riding does nothing for you
 

I just read in Velo News and I've read it, in some training books, that just going out for a ride doe's nothing for you. If you don't go out and do intervals or sprints, or hill climbs, etc. your basically wasting your time. If you go out for a 4 hour ride, at a slow pace, the only thing you've done is get yourself tired.
I'm not talking about just going out to smell the roses, like some people do. I'm talking about exercise. I cant believe your not doing anything for yourself, just riding. Are they just talking about racing or getting ready to race?

I would call Z2 pretty easy riding, Recovery or just plan riding. Your getting your heart rate up, rather than just sitting here, like I am now. I just find it hard to believe that your not gaining anything, just riding. I've gone for 4 and 5 hour rides and when I get back I'm 4 pounds lighter and they say, I'm not gaining anything. Anyhow would some of you shed some light on this. I know I must be missing something.

Im with you, dont have any facts to support it but it has to be better than sitting around watching TV!! And then there is the psychological aspect... You feel good about yourself!!

andy

Velo News is just a bunch of bike snobs.

Agreed, I think a lot of comments come from racers. Racers are racers, some of us ride for fun, not that racing isn't fun, but when you are older, anything is better than sitting. keep on riding George!
R&J

I have lots of fun when I ride. In September I rode from DC to Pittsburgh. I think that is "something".

Your immediate weight loss is most likely due to inadequate hydration. In the gym one of the tools used to measure hydration is weight before exercise compared to weight immediately after. They should be fairly close if you have properly hydrated during exercise. That assumes, of course, that your workout is a few hours or less. Measurement of actual weight loss is best done on a daily, or every other day basis, like each morning before starting the day's activities.

I figure that if I'm on a conditioning ride if I haven't really stressed myself I really haven't accomplished my purpose. That view is supported by a fairly large body of research. On the other hand, I really, really enjoy just going for a fun ride at a slow pace chatting with a friend or aquaintance. Then I've not done much for my body but I've done a lot for my psych and my soul. So, it depends on why you are out for a ride.

Oh yes; I should add that I read my first copy of Velo News a week or so ago. It will not be on my reading list. Fact is that most of what we read in print and on the internet is oriented around people who, at least in their own minds, are competitive racers. What they do has very little to do with most of us.

I believe (based on things I've read elsewhere and/or been told by coaches, trainers, or exercise physiologists) that what the VeloNews article means is that just toodling along on your bike does nothing towards improving your speed/power/endurance on the bike. They don't mean literally that there are no physical benefits, simply that those physical benefits won't make you a more successful bike racer.

I think that your interpretation makes sense.

Even when I do a leisurely ride, I make sure I get into zone 4 for at least a short duration.

All rides also give me pleasure after completion regardless of the effort. This is a mental health benefit.

I've lost 20 lbs this year and kept it off (didn't change my diet much) by riding 75-90 minutes at a time, 3-4 days a week. I'd say that is measurable results. Will my rides make me much faster? no. But my speed increased by 15-20% over the course of the year.

All looks like results from where I sit. Most of us aren't racers. Most of us want to be healthy, enjoy the outdoors and the other cyclists, and have a good time.

Keep riding. Its doing you good.

Slow news day at Velo News. What do they know about cycling anyway. Yesterday they had a cover story about the electric campy derailers, it seems it is less effort to push a button and have an electric motor shift the chain, Velo News doesn't want racers to work too much!! :lol:

While I don't necessarily advise anyone to read these as it takes a lot of study, you'll find real data, not Just studies, but trials that show all activity is beneficial. It's not even controversial as it's taught at the college level. Some diseases respond to the numbers of calories burned, others to intensity (1).

High intensity plus duration can lead to an order of magnitude reduced mortality compared to sedentary (1).

If you prefer walking, you can get about a 50% reduction at around 16 mile/week (3). More walking does not add benefit as far as mortality. Speed walking of course would do better.

Even moderate activity shows a clear 30 to 50% benefit (2) even if you are over weight.


