ririan

I'm a 260lb 36 year old man who has been sedentary, probably the past 15 years. I have recently acquired a comfort bike, to help me lose weight. i've started riding it. about 5 minute trips. a little over a mile each trip. since i'm just starting to ride now, i might make 2 trips per day, planning on making more trips. i'm wondering if i am approaching this wrong, if my goal is for general fitness and weight loss. should i force myself to endure one 15 minute trip on my bike, even if not at full force, or should i continue the 2-3 trips (about 6 minutes each, a little over a mile total each trip) a day ? (not consecutive but after long breaks). as it is now, i get a little warn not being in shape after the 5 minutes, so i'm happy to make it home. if it really means losing weight and getting healthier to do 1 15 minute trip, i'll do that, but it might be rough at first.

i'm eating the right things. cut out all the junk, only drinking water. i really just exercise to help me along.

thanks

flip18436572

The "Lifestyle" change will make the difference. Exercise for a minimum of 30 straight each day. More would be better, but don't overdue in the beginning and then not do anything because of sore muscles.

Good Luck!!!

deraltekluge

You'll probably get a variety of theories about this, but the facts are that weight loss has to do calories consumed vs. calories burned, and it's the totals that matter. Another fact is that bikes are very efficient means of travel, and you don't burn much per mile ridden. In order to lose a pound of fat, you have to burn about 3500 calories more than you take in. If it takes you a month to burn that much excess, you'll lose a pound a month. If you do it in a week, you'll lose a pound a week. You really shouldn't try to lose more than a pound a week. However...burning that amount of calories requires about 100 miles of riding, so if you ride a mile at a time, you'll have to make lots of trips.

It's more the amount of "things" than it is whether they're "right". If you were holding your weight stable before, riding around 50 miles a week should cause you to lose about half a pound a week. Cutting the amount of food you eat by 250 calories a day should cause you to lose another half a pound a week. But 250 calories is not very much, and if you increase your eating even a little, you'll negate the effect of the exercise on your weight.

ririan

30 minutes at once ? i cannot do that. that is why i ask, should i do multiple trips of 5-6 minutes, about 3 trips a day, starting out, (each trip a little over a mile) or should i do 15 minutes all at once, for the day ? as i said, i have been sedentary, so exercise is a little difficult for me. i'm sure it will get better once i gain stength, but right now, i am just starting out.

ilmooz

Yep, you'll be getting a nice variety of responses for sure.

My suggestion is to push yourself every ride, ride consistently, but don't overdo it. You should find that as your body adapts to your increasing level of activity your difficulty in sustaining rides will diminish relatively quickly. You'll be riding longer with less effort or increasing your effort to boost your performance, burning more calories, and losing more weight. Do that in conjunction with your diet plan and you'll do well for yourself.

laduckslayer

You're going to have to get past this thought. If you have to endure something you probably won't enjoy it and it will be hard to "tolerate". Take a ride and look at the things around you and enjoy the ride, before you know it, it will be something you really like to do.

rankinesoccer

you need a good hill to ride up on the trip.

urban rider

Take your time. If all you can do in the begining is 6 minutes fine. After a period of time slowly increase it to 10 minutes and so on. The important thing is that you get on the bike consistenly. i also started slowly. My family would have to look for me because i moved so slow. I have two steps to my house and i could not get up those two steps after goin 1/2 mile. Now i commute to work and I have gone on bike vacations. The important thing is that you enjoy this process.

Gas, .69 cents the price of a can of beans.

deraltekluge

Five-minute miles (12 mph) may be too fast for someone in your circumstances to try to ride starting out. You might try riding a bit more slowly to start with, and ride for a longer period of time. Instead of riding a mile in 5 minutes, try riding 2 miles in 15 minutes, perhaps. Stop and rest for a few minutes, and then ride another 2 miles. Pick a reasonable gear to use, too...start out using a gear where you're pedaling at about 60 rpm at the speed you want to ride. You can pick up the pedal rate and bike speed as you build strength and endurance.

dlester

You haven't exercised in ages and your whole system is totally out of shape. That defined me about 13 months ago.

