mr,grumpy 

Do any of you guys ride OFF road to get in shape or loose weight? I'm talking about muddy, woodland trails not wide open dirt roads like you west coast guys have. I ask becasuse at the place where I am, fitnesswise, I can MTB for a while but I have to stop and rest a lot. Lots of effort for in short bursts. Whereas on the road, I just keep peddling. Lower effort for longer periods of time. I LIKE off road riding better I jusr don't know if I'll get in better shape by doing it.

IAmCosmo

I used to ride off-road quite a bit. I would probably still do it, but all of my MTB friends switched over to road riding. I live in Virginia, and mud, roots, river crossings, and stuff like that are commonplace. I haven't ridden in Boston, but I would imagine the terrain is similar.

Anything that gets your heart rate up will help you lose weight. You will probably develop more leg strength (and upper body strength) muscling a mountain bike through terrain like that.

Don't worry about having to stop and rest. Keep at it and before long you won't have to stop at all.

meanwhile

You'll lose much more weight riding off road in the way you describe. Most people here seem to ride at a steady effort level on the road - which is exactly the wrong thing to do! Interval training is literally several times more effective. See eg

Modern performance training programs for athletic cycling are switching over to this approach, even where fitness to race for long periods is the aim. If you want the maximum gain in fitness then carry on riding hard off road or do sprinting or hill intervals on road.

Ideally as you get better you want to keep on pushing harder. But do make sure your heart is up to it. And don't ride REALLY hard for long periods or without scheduling easy days - overdoing it will reduce the effectiveness of interval training. The idea is to stress the system and then provide it with time to adapt.

billyymc

Do both. A few years ago I only rode off-road. Then I took an old MTB and put slicks on it and started using it to commute a few times a week (27m RT), then this year I got a road bike and not only used it to commute but also for running errands and just riding. Rode that bike 1500 miles this year (not much by some standards, but a lot by mine), and prob put another 500 on the other bikes. I still ride MTB as much or more than ever -- and I'm way stronger at it than before.

I get the interval concept. But you have to cross train too if you can.

mr,grumpy 

All things good to hear. Thanks. I'm not trying to fool any one. I'm not going to be Superman any time soon. I started road riding this summer to get in shape to MTB "better" but when I dropped 20 pounds I just kept at it and let the MTB thing slide all together. I would LOVE to be able to put 1500 miles on a bike in a year!

meanwhile

Oh - and the other benefits of riding off road: You have to use your arms and torso muscles more - all the riding out of the saddle - and the repeated jolting encourages your body to keep bone density up.

Daspydyr 

I'm one of those west coast boys, but I'm gonna chime in anyway. I like as MTB for exactly what you describe. Climbing w/ Fat Tires on tricky, steep climbs requires upper body control and strength as well as legs. And my gasping for air when I top a climb makes me think the cardio is getting worked.

I think Road work allows you to go several hours of just burning calories. It also strengthens the cardio. I try to do that with MTB by mixing rolling rides for 30 minutes (recovery) with some butt kicker climbs. It seems to be a good mix for me. I have lost 35 pounds since July 1.

Either way, spinning is great exercise. MTBing will keep your upper body fit, plus you burn so many calories you don't have to settle for light beer.

Fastflyingasian

i live just south of boston and i ride mtb almost all year round. i am not hardcore enough like some of my friends to ride road all year round. it is great to cross train with mountain biking. you can almost think of it as your interval training. i ride with guys more than 80 pounds less than me so there is plenty of times during the ride where i spend alot of time in the red zone. hills, mud, roots, technical downhills etc. it all has to help with bike handling skills as well with your fitness. your still working very hard. instead of 1-3 hours of 70-80% you have 1-3 hours of 90+% intervals with recovery periods. this is why my friends don't like road much. its flat compared to other areas so there are no long periods of time to rest.

Mr. Beanz

Modern?

bigm141414

Went off road this weekend with a friend who is in much better shape than me. And I gotta say, no matter how much time I had spent in the saddle of the road bike the first hill climb I came to I about nearly lost my lunch. It was a humbling experience. I hate losing to gravity.

Mr. Beanz

I'm thinking you guys are doing your road rides on gentle rolling hills or flat lands. Try riding a roadbike up a 22% climb. If you have, then one can compare roadriding to riding MTB.

