Why are there so many cyclists with potbellies?
04-20-16, 04:58 PM
#51
Senior Member
This thread is going to be full of "offend"...
Cycling is easy. You have to try if you want to get a workout on the bike. Ever see those same potbelly dudes in the drops hammering on the flats, or crushing it in the hills? I don't. Most of the fat riders I see are soft pedaling (with legs akimbo) on non-hilly roads. Don't get me wrong, there definitely are some bigger riders who try hard and want to lose weight, but cycling is something you can do for an hour or so and make yourself feel like you are exercising.
Cycling is easy. You have to try if you want to get a workout on the bike. Ever see those same potbelly dudes in the drops hammering on the flats, or crushing it in the hills? I don't. Most of the fat riders I see are soft pedaling (with legs akimbo) on non-hilly roads. Don't get me wrong, there definitely are some bigger riders who try hard and want to lose weight, but cycling is something you can do for an hour or so and make yourself feel like you are exercising.
I think cycling is a sport where you have to really try to get any benefit. Problem is that in cycling one can cruise around at 14mph on flats and look/feel like you are doing something when you probably are working less that if you were walking. However in running, they would know that a 15 minute/mile pace is just walking.
04-20-16, 05:23 PM
#52
Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Delaware shore
Posts: 13,558
Bikes: Cervelo C5, Guru Photon, Waterford, Specialized CX
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1106 Post(s)
Liked 2,180 Times
in
1,470 Posts
Cycling is easy. You have to try if you want to get a workout on the bike. Ever see those same potbelly dudes in the drops hammering on the flats, or crushing it in the hills? I don't. Most of the fat riders I see are soft pedaling (with legs akimbo) on non-hilly roads. Don't get me wrong, there definitely are some bigger riders who try hard and want to lose weight, but cycling is something you can do for an hour or so and make yourself feel like you are exercising.
It is easy to soft pedal, coast, just take it as easy for an hour and call that hard exercise. Then you reward yourself with ice cream, a couple beers, and a big dinner.
04-20-16, 05:38 PM
#53
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ffld Cnty Connecticut
Posts: 21,844
Bikes: Old Steelies I made, Old Cannondales
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1173 Post(s)
Liked 929 Times
in
614 Posts
That sums it up.
20 mile ride, then a "recovery" meal !
20 mile ride, then a "recovery" meal !
__________________
Bikes: Old steel race bikes, old Cannondale race bikes, less old Cannondale race bike, crappy old mtn bike.
FYI: https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sugg...ad-please.html
Bikes: Old steel race bikes, old Cannondale race bikes, less old Cannondale race bike, crappy old mtn bike.
FYI: https://www.bikeforums.net/forum-sugg...ad-please.html
04-20-16, 05:49 PM
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 794
Bikes: '11 Merlin Extralight, '98 Dean Castanza, '89 Schwinn Prologue
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 19 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I do lots of activities including running, cycling, swimming, weight lifting, and some less strenuous things like golf and tennis. Weight lifting doesn't burn all that much. It takes about 3500 calories to get rid of a pound of fat. So if you run that's about 30-35 miles just to get rid of a pound. For many cyclists that's a week of riding. The problem is not eating more t compensate.
Lifting weight increases your lean mass, which (slightly, but still significantly) increases your resting metabolic rate. Cardio, such as steady state cycling, does NOT increase your resting metabolic rate, even though it burns more calories than lifting, while you are doing the cardio itself. The problem is that most people will also eat more when they do more cardio, which makes it awash.
An increase in your lean mass, even though it doesn't directly decrease fat tissue mass, does increase your overall body weight. Increasing overall body weight without a corresponding fat mass increase leads to lower body fat % mathematically.
Last edited by link0; 04-20-16 at 05:53 PM.
04-20-16, 06:27 PM
#59
Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Delaware shore
Posts: 13,558
Bikes: Cervelo C5, Guru Photon, Waterford, Specialized CX
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1106 Post(s)
Liked 2,180 Times
in
1,470 Posts
Lifting weight increases your lean mass, which (slightly, but still significantly) increases your resting metabolic rate. Cardio, such as steady state cycling, does NOT increase your resting metabolic rate, even though it burns more calories than lifting, while you are doing the cardio itself. The problem is that most people will also eat more when they do more cardio, which makes it awash.
An increase in your lean mass, even though it doesn't directly decrease fat tissue mass, does increase your overall body weight. Increasing overall body weight without a corresponding fat mass increase leads to lower body fat % mathematically.
An increase in your lean mass, even though it doesn't directly decrease fat tissue mass, does increase your overall body weight. Increasing overall body weight without a corresponding fat mass increase leads to lower body fat % mathematically.
Stan
04-20-16, 06:32 PM
#60
Has a magic bike
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 12,590
Bikes: 2018 Scott Spark, 2015 Fuji Norcom Straight, 2014 BMC GF01, 2013 Trek Madone
Mentioned: 699 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4456 Post(s)
Liked 425 Times
in
157 Posts
Most people quite honestly have a pretty fuzzy grasp on the number of calories they consume vs the numbers burned with exercise. For some of us (I could stand to lose 10 pounds), it's very easy to put on weight. If you're in that camp, it takes a lot of attention to detail to lose or manage weight- more than most people are willing to put into it. Like most things, it does get easier over time if you make the effort to really try to master it- I can look at a pile of rice in a Chinese restaurant, for example, and not gobble down 3 cups of the stuff because I see 900 calories (on top of the rest of the meal) and I know thats a 90 minute hard ride for me. I know I need the protein in the meat to meet my daily needs and the micronutrients in the vegetables to not get sick from training so hard and I'm already getting a decent amount of carbs from the stir fry sauce. So keeping it to just a wee bit of rice becomes the obvious choice. But only because I've already thought this meal through a bunch of times.