In the beginning, your exercise isn't going to do much, if anything at all, to help you lose weight. The reality is that you just aren't going to be capable of burning enough calories in a session to make much impact.

But, there is one good thing about being way out of shape. The more out of shape you are, the faster you improve when you start exercising again. Just do however much you are comfortable doing, as fast as you are comfortable doing it. Do not go over your comfort threshold. All you are trying to do in the beginning is increase your fitness level, and it is going to take a little while (but amazingly not that long).

I think the first time I rode, when I decided to change, I lasted for 7 minutes on a very low intensity, on an indoor exercise bike. I repeated that the next night, though my legs and ***** were killing me. After a few nights I was up to 10 minutes, then 12, then 15 and so on.

When I got to 30 minutes I started increasing the intensity (resistance) while maintaining the same cadence. When I got to the point where I could do 6 miles in 30 minutes I decided to try commuting to my office on a Saturday to see how it went. From that point on I have been a bicycle commuter.

This entire process started in December of 2007. I started commuting in March of 2008.

I don't lose weight quickly. I am not crash dieting or anything like that. There are others here with pretty incredible weight loss stories. For me, I just decided to change the way I live and eat and let it gradually happen. So far I have lost 80 pounds. I would like to be down about 20 more by spring. I don't know if I will reach that or not, but I am definitely going in the right direction.

So, I type all this to basically say, "Don't lose heart." You have to build a fitness foundation. You are doing what you need to do. Just keep at it.

billydonn

Ride nice and slowly and ride long.... much longer than you are doing now. You are not riding nearly long enough yet.... but you can get there. As someone said above, find a way to keep your rides enjoyable and work up gradually to the longer rides. And forget about hill climbing or intensity (speed) and just cruise.

Doohickie

My suggestion is to find a reason to ride. You know, a destination. For instance, if you are less than 5 miles from work, try riding it on a weekend when you have plenty of time and can take breaks. Maybe you can work up to riding to work once a week, then twice, and so on. I commute about 15 miles round trip. The first time I did it, I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE, but it's amazing how quickly your body acclimates to riding.

If there is a regular errand you do, like riding over to the bank to take money out of the ATM, or over to the drug store to pick up prescriptions, try doing those on your bike. I think if you have a reason to ride and you're not riding just for the sake of riding (and exercise), it will make the longer distances seem not quite so long. I put baskets on my 3-speed and I use it for quick trips to the grocery store or drug store. In my case, that's only a couple miles round trip. For all your errands, before getting in the car, ask yourself whether you might be able to do the trip on your bike.

dbikingman

Here is another option, you will have to read all the posts and see which one works for you. Not knowing your work schedule try the following. Ride before work and then ride again when you get home, and if you can fit in a third ride great. Try to add some time to one ride only, if you add a third ride, cut back on the other two rides. Take one day a week off.

If you can exercise twice a day the benefit is that you raise your metabolism twice, which continues to burn calories after the ride. It also builds the habit of riding twice a day, if you live close enough to commute, you can work up to that. Some people drive part way to work and then ride the rest of the distance and build up the distance they ride.

At some point you will have to push yourself some to improve, but being new go slow and let the body adapt. You want it to be fun and to stay consistent. I agree what you are riding now is burning a bunch of calories, but as I mentioned it is building the habit of riding and reminds you to watch your diet.

Welcome to the forum, please keep us adviced of your progress and ask any questions you may have. And good for you for doing something, we all have to start where we are at. Thirty minutes may seem like too much, but I will guess in 3 weeks you will be close. Good luck.

nkfrench 

It can be pretty hard for an out-of-shape Clyde or Athena to get started. I find my best luck keeping a food diary, measuring portions, and keeping a diet with more fruits/vegs/whole grains and fewer processed foods. I figured out what my ideal weight was and how many calories would be required to maintain my ideal weight being sedentary, then I based my allowed calories on that.

As you lose weight you will ride more easily. As you improve your fitness you will ride more easily.

When I've gotten on the bike after a long layoff, the first rides are measured in blocks, not miles, either to make peace with the bike saddle or just because it is really hard work for a heavy rider on a sturdy bike.

