Heathpack 

I do. Love em to the extent that I spring out of bed at 4am to do this stuff. I find it kind of addictive, I get a bit of a buzz from it.

UnfilteredDregs

**** exercise.

chasm54

The thing is, you clearly just don't enjoy cycling as much as a lot of the people on here. Your posts read like those of a man who cycles (and takes hard exercise in general) out of duty, rather than for pleasure.

My idea of fun is bicycle touring. When doing that I am on the bike not just for multiple hours a week, but for multiple hours a day. 30 hours a week would be a low average. Some of it is hard, but there's no question of my regarding it as hardship, it's one of my favourite ways of passing the time.

I've trained for racing in the past. Do I "enjoy" threshold or VO2 max intervals? Well, yes. It isn't that I like pain, it's that I relish the physical challenge, derive satisfaction form the accomplishment, actively enjoy the results. Pianists have to practice. Mastering some of the difficult techniques or pieces is hard. But the fact that something is difficult doesn't automatically make it unpleasant.

I don't at all disagree with your thesis that most people simply find it easier to eat crap and take no exercise. One has only to look around to know that is true. But that isn't because real food tastes worse, or because exercise is unpleasant. It is merely that deriving pleasure from them involves a bit of effort. In my opinion two of the best things people could do for their kids are teaching them to cook, and helping them realise that being physically active is fun.

mcours2006

It appears that I am in the minority, or even alone, in my position, at least here at BF. But bear in mind that people on here have a special interest in cycling, racing, bikes, etc., and to a large extent, fitness and health. You (we) are not representative of the views or lifestyles of the general public. The currently epidemic in obesity is evidence of that.

I do enjoy riding my bike. Sometimes it's hard and I curse it. Sometimes it's quite pleasant, under the right conditions. But regardless, whether out of duty or necessity, or whatever, I still do it, because I know it's good for me.

I believe you when you say you enjoy pushing your bodies to the limit, that you like the challenge. I do sometimes too, but again, we are in the extreme minority on this one too. Just ask some of your non-cyclist, non-fit friends. You probably know more of those than ones like yourself.

In any case, I have clearly misjudged the sentiments of the members on BF, but I don't think I have with the sentiments of the general population.

Machka 

I can't really comment on the general population, but where I work ...

My Boss is a podium finisher in both bodybuilding and powerlifting. He has won several golds plus some other medals.

We've got 2 or 3 rowers over the cubical wall in the next section.

We've got several long distance hikers ... that's popular here in Tasmania, and Rowan and I dabble in it a bit too. One of them is climbing to one of the base camps at Everest right now.

We've got a lot of runners and cyclists.

There are a few swimmers.

Quite a few people go to the gym for a general workout and to take some of the classes.

Several people are involved in team sports.

And most people walk.


I was just chatting with one of the other ladies about weightlifting a few hours ago. We're both incorporating it into our fitness regime again, and are easing into it at this point.

inspclouseau

Yeah well, welcome to the US. Not like that here. Anytime I fly international and come home, the first two things I notice are all the signs that say no and obese people.

Of course, some states are healthier.

mcours2006

Anecdotal evidence aside, and I can provide you with anecdotal evidence myself regarding my own co-workers, most of whom are sedentary and overweight, but that still proves nothing. The large scale studies that have been done on obesity tell a much more accurate story.

DaveWC

Agreed. I can point to the healthy, active people in my life but the sedentary folks far outnumber them.

As for cycling being voluntary hardship, I agree. For me though, the hardship is thinking about putting in a hard workout. Sometimes I dread it, but once I"m outside on the bike hammering, I love it. It would be much, much easier to skip the exercise & just sit around eating a muffin & a bunch of coffee in the morning than doing what I do. But I cycle for exercise & health. I enjoy cycling more than any other exercise I've tried, and it doesn't harm my body the way running does. So I do it. But if I'm doing a challenging ride I think it's accurate to call that suffering/hardship/whatever you want to call it. I go hard on the bike so I can finish & get off of the bike.

Heathpack 

Well I think the reason so many people posted in reply is because you were saying "no one" enjoys intense exercise but that is clearly untrue. Many people do.

I am myself a reformed couch potato. I took up cycling because I moved to a town with great bike paths and thought I should take advantage of that. I would go to the gym before that but wasn't always too jazzed about getting up to go to the gym. Had no idea when I started cycling how much I'd enjoy it, how it never seems like a chore even when I'm doing bad-ass interval sets. Sometimes you never know until you give something a try.