Most people don't bother, though. They let their palate dictate what they eat, or their sense of hunger (obviously eat when you're hungry but eat what you need), or visual clues like the portion served or what the guy at the next table is eating. It would be awesome if I had a physiology that did not require this kind of attention, but I don't. So no use whining about it, just do what it takes. It's really an issue of motivation, not worth it for the majority of people.
Most people don't bother, though. They let their palate dictate what they eat, or their sense of hunger (obviously eat when you're hungry but eat what you need), or visual clues like the portion served or what the guy at the next table is eating. It would be awesome if I had a physiology that did not require this kind of attention, but I don't. So no use whining about it, just do what it takes. It's really an issue of motivation, not worth it for the majority of people.
04-20-16, 06:51 PM
#62
Full Member
So, y'all saying i gotta ride daily centuries and eat bananas and yogurt and drink water just to get rid of my gut?...
04-20-16, 07:10 PM
#64
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 40,865
Bikes: Specialized Tarmac, Canyon Exceed, Specialized Transition, Ellsworth Roots, Ridley Excalibur
Mentioned: 68 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2952 Post(s)
Liked 3,106 Times
in
1,417 Posts
Most people quite honestly have a pretty fuzzy grasp on the number of calories they consume vs the numbers burned with exercise. For some of us (I could stand to lose 10 pounds), it's very easy to put on weight. If you're in that camp, it takes a lot of attention to detail to lose or manage weight- more than most people are willing to put into it. Like most things, it does get easier over time if you make the effort to really try to master it- I can look at a pile of rice in a Chinese restaurant, for example, and not gobble down 3 cups of the stuff because I see 900 calories (on top of the rest of the meal) and I know thats a 90 minute hard ride for me. I know I need the protein in the meat to meet my daily needs and the micronutrients in the vegetables to not get sick from training so hard and I'm already getting a decent amount of carbs from the stir fry sauce. So keeping it to just a wee bit of rice becomes the obvious choice. But only because I've already thought this meal through a bunch of times.
Most people don't bother, though. They let their palate dictate what they eat, or their sense of hunger (obviously eat when you're hungry but eat what you need), or visual clues like the portion served or what the guy at the next table is eating. It would be awesome if I had a physiology that did not require this kind of attention, but I don't. So no use whining about it, just do what it takes. It's really an issue of motivation, not worth it for the majority of people.
Most people don't bother, though. They let their palate dictate what they eat, or their sense of hunger (obviously eat when you're hungry but eat what you need), or visual clues like the portion served or what the guy at the next table is eating. It would be awesome if I had a physiology that did not require this kind of attention, but I don't. So no use whining about it, just do what it takes. It's really an issue of motivation, not worth it for the majority of people.
04-20-16, 07:10 PM
#65
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Vermont
Posts: 58
Bikes: Felt Z-5 Cannondale Quick 5
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Wow! What a snarky post. I couldn't get a pot belly if I wanted to. Well good for you. Lots of people can and yet they
still have fun cycling and getting exercise and hanging out with their friends and doing good for others doing charity rides, but
they shouldn't do any of this because they have pot bellies. Do you have any friends or do you just stand and look at yourself in the
mirror all day?
still have fun cycling and getting exercise and hanging out with their friends and doing good for others doing charity rides, but
they shouldn't do any of this because they have pot bellies. Do you have any friends or do you just stand and look at yourself in the
mirror all day?
04-20-16, 07:18 PM
#66
Administrator
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Delaware shore
Posts: 13,558
Bikes: Cervelo C5, Guru Photon, Waterford, Specialized CX
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1106 Post(s)
Liked 2,180 Times
in
1,470 Posts
04-20-16, 07:22 PM
#67
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Minas Ithil
Posts: 9,173
Mentioned: 66 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2432 Post(s)
Liked 641 Times
in
398 Posts
Most people don't bother, though. They let their palate dictate what they eat, or their sense of hunger (obviously eat when you're hungry but eat what you need), or visual clues like the portion served or what the guy at the next table is eating. It would be awesome if I had a physiology that did not require this kind of attention, but I don't. So no use whining about it, just do what it takes. It's really an issue of motivation, not worth it for the majority of people.
I would think that a guy who's an avid cyclist would want to at least look athletic. I don't know, I just don't understand what's up with the potbellies. In the world I lived in for a quarter century you would end your career for failing a tape test so I just can't relate to it.
04-20-16, 07:35 PM
#72
Other Worldly Member
Join Date: May 2012
Location: The old Northwest Coast.
Posts: 1,540
Bikes: 1973 Motobecane Grand Jubilee, 1981 Centurion Super LeMans, 2010 Gary Fisher Wahoo, 2003 Colnago Dream Lux, 2014 Giant Defy 1, 2015 Framed Bikes Minnesota 3.0, several older family Treks
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 194 Post(s)
Liked 136 Times
in
53 Posts
Hilarious post in the rarified (but fat) air of "road cycling". Roads connect taverns, road cyclists help themselves to beer ergo they're fat from the road-beer space time continuum.
__________________
Make ******* Grate Cheese Again
Make ******* Grate Cheese Again
04-20-16, 07:50 PM
#75
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Boulder County, CO
Posts: 4,398
Bikes: '80 Masi Gran Criterium, '12 Trek Madone, early '60s Frejus track
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 514 Post(s)
Liked 451 Times
in
339 Posts
And while effective bicycling benefits from having sound core strength, it does little to actually develop it. Cyclists should do more core strength training.
And lay of the Danish pastries when they stop for lattes.
And lay of the Danish pastries when they stop for lattes.