adamwendel99

I know this was a mountain bike ride, but I used this ride in part to train for the upcoming road season. This was a ride from Fruita CO, to Moab UT which took 3 days to complete. I was litteraly rolling out of camp each morning at about 9 AM and getting to camp that afternoon at around 5:30. Averaged about 6 hours of peddle time each day and the whole trip had about 15,000 feet of climbing. How the hell could I have gained 3 pounds? I was hoping to lose at least a couple of lbs for some upcoming road races. I don't even think I really ate that much on the trip. Not more than I was burning anyway I don't think. I was burning 4-5 thousand calories per ride according to my computer. I did eat a big and healthy breakfast each morning and the same at dinner, but my lunch was pretty small and probably only ate 3 or 4 cliff bars a day. Maybe it was the fact that I was consuming about 400 oz's of fluids a day and I have a bunch of water weight. Any ideas?

curiouskid55

You ate more calories than you burned?

Snicklefritz

It is quite possible that it is from retained water. I've noticed the same effect when I drink a lot of water during a long endurance event or long weekend of hard rides or racing. A few days later the body releases it, in other words I'll have to pee every 5 seconds.

I'm not certain why this is, but I think if Mashka steps in she will have something to say since she does a lot of these kind of rides.

I also read an interesting article recently in one of my women's magazines about weight fluctuation. One of their comments was about how the body can retain 2-3 lbs worth of water if you eat a salty meal. They didn't define how salty (in terms of mg of sodium) but mentioned certain kinds of meals that might have enough to do this. This one doesn't apply to you since you're a guy, but at certain times of the month, women can retain up to 5 lbs of water just from hormonal changes!!


The point is that the body can do a lot of stuff we wish it wouldn't do at certain times (like retain water). I wouldn't worry about it. in a couple of days dude, you will probably be in the bathroom a lot. lol. Just keep an eye on the scale. If it goes back to normal in a few days you're probably ok.

willieb

Probably just a combination of retained fluids and a upper weight fluctuation deal...

snhrider

Could be muscle gain since muscle weighs more than fat.

adam

Wait a day or two, you might notice a difference.

Happens with me all the time. I ride, eat well, etc, etc. A few days later I notice results.

yak

When are you weighing yourself? I only weight myself in the morning after my morning pee. Any other time during the day and you have food & drink to throw off your consistency.

adamwendel99

I did have about 4 or 5 goo's a day as well. Maybe I did consume more than I thought. But we're talking about 8 hours a day on the trail. I'll monitor over the next few days and see if I get back to where I started, which was about 163 lbs.

I weighed myself in the middle of the day both times. One day before the ride, then one day after the ride.

AGGRO

Water weight. When you cranking like that your muscle tissue is going crazy storing water to help restore balance.

grahny

get a new computer

curiouskid55

So thats what 800 ft vert and hour. No mention of speed or distance . Frankly doesnt sound like all that much work. Not that familiar with trail riding however, may well have been significant effort involved.

ratebeer

No worries. You were probably in caloric deficit for three days. Same thing has happened to me. Try again in a couple days. Think of it as a testament to your quality hydration plan!

adamwendel99

Riding 50 miles a day on a mountain bike with much of the trail being single-track is about the equivalent of riding 125-150 miles a day on a road bike. In my experience anyway.

timmyquest

In 3 days...i doubt it.

Flak

Mtn biking is significantly harder than road riding. It will beat the hell out of you a lot quicker than you'd expect to the uninitiated.

curiouskid55

Understood thanks

Davey

Was that Kokopelli Trail? That's an awesome ride (obviously).

adamwendel99

Yeah, it was the Kokopelli trail. Highly recomended for a mountain bike ride!

Tom Stormcrowe

That figure would be about right. It likely is a water gain as when you stress the muscles sufficiently to start getting tissue breakdown due to the protein metabolism kicking in, you get a lot of osmosis going to begin removing the uric acids, lactic acid and protein fragments from the tissue. It happens. You'll likely pee dark for a few days and very frequently.

briscoelab

Yep, this happens to me al of the time... especially after MTB races. Even my face feels swollen the next day. It's just swelling due to the tissue damage you infliced on yourself. Take some advil and give it a couple of days.

SSP

I don't think so...in terms of aerobic effort, I think road biking burns more calories per hour because it's much easier to "keep the hammer down" on the road. On the mountain bike, there are many times when you're not putting full power to the pedals because the terrain doesn't permit it.

That said, I'm pretty sure that mountain biking typically burns more calories per mile than road biking, due to the increased rolling resistance of the tires, increased aerobic resistance due to the more upright riding style, and (sometimes) due to more elevation gain per mile.

FWIW, pro mountain bikers spend a lot of time training on road bikes, because it's the only way to get a good consistent aerobic workout (for things like intervals, LT training, etc.).

Flak

I dont know the numbers so you could have me there. All i know is that im utterly thrashed after most mtn rides, but aside from a burning/achy feel in my legs after road rides i feel ok. I think because mtn is more of a full body workout.

jimx200

After your period is over, the weight will subside. Growing up with 4 sisters and then having 2 daughters led me to this.

ManBearPig

Um, I can't believe nobody has pointed out the obvious. To be blunt, when was the last time you went #2? (A rhetorical question, no need to actually post the answer). You ride that much you sweat alot, your extremities lose fluid, and you are on the bike and not able to go at your regular time. Answer: you are probably constipated.

adamwendel99

Thanks for all the responses!

For those of you who thought it was water weight, I think you hit the nail on the head. I was 164 a day before the ride, 167 a day after the ride, and now I'm down to 162 five days after the ride. This is with no real eating changes.