Al

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1. (http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Activ...7530758&sr=1-1

2. http://www.amazon.com/Physical-Activ...7527248&sr=1-1

3. http://www.amazon.com/Exercise-Physi...tt_at_ep_dpt_1

To chime back in; there is no substitute for personal research. At the same time, a person can find a study, or set of studies, or well documented data to support many different perspectives. The problem is that our body today is the result of what we have done over many past years. Much like a building; what we see is based on a foundation we often cannot see. But, unlike a building we are constantly changing our foundation. The building of tomorrow is based on the foundation of today so build wisely. Therein is the challenge; what is Wisely?

There are couple of basic principles that seem to apply under all circumstances. To make a body stronger it must be stressed, fed and rested. It is better to feed a body simple food than manufactured food (which eliminates about 90% of what is in the supermarket). The body will acclimate to stress levels and so to continually grow stress levels must also grow.

There is lots of information available from successful endeavours in othe sports like body building, running, etc. How a person tailors that to their own body is very individual.

Freds are bad enough.

Old Freds are a whole new level of Utter Fail.






Carry on boys.

And yes, I do understand this makes me sound like an elitist ahole.






Bite me, or as I am fond of saying since I got my new Mac last week, Byte me.

George, IMO, a lot of the discussion is semantics. Intervals can be defined as anyway one wants to. For example, I did 3x20 intervals on the trainer on Tuesday. They were z2 with 2 minutes of z3 every 5 minutes. And I thought they are sort of hard. Doing 3x20 at z3 power is very hard. 20 minutes of z4 is very difficult.

So the issue (if there is one) may be in the force being used not the duration and what is meant by benefit. Cruising around for hours at z1 power with an occasional excursion to z2 will result in one getting good at doing just that. We are what we repeatedly do.

The next time you are riding correlate a level of effort in your legs to a mid z2 heart rate. Then focus on maintaining the level of effort in your legs no matter what the terrain for 20 minutes - uphill, flat or downhill. Do not coast and do not break concentration for even a moment. Do 3x20 minutes and tell me what you thought of that effort - easy, moderate or difficult. If your HR starts to drift up, do not pay any attention just keep the focus on the level of effort.

I thought the last line was you new sig line. It seemed appropriate since the first line actually made sense.

The notion that riding 'does nothing' for you is incorrect. But just riding alone won't make you any faster. I think that's the only point here. Of course riding is good for you, as is all exercise.

I think we can all agree on something in this thread.

Otherwise, the OP is dabbling in heresy, nay, blasphemy, and should be tied to a pole made of carbon fibre, firmly secured using duct tape, doused in White Lightning, and set ablaze.

Wasting is a good use of time imho.

Completely agree. They're talking about racers, not ordinary people. Thus their focus on some kind of training regimen. It's stories like that that but cycling in a place where normal people see it as only racing on expensive bikes and suffering when going out for a ride. Yu'll find the same king of articles in Bicycling.

I'm don't think White Lightning is flamable. I suggest we spray him wth PB Blaster then set him ablaze.

Anyone have a link to that article? I tried and didn't find it.

It's in February issue in tech and training. It says, If you ride five days a week at 2 hours, easy, you're going to get out of shape.

I don't agree, just like most of here has said. I know group riding will make you faster, as well as intervals, but riding gets you out of shape, I don't think so.
I kind of like Velo News, to keep up with the sport. I get Road Bike Action as well, not to bad, but I never heard them give a bad review on anything. Just saying. Thanks for the replies and have a nice Christmas ,playing with all our new toys. I love it.

I like pcad, he's starting to show his age coming over here. Botto is going to be next.:D

Even if all you do is unstructured JRA, you'll improve. But without structured training you won't improve as quickly, and will reach a plateau earlier. If you want to ride fast(er) that may be important to you.

There's nothing saying that structured training can't also be fun, or that doing it somehow disallows you from ever doing fun rides.