I've done both. 26% climbs on the MTB with the triple AND 22% climbs on the roadie with a standard double. The two styles are awfully similar as far as the pain factor in my opinion!

Have you actually done similar climbs on a roadie or are you comparing apples to oranges?


BTW, I dropped 40 lbs riding a roadbike up hill climbs. How much have you guys lost riding the MTB?

Rob P.

Mtn bike riding is strength and agility training. Road riding is for stamina and calorie burning.

You should be doing both if you can no matter where you live. By keeping track of your performance you also get to keep your enthusiasm up because it doesn't get "old" even if all you do is ride up the same hill each week.

I usually ride around 70 miles on Sunday. I commute to work on Friday (30 miles round trip) for about 100 miles per week on the road bike. This is my normal road workout unless it rains.

In contrast I ride my mtn bike on Wednesday evenings a mere 14 miles round trip and it nearly kills me. Sucking air, almost puking from the pain in my legs, and I can't hear much of anything because my heart is hammering in my ears yet I still do this each week. Without it I'm pretty sure I couldn't ride those 70 miles on Sundays.

Plutonix

I voted for none of the above.

I did a little MTB and it was ok, but with the layout of the trails here it was rarely possible to get up any speed. As a result it was very sticky, sweaty riding with lots of bugs.

But I didnt want to do "pure" road biking, so I started riding the roads, trails and MUPs on a MTB. The heavier bike and fatter tires burns more calories than a RB and for a tougher workout, I can choose more hilly terrain. I do more hills in the cooler weather / longer nights when rides dont go as long. The faster speed was more comfy and the scenery improved (not many halters on the MTB trails). I swapped out the knobby tires for some commuter tires, still fat for the rolling resistance and comfy ride, and then worked on overall conditioning by way of avg miles per day and avg speed.

I am not training for anything, so I dont see the need to get overly concerned with optimum regimens. It is more important to enjoy the ride so you dont dread it. Very few 20-something pass me with ease anymore.

bigm141414

I do live in Texas. It is difficult to find any sizable hills, either off road or on it. I wouldn't survive in California or Colorado.

Daspydyr 

BTW, I dropped 40 lbs riding a roadbike up hill climbs. How much have you guys lost riding the MTB?[/QUOTE]

35 since July 1, 2009. Plus, I can finally beat my wife arm wrestling. Don't Roadies usually wear a man bra when they turn 60?

Most MTBers can outrun a mountain lion, wrestle most bears and pivot like a ballerina, at least the ones out here do.

jboyd

Right there would be all the justification I would need.

To me it comes down to personal choice. Barring the physical problems that being a fireplug will probably reward me later, i would rather ride a hard hour or two of single track including the 3 mph, lung busting steeps, then to spend 4 hours of mind numbing asphalt at 15 mph.

I say "Do what you love". And if that is running 100 miles of white line, then do that. If it is crusing through the woods and climbing hills in the dust and muck, then get out there.

Besides, I think the weight loss gig is as much about diet as exercise. I have the low side of a couple thousand miles on this year, and have climbed my share of hills that I thought would make a great place to be buried at the top, and I have manager to put on 4 lbs this year. When it comes to food, I have had no self control this season. But, I had one hell of year of riding. Maybe more fun than any other time in my life.

Good luck and just ride the ride that makes you smile.

J

FCDrifter

I dont chime in often but I can do all this. I used to weigh 255 now im down to 238 in about 3 months of just riding, not so much dieting.

mr,grumpy 

Well, I guess I did something right, riding-wise not weight-wise. I went out to the local area today, nothing more than a big park really and did my "normal" 4.6 mile loop from years past and one outing this spring. I can tell you without a doubt, that the loop was infinately easier today than it has been in the past. This confidence in my fitness allowed me to play more with technique and stuff and I had an absolute BLAST doing it. I was covered in mud by the time I got home. My wife was horrified. I am planning on going out Sunday morning after I get out of work. I'm even going to try someplace new where "real" mountain-bikers ride!

Big Pete

does the beach count?

Bosock

Ok, first of all the West has some of the best mountain bike trails out there. I live in Utah, heard of Moab, and I ride the rockies a couple times a week at least in the summer. Rock gardens, mud, roots, etc..

