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Old 05-11-06 | 04:04 PM
  #23  
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Mentor58
'Mizer Cats are INSANE
 
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 808
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From: Clarksville, TN

Bikes: C-dale T800

I think that many of the folk that inhabit this board probably have a skewed standard for "reasonable shape", simply because we are already at a standard of fitness far in excess of what I see as typical of the general population. The 10000 steps a day translates into about 5 miles a day, and I don't see that as any kind of a challenge at all. The 60-90 minutes is simply a matter of picking an intensity that I can maintain. (and for that duration, it would be a higher intensity than I usually ride). There are a lot of people out there who's idea of exercise is walking from the door to the car. They are some of the same ones that I see circling the parking lot at the fitness center to get a parking place near the door so they can get their workout in.

I know people, younger than myself, who are shocked when I say that I rode 80 miles this weekend, or that I'm planning for a 500 mile trip on the bike. They think I must be some kind of superman, when in fact I'm a balding, ponytailed, computer trainer who rides for fun, has no genetic gifts for athletic prowness, and started out being tuckered out after 5 miles. Now it takes 5 miles just to get the legs warmed up.

I think that the standards that Machka laid out are good for the general public, and I suspect that anybody that really tried to meet them would be more than capable as a recreational cyclist, traveling at a moderate speed. Racers are a special breed. Racing has always been about the highest level of performance, so if I compare myself to even a group of Cat 5 riders my fitness level is below theirs, but I would suspect that if you took that same group of riders and plotted them against the general population by age group / gender they would be in the 90+ percentile. Heck, I'm 5'8", 153 pounds and my BMI is in the lower 20 percentile for my age/gender group. Toss me in with a bunch of racers and I'd be the fat boy in the room.

Not really sure where I'm going with this, but I like to compare myself with where I was in the past as a measure of my fitness, not against others. I would love to see Americans take a more active role in their life, I really think that it would help improve the heath (and health care systems) of this nation, eliminate a lot of the drugs that are, IMHO, taken to compensate for the fact that we have a body that was designed to be active, and by not giving it what it needs we have to self medicate to cope.

Just my .02

Steve W.
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