There will be a point on your intensity:duration exercise curve that will net you the most calories burned in a day without overtiring you. Start with short, easy and flat; take rests as you need or split it into a couple of sessions. Build up gradually. Pedal more and coast less as you progress. Expect to sweat and to breath deeply. Establish some base conditioning and start to push harder when YOU feel ready.

I bike commute to work and it is for fitness but also for the fun of it. It takes me back to memories of being a kid and the feelings of freedom and independence. Try to incorporate some of the joy into your rides. Make goals; reward yourself with new toys, not calorie-fests, when you meet your milestones.

A certain level of effort can actually help curb your appetite and biking can burn a lot of calories.

I'm not sure if I believe the online calculators - one has me pegged at burning ~900 calories an hour based on weight+speed, which would be nice on my 2-3 hours of riding on bike commute days. I've been lax about reading labels and measuring portions, only to find that some foods I thought were good for me were horrific calorie-bombs.

Learn what you can from others and spare yourself from having to learn the hard way. How to dress, safety guidelines, riding tips, the bike, etc. I bought a couple of books that were helpful to me. Find people who are better riders but will ride with you. Build a good relationship with the local bike store. Hang out with people who have healthy lifestyles.

DieselDan

As for the cycling part: Put the bike in a low gear and spin. Don't mash as hard a gear as possible. You'll build up your endurance faster and your knees will love you, and the drive train will last longer. Start with a half hour ride. Buy a bike computer, ride out for 15 minutes, then back home for 15 minutes until you can establish a rhythm and can vary up some routes. More then likely, you've walked for a half hour at a time in the grocery store or shopping mall.

Hopefully you're fitted to the bike properly. A good bike shop should have done that when you purchased the bike. Don't scoff at wearing bike shorts, as the benefits of using shorts are huge to your comfort. If you are a bit self conscious about using skin tight clothing in public, read my signature, wear gym shorts over them, or buy baggy MTB style shorts.

I'm going to assume you have some mechanical ability and give you one fit tip: If your hands, wrists, and shoulders hurt, as if you are constantly pushing your body back onto the saddle, adjust the nose of the saddle up to level with the ground, if not a degree or two up. Saddle angle adjusts weight distribution from your body and the correct angle for you goes a long way for a comfortable ride.

I met pro rider at last year's Tour de Georgia, who has a respectable palmaras, who rides with his saddle level but pointed 5 degrees to the left!

MilitantPotato

My first ride lasted less than a mile, and I was done. Six weeks later I was doing 30 miles towing 70lbs of kid and stuff in a trailer. Your heart and legs will tell you what your limit is, once you've built up a little fitness work on pushing yourself.

Keep the pedals moving though, 70+ RPM's is good stuff for the heart, keeps ya from blowing your knees out too.

knzn

Have fun. If your not you will not stick with it. A website to help keep track of things is fitday.com. It takes some effort to use but it helped me.
Have fun.

jgt_madone_newb

Two years ago, I was a 45 year old, 274 pound guy who hadn't exercised in, oh, I don't know, 20 years. I joined a gym and got a trainer. The key seemed to be to start slow and work up from very basic stuff. I would do two 50 minute sessions a week with him, and he'd give me things to do on the other days.

Starting out, it was really basic stuff that seemed embarassing to do, but its really just something where you have to suck it up and do what needs to be done to get to a higher level. When I started out, 20 jumping jacks had me sucking wind. Sometimes, the cardio portion of a workout would be briskly walking up and down a flight of stairs once or twice. The first time he asked me to do push ups, I could do three, and the form wasn't exactly extraordinary.

A year later, I was down 115 pounds, I ran a 10K last fall, and I averaged about 150 miles/week on my bike, coupled with 4 days/week of weight training. That guy making me do jumping jacks literally saved my life.