Now to the weight loss issue. Most of this has been touched on in several post above but let me package it together. First, successful exercise is about intensity, so, if you are taking leisurely road rides and pushing yourself mountain biking then you will get more benefit out of mountain biking, both are good for your, but if you perform one at a higher intensity you will see more gains in that exercise. Second, Its about calorie burning, which ever one you can do to a point in which you burn the most calories is the best for loosing weight. That is why trainers will have people walk for an hour instead of run for 15 minutes, you may burn 300 calories in that 15 minutes but walking 4 times longer at a good pace will usually burn more...even if it is 50 or 75 more. Also why exercising longer is better, your body starts off exercising using mostly carbs at the beginning as compared to fats, probably 90-10 ratio at the very beginning, the longer you do it that percentage switches to you burning more fat and will go as high as 70-30 with you burning more fat (70 percent fat). Some say this percentage is actually higher with the body using 80-85 percent of fat at peaks...research i have seen supports the 70 percent. See how the longer times come in to play, you want to get in a zone that burns at the higher fat percentage as long as you can if your goal is to burn more fat. That is why longer cardiovascular activities are better than short burst exercises for losing weight...your in the zone longer. Now, to exercise for long periods you need muscular strength and endurance and that is where your interval and short burst training comes in, builds muscle strength and endurance so you can exercise longer.

Now, with this, you all take on the idea the road cycling is nice leisurely riding and not breaking a sweat. Not the case. Just like you want to go longer without stopping or getting up that hill faster mountain biking, road biking is just the same. I do both, and was struggling doing long distances in mountain biking without constantly stopping. So opted to mix up my riding routines and got a road bike. I cut out a nice 25 mile route by my house and opted to do that 2-3 times during the week and ride the mountain bike the weekends. I started that road course doing about 15 MPH and finishing in 1 hour and 35 minutes dodging intersections. Within a month or so I was doing that same route in an hour with my speed average 19-20 MPH. Now i am doing it 22 MPH. So if you are pushing yourself, you are constantly going faster and increasing intensity. Road riding improved my endurance for mountain biking and mountain biking improved my strength, agility and skills allowing me to road bike stronger, faster and farther as well. Both road and MTB will be great for promoting weight loss, diet is a big player as well, without a proper diet you will usually not lose as much, as fast, or be able to keep it off...usually. If you approach with the same amount of intensity, road will always be better for promoting weight loss as you do it longer, maintaining the higher ratio of burning fat longer. Now that is only if you have to pick one and the only objective is weight loss. The best practice would be to do both, as road will help build your endurance and mountain bike your strength, agility and skills which is important to improving your performance as well. Where road does strengthen your legs, builds cardiovascular efficiency and oxygen update...Mountain biking improves your cardiovascular and has a much more dramatic affect on leg strengthening and stroke volume, which generally is improved through weight training. Stroke volume deals with the amount of blood the heart pumps per stroke. Simple, if you strengthen your heart it pumps more blood per stroke and therefore becomes more efficient at getting oxygenated blood to your muscles. Weight training truly improves stroke volume and is usually recommended in any fitness routine. Due to the typical amount of steep climbing in mountain biking, which is usually far more aggressive climbing then road biking, you get a strengthening element which will improve stroke volume and therefore improving your ability to exercise at a higher intensity for a longer time = calorie burning=weight loss. Endurance training (typical road and flatter mountain biking) improves oxygen uptake and lung capacity (lung efficiency) and improves the efficiency of the arteries to move blood. See how a little strength training and endurance training improves those few other pieces to help improve all elements involved in conditioning so you can workout longer and harder.

Sorry for the rambling...probably went overboard in trying to have you see my point. To summarize my point, the best approach to establishing a well-rounded and effective exercise /weight loss program with biking is to do both with the same level of intensity. If you are limited to only doing one due to time or budget restraints, do the one you enjoy the most as that is more than likely the one you will continue doing the longest and more apt to catch what i call the bug, if you have no preference or enjoy the same, and your primary goal is to lose weight, your probably better off road biking with the idea you should always push yourself to go faster or farther as you will be able to maintain the fat burning zone (percentages) longer road biking...and the goal is to burn fat. Hoped that helped...there are true advantage to both and since undertaking both I have seen greater overall improvement in my conditioning and could not really choose which one i like better now...love them both. Good luck and keep biking.