RyanML

This may be better posted in the triathlon forum...let me know and I'll stick it over there if you think that forum would be better.

So, I've been biking for a couple years. I weigh about 300# (down from 328# and still dropping), and I'd like to get into some small triathlons, sprint, olympic etc. The main problem is the running, which I really don't want to do until I drop some more weight. I routinely bike 40-50 miles at a time a couple times a week, and commute quite a bit. I'm quite a strong rider, and fairly fast. This is a goal probably at least a year away.

My concern is this: I carry equal amounts of fat and muscle, I'm overweight but I can bike long distances, and I have been lifting again lately, typically doing bench press reps at 175#-200# maxing at like 275#. As I lose the weight, is there a preferred method? Let's say I lose the weight, but when get in shape I am packing a lot of muscle weight...would a triathlon type event be more difficult than if I lost weight a different way? Should I take lifting lightly?

Thanks for any input.

truckstop

I'm in a similar place, and not an expert, but this is what I've learned so far...

How is your swimming? Most people find swimming the most difficult part, and takes the most work, unless you're already a strong swimmer.

Consider starting your running with a "Couch to 5K" program or similar, even if you're still heavier than you want to be. It starts out with walking, and then moves from walking to progressively more running. You can do each week as long as you like if you feel as though you can't handle more running. Running does take different muscles than cycling, so you'll have some conditioning in for when you really want to start running.

If you're training for all three disciplines, the weightlifting is probably less important for the weight loss since all the cardio work should help, and swimming and biking are great for slimming down. Tri's are about endurance, so IMHO I would back off on the weights a little, or lift for endurance instead of strength. Do you do squats? It seems that would be more useful for everything you're trying to do, and uses more muscles than bench presses?

RyanML

Well, the bench presses was just to give an indication on where I was in overall strength. I do other lifting, but just light legwork since I spend so much time biking I'm usually too tired or worn out to do many squats and such. I like strength training to elevate metabolism. Point taken, though.

Clyde Tri

I think I understand where your coming from in approaching a triathlon from a weightlifting and bike leg dominant point of view. I entered the sport from a collegiate swimming background and was also powerlifting.

A good beginner triathlete program can be found with a google search. I'd find one that emphasizes brick workouts. Biking 20mi and running 5k in the same day is one thing, but combining those into a single workout is an entirely different animal. Substitute your bike routine into that beginner tri regimen so that you don't lose your base.

Lifting and tri's are a bad combo unless you are pushing lightweight to failure or high reps to simulate fatigue. Lifting med to heavy decreases your ability to compensate for the kind of lactic acid build up that all 3 sports present.

Coming from someone who's had major back surgery I'd recommend that you take up trail running to get your knees and back accustomed to the pounding. Cyclists and swimmers have a harder time adjusting to the constant pounding of running because we are used to exercising in a lower gravity or suspended environment. By running on trails, dirt or grass the earth absorbs more of the downward force than say concrete.
I'm also an ultrarunner and I can race for 6-12hrs on trails without a single twitch of back pain, but jogging on concrete always leaves me in pain the next day.

billyymc

CT - can you expand on, or explain these two comments a bit more? I'm also interested in taking on a couple tri's next year. I have the swimming and biking parts down ok, but the running is my challenge.

mthayer

check out the website www.beginnertriathlete.com. It gives good information on getting started in tris.
I did my first one last year and the advice I received was do a short race. The best advice I received was if your going to do it, mak
e sure you can do the swim.

Neil_B

Why wait? We have someone here who took on his first 5k at 360 pounds.

Boyd Reynolds

This. No concrete, though I'd suggest a rubber or dirt track or treadmill before a trail to start on because trails have irregular surfaces that can cause an injury to ankles and knees that aren't strengthened by running. Trail running is more fun, though, so motivating might be easy.

Ryan, you should start a running program now. Running will be a major help in your weight loss, and you need to build strength in all the little stabilizing muscles of you lower body. That takes time.

If you are lifting to achieve the body you want, and lifting is what you are motivated to do, don't stop just to prepare for a few triathlons. Extra muscle might make you a little slower, but it won't stop you from competing, particularly in short course events.

1855Cru

I'm uncertain about the swimming part so my first foray into a multi sport event is a Duathlon that I will do Mar 5th. This event has a 5k run followed by a 20k bike ride followed by another 5k run. I have found the running part the hardest, but as my weight has dropped (from 298 to 218) the runs have been getting much easier. I now have no problems running 8 to 10 miles.