The American culture is saturated with calories for sure. But also not always enough exposure to sports and physical activity. The more people you see and know doing various athletic endeavors the more likely you are to try something yourself. I won't shut up about cycling at work to the extent that one of my (overweight) nurses just bought a bike. I guess I make it sound fun. Lots of fairly active people in SoCal- trail runners, triathletes, cyclists, cross fitters, joggers, yogis, holders, tennis players- so that helps for sure. It feeds upon itself.

chasm54

As a visitor (from a country that is itself in the grip of an obesity epidemic) what I notice about the States is that the population seems surprisingly polarised. There are plenty of slim athletic people around, but also large numbers who are obese and morbidly obese. The group in the middle, the ones I'd describe as "ordinarily overweight" seems very small. Over here they'd be in the majority.

Nachoman

Hopefully that was intentional.

mcours2006

Not at all. Completely unintentional.

series1811

You're a sick man. But props to you anyway. After 2 marathons and several half marathons, I concluded that running long distances in moderation is best for me.

calimtb

I'm not sure cycling alone is the best route to optimal health. Even low impact walking is necessary to at least preserve bone strength.

In "Just Ride" Grant Petersen points out that endurance cyclists often have very porous, weak bones since they never subject their joints or muscles to load.

Low to moderate impact exercise such as walking, along with strength training are necessary as well.

Cycling is far from a magic pill here.

StanSeven

You've been talking with my wife?

calimtb

It could be that those who are "ordinarily overweight" are now actually perceived as slim or just average?

I tell people I am 5 pounds overweight and they seem shocked.

Machka 

Of course cycling is not a magic pill, nor should everyone cycle.

The best exercise is the one we enjoy the most. Whatever that may be.

A few posts ago, I listed several of the activities my coworkers are into. Some are cyclists, but lots do other things, and often a variety of things.

Stucky

Diet, exercise and REST are all essential ingredients. Heredity/genetics is probably the biggest factor determining how long we live- but the three essentials will determine the quality of that life.

Most Westerners are deficient in the three essentials- but even those who have diet and exercise under control, are often deficient in rest/sleep- which probably undoes a lot of the good done through diet and exercise- or at least prevents 'em from getting the full advantage of the diet/exercise.

I had been a "night person" for a good part of my life- only typically getting 4 hours sleep per night- and it seemed like enough. A while back, i started going to bed earlier, and getting a good 8-9 hours of bed time, and it's made huige difference!

Stucky

Why cast it aside? Considering that at one point or another, pretty much everything ever "proven" in a "scientific study" is reversed and refuted (Remember eggs, butter and salt?!), even where there have been thousands of studies over several decades, all purporting to validate the same conclusions, I would say that anecdotal evidence is probably more accurate- or at the very least, no worse than the so-called scientific studies.

There are just too many variables when it comes to human life- it would be impossible to take them all into account.

woodcraft

This gets a bit off topic,

but if lack of loading was responsible for the bone thinning, then couch potatoes would have the same result, no?

A better explanation is that long hours sweating in the heat & wind causes mineral loss

at a faster rate than the body can take in from food, etc..

calimtb

Yeah, sedentary peeps are at risk for bone thinning but at a much slower rate.

Road racers and endurance cyclists are sweating a ton and losing a lot of calcium in the process.

Riding a road bike and sitting on a couch are probably similar in terms of load bearing, but the difference is the couch potato isn't sweating out several pounds of water and minerals per ride.

Do a quick google search. Bone thinning is a serious problem for road cyclists who ride a lot. I'm not talking about joe and jen public who go for a 30 minute jaunt on the weekends.

Cyclists should lift or do some weight bearing exercise along with getting a lot of calcium supplementation DURING exercise, but most don't do either.

calimtb

Cycling in moderation is fine, but it does become a problem in excess. It actually becomes harmful.

Weight bearing exercise is important for everyone, but especially for cyclists who ride/train a lot. The problem is, these cyclists are the least likely to engage in weight bearing exercise because they spend so much time on the bike.

chasm54

I'm talking about my perceptions, not those ofthe general population. Like you I am greeted with incredulity when i say I need to lose weight.

Incidentally, I disagree with you about the need for calcium supplementation. It's unnecessary no matter how much you cycle. If you eat properly and do some weight bearing exercise you'll be fine. When I was 58, after years of more than 8000 miles per year on the bike, my bone density was better than most people my age. And I rarely lift, I just run occasionally and do bodyweight exercises.

mcours2006

Because anecdotal evidence is a scientific way of saying no real data.

Machka 

Please ... ask that question in a new thread. Maybe with a poll.