You've made a decision to make a change, to make your life better. Stick with it. Start as slow as you need to, and add more as you go. Just keep doing it until it becomes your routine. It's worth every drop of sweat

youcoming

Don't think of exercise as something you have to endure! If you do chances are you will fail. Get serious with yourself. I realize I'm going against the grain on this topic but it's what worked for me. Yeah it hurts, sure it's not as fun as watching T.V but that's because you are not use to it. Keep at the bike, 5 minutes on the bike is better than 15 years on the couch. If it was me though the next time out I'd go for 7 then 10 then 15. I look at it the same as riding, if you ride 50 miles the next 25 are not so bad. Once a week push yourself no matter how hard it is, be tough on yourself, Im not trying to be mean but it worked for me. I started out at 305lbs and I'm now at 228lbs. After two full seasons of riding 6 hour rides are not out of the question and yes I do hurt after them but the sense of accomplishment more than makes up for it. I normally don't chime in on these posts as you always see the same thing, take it easy, slow and steady, you'll get there. Well it didn't work for me, then I said to myself get over it and push yourself to a harder level and that's when I started to see results. I tried the slow and steady and after awhile of seeing no results I would just give up. Not everyone is the same but push and I mean really push yourself,

Condorita

Get thee over to your local YMCA and join. They have a 12-week fitness program that'll get you started with a trainer, cardio, and strength training. The cycling, which should be fun and not a duty, is the icing on the workout cake.

neilfein

Take it slow and easy. Maybe you can't do a thirty minute ride just now, but that will change. Add a bit each time, and you'll be amazed at how quickly you can ride for longer.

You talk about forcing yourdelf to endure riding. This mindset is a mistake. If you don't enjoy the exercise you pick, you'll find excuses not to do it. If you'er not enjoying yourself, you're doing it wrong.

I agree with Doohickie; Unless you're a numbers junkie (nothing wrong with it if you are) set a goal for yourself other than just time or distance. You can work up to getting groceries, riding to work, or meeting a friend somewhere for coffee. Take it easy, and don't worry about speed.

What kind of bike are you riding?

IceNine

Here's what I'd recommend:

1) Don't pay any attention to how many miles you are riding. Focus instead on amount of time and intensity.
2) Slow down and see if you can go 10 or 15 minutes on each ride.
3) See if you can maintain this slower pace and increase the length of your rides by 10% every week. If you can do 10 minutes, then next week aim for 11 minutes. Don't try to increase too much too fast or you can do more harm than good. At this point 10% gain isn't much, but in a few months it will be a lot. Just like compound interest.

Barese Rider

Id take it easy on the bike and try to work up to at least a half hours ride..Even at that youre not going to get much weight loss benefit.Its important to not return from a short bike ride and eat to reward yourself.. Youll put on weight!.. If a half hour seems like drudgery Id look to find another activity.I think you have to stay on a bike at moderate effort for at least an hour to start to get some weight loss benefit.Ive always enjoyed cycling so its easy for me to stay on a bike for at least an hour..

The other thing Id check is what do you mean by comfort bike? Does it have gears? Trying to push 260 pounds up even a slight hill in the wrong gear can put too much strain on you.. Make sure your bike has a granny gear and use it for hills.

dcrowell

That's how I started out. In November of 2007 (at 36 years old, and 296lbs) I could barely tie my shoes. I didn't buy a bike until April 2008, when I weighed about 260. Yes, a one-mile ride was hard.

However, it wasn't long before I was doing longer rides. In September I rode 60 miles in one ride. I currently commute to work several days a week (33 mile round-trip).

You can get there. It will take time. Ride as much as you can, and it'll get easier.

michaeldmanthey

I once met a man on a 100 mile bike ride. He was a big guy probably about 250 lbs. He told me that he had started riding about 2 years ago and had lost 100lbs. He made some similar changes that you have and now was an amazing rider. The best part of adding cycling into your weight loss routine is the wonderful endorphins that you get during and after your ride. I would recommend increasing your ride times to get closer to at least 25 minutes per ride. You will be happy once you do because your body's reaction will be quick and you will feel great afterwards. Don't forget your recovery drink after the ride. Your bodies will really utilize proteins after workouts. I usually do carnation instant breakfast in some milk. Also remember to only drink water after 730pm.