When I got back into biking my $500 bike cost me $800 after all the accessories I needed to support what I was going to do with the bike. Nothing extravagant (Helmet, shorts, pump, frame pump, water bottle mount, rear rack, lock,tubes etc ...basic stuff )

Good luck.

My thoughts as I go thru a similar journey to reach my target "goal"...

Find a local bike club and join up. IMO group riding makes those long rides much more enjoyable and the time really flys by.

If you are going to either keep your existing bike OR even get a new one, get properly fit on it by an LBS. Typically this takes over an hour to do, it's not just as simple as moving the seat up/down and adjusting the handlebars. It's really worth the money spent to check your reach, angle of leg extension, foot placement, hand positioning, etc, etc...it makes a HUGE difference in the comfort AND how well your muscles work together. Out of all the money I've spent on biking in the past 2 years the $75.00 and 2hrs worth of fitting really made the most difference IMO.

To me, I want to be as comfortable as possible and have as good of a time as I can on rides, otherwise it makes it not as fun...and eventually you will give it up out of frustration. Hand fatigue (ie numbness) plagued me from the start until I got properly fitted.

As far as diet goes...I've been supplementing mine w/ whey protein shakes and fruit. Bananas are your friend...use them! Also try smaller portions during your "normal" meals and leave some of it on the plate...those extra few bites can add up in calories over the day. If you eat slower and pace yourself you should notice your "full" feeling sooner.

Also drink plenty of water...I stopped all beer & pop intake and only drink water / gatorade / etc...made a big difference after the caffeine buzz wore off from all the Mountain Dew I used to slug down. I haven't had any regular pop (and very little diet) in the past 1 1/2 yrs and have no craving for it anymore.

Bottom line, get out on the bike as much as possible, but do take at least 1 day a week off...your body needs it!

Yes a proper fit is very important. In my area it cost $90 and took 2 hours and a new longer Stem (additional $70). It was worth every penny of it. I rode the bike for about 2 months before getting it fitted. The before and after differences were amazing.

I also agree on joining a bike club. The rides are fun, and many people to ask all about their experiences.

Yes a proper fit is very important. In my area it cost $90 and took 2 hours and a new longer Stem (additional $70). It was worth every penny of it. I rode the bike for about 2 months before getting it fitted. The before and after differences were amazing.


I too ended up replacing the stem as well as having to go to a 400mm length seat post (Bontrager Race X Lite) to raise me up almost 4.5"...I was way to cramped which contributed to my leg issues.

Shouldn't the fit be part of the purchase process? When I buy a bike my shop does its best to makes sure it fits me. It does take a long time but they don't charge me for it. Usually we have to swap out parts because I am built funny. ( Real long torso short arms and legs.) The shop gives me fair trade in value on the swapped out parts. Other than the cost of trading in parts there is no fitting fee. When I buy a bike off the floor I usually can't take posession of at least a day because it takes a while to get it ready. I know my shop is the best shop in town. I guess I figured most LBSs were somewhat close in its level of service though. I guess I'm lucky the guys I always deal with really know what they are doing.

Shouldn't the fit be part of the purchase process?

Yes it should, but in my case I needed to get fitted on a bike I bought off a friend last year.

Also FWIW, every LBS isn't necessarily the same in terms of their fitment process...I have been to a couple in the past that just do the "basics" w/o really spending the time measuring everything (including you!).

It's not hard to stop doing something and then lose all bearing on it - I was in the army for four years, and in the best shape of my life. Shamefully, it only took me two years after that to gain 60 pounds and see the worst shape of my life. When intense exercise is part of your daily life, you don't give it a second thought.

I think you've got more cycling experience than me, but I can say that I've dropped 25 pounds in the last 3 months, and all I've done is cut back on the pop & beer, and jog & cycle with a heart rate monitor (that I usually ignore when cycling, and WORSHIP when running). 45 minutes 3 or 4 times a week does wonders. It's all about proper exertion and abundant mileage, in my humble opinion.

And the bike I'm using only cost me ~$20 - bike from goodwill, one new tube from LBS. So for your pricerange I'm sure you can find something terrific.