I still weight train 3 to 4 times a week but do not use heavy weights. I am not trying to build muscle mass just keep what I have toned.

Daspydyr 

The Nevada Silverman came through the neighborhood in November. I was amazed at the variety of body types running the marathon. There were several clyde and athenas in the close to if not over 300 range. I though the same thing you mentioned, it had to be tearing them up. But they were giving it a real go. You won't be getting any younger and committing to a Half Tri, or smaller will give you genuine incentive to train and diet. Get after it.

Zoxe

I ran my first (and only) sprint tri this fall. I was at about 265lb but like you, I was scared of the running.

Here's what I learned:
1. I should have started running earlier. My Tri was in August and due to moving houses this spring I didn't start running until about 2mo before. At about 3mo of running 1-2 times a week things clicked a lot better and I could actually run a mile w/o stopping to walk. A few extra weeks would have helped me tons, while the months since then (I didn't stop running after the event) have been night and day.

2. Whoever above me said that you need to practice some brick training hit it spot on. People told me beforehand about brick training and I blew them off. I paid for it. The transition from bike to run killed my legs. I walked the first 1/4mi of the running and ate a lot of time.

bassjones

To the OP, the biggest issue is not the amount of weight you're pushing but the number of reps you're doing. If you are doing 12-15 reps per set then you are probably okay on the weight. If you are below 10 reps then you are way too heavy. For endurance training you really need to be in the 12-15 rep range per set and not lower. For mass building, you would be in the 10-12 rep range and for strength training, 6-10 reps. Generally speaking, of course. Body builders tend to do 4 sets per exercise, first one is a "warm-up" at around 15 reps, then a set of 12-15, then add weight and do a 10-12 rep set, then even more weight and an 8-12 rep set with the last set to failure, unless it's the off-season in which case many of them are trying to build muscle not tone it, so they're in that 6-8 rep range all the time. Since you're training for an endurance sport, you don't want to add bulky muscle - and btw, without heavy doses of steroids, you're not going to be Ronnie Coleman (google him) bulky - but you do want to build your endurance muscles so stay in that 15 rep range with the last rep of the last set to failure.

SRR

To second some of the other advice, don't wait - start running now. Outdoors, treadmill, whatever. The 'couch to 5k' plans are a good suggestion. Do not wait.

Just as a personal note - early on, I did a lot of elliptical for cardio. After my first duathlon, I realized that it was mostly wasted time, and that I had to start using a treadmill instead. (I love playing basketball, and my only concept of running was full speed the length of the court. That didn't translate well either)

I still haven't found a happy medium, pace-wise, but I'm working on it. I did my first 2 5k(s) last month. Slow times, but hey, I'm out there. And I needed a reason to wear my FatCyclist.com 'tech tee'.

I've actually been trying to swim consistently, and almost all the lifting I do is lower body. Upper body just seems less useful to me, given my goals.

Clyde Tri

There are 2 major causes of fatigue in strenuous exercise, lactic acid build up and muscle breakdown in the form of tiny tears, inflammation, or injury. This translates to arms and legs that feel like lead weights, soreness, everything that is screaming at you to stop what you're doing. Lactic acid is the byproduct formed when not enough oxygen is available to convert the glycogen in your muscle tissue to energy for work. By lifting higher reps, 15-30 is a good range, you are forcing more oxygenated blood to the muscles and trying to decrease the amount of lactic acid build up. By lifting heavier and using fewer reps you are focusing more on the breakdown of tissue, tiny tears I mentioned earlier, so the body can repair itself with a little extra bulk while at rest.

Larger muscles require more oxygen to perform work than smaller ones. If 2 people with the same breathing rate and heart rate but different muscle mass were to bike 50M the one with the smaller muscle mass would expend less energy and is likely to produce less lactic acid. In a triathlon a person's muscles takes turns being the major or minor player doing the work. You tax your lats and triceps for 500 yards swimming, then you've got to wake up the quads and hamstrings to get moving for 9 miles only to tell the hamstrings and quads to switch roles for 3 more miles.

Clyde Tri

Dirt track is more along the lines of what I was thinking of than a trail. Something like the road that goes around your local reservoir or the perimeter of a golf course that's open to the public. Boyd is right singletrack trails and rough fire roads invite injury to the ankles if your not used to it. Now is always the best time to begin working toward a goal. Starting tomorrow only serves to give you one day less to prepare.