Originally Posted by
OldsCOOL
I did. My typical ride week would show 3 major rides and maybe a casual here and there. This summer I have made it a point to grab a bike after dinner and tour the town or neighborhoods (always involving hills).
I can feel the difference with every 5lb loss.
Congratulations with the weight loss and fitness.
The problem is you need the exercise to prevent muscle loss.
But, if you compare your fitness levels before and after dieting + exercise, more than one thing has changed.
I'm also down about 15-20 pounds this summer, with a goal of an additional 5 to 10 pounds. Then hopefully controlling the eventual bounce-back to perhaps 5 pounds or so.
However, I consider fitness changes with just spending more time on the road.
I do notice quicker recovery after climbing certain hills, but I attribute that to training.
I also hit my personal all-time high for flat all-out speed (short, as well as a 10 mile ride). But, I hadn't made those exact efforts earlier either.
Originally Posted by
Seattle Forrest
I don't think it is, at least enough to make a meaningful difference. I could be way off on this, but here's how I understand it.
In a lot of other sports (think running) there's a lot of variation from one person to the next in what you're talking about, how efficient they are at turning stored energy (like fat) into mechanical work. But on a bike, we're all seated for most of the time, turning our feet in circles with our legs extended to about the same length as each other, etc. You might ride in the drops while someone else is on the hoods but it's pretty constrained and we all have pretty similar energy efficiency because of it. When you convert kJ from your power meter into kCals, you guess at how efficient you are at this, and there just isn't a very big range.
If you run a Powertap. 200W at the rear wheel for rider A is about the same as 200W at the rear wheel for rider B.
Getting that power to the rear wheel may vary considerably from rider to rider. For one rider, it may be an all-out sprint, for the next, absolutely coasting.
Overall efficiency???? One rider might be pushed over the anaerobic threshold at 200W, and can't maintain it, while the other rider is well in the aerobic exercise zone, and can maintain it for hours. Changes in Oxygen absorption and uptake?