teodorojt

Hi,

I’ve resolved to get off my duff after a year being sedentary; in March, 2012, I had a little gut, but at 6’3” and 42, 205 lbs wasn’t too bad. For physical activity, I walked/ran two dogs morning and evening, did cardio and strength training 4-5 days a week. I could have weighed less but my meal and sleep schedule was all messed up due to: working 3rd shift; wife in law school; autistic spectrum stepson and the two high energy dogs to care for.

A year and a half and a divorce later , I’ve gained 34 pounds and haven’t done a figs worth of strength or cardio since last summer. Memorial Day weekend, I ran the Bolder Boulder 10k in CO without training; well, I finished, but didn’t run all that much. I’ve done this, dropping thirty or forty pounds, before; Rome wasn’t built in a day but dedication and discipline will carry me through to getting back in shape, and to my goal of maintaining 190 lbs.

I’m beginning to run again, my plans include building a two or three month base before kicking it up a bit; I’d like to incorporate cycling in my workouts. My plans for cycling are to start out riding low mileage; an easy five miles maybe three four days a week, adding a little each week. My 63.5 cm 1988 Cannondale ST may be a hair too big but fits well enough for now (my long arms, 37” dress shirt sleeve, help).


I acquired the bike for a song at a yard sale; having less than 100 original miles on it, everything was in good order; even so, since it was less than $50, I didn’t worry about changing and updating a few things: I put on wider 35mm tires to smooth out the ride, a new Selle Anatomica saddle; cables and clear silver BMX housings; added Cygolite Expilion 700 and Hotshot lights, silver Planet Bike Cascadia fenders; TRP RRL SR aero drilled brake levers, Tektro R539 wide mouth side pulls, a wide range Shimano hyperglide freewheel, a SRAM PC890 chain (like buttah), swapped out the Suntour 훂-3000 RD for a classic Suntour V GT-Luxe RD, and, from the bike co-op, $5 Look PP-296 Free Arc pedals and old school Suntour Barcons (I cut down the bars the same length as the barcons to minimize hand movement while shifting). Slowly building up a bombproof (I hope) set of 700c 36h Velocity Chukker rims with Tiagra hubs, Sapim Laser spokes on the front, Sapim Strong drive-side, and Sapim Race on the non-drive side; not a weight weenie as you can tell.


As for tracking mileage and biometrics, I’ve added a Tigra Sport BikeConsole bike mount for my iphone 5, Strava seems like a good app, I’ll be using a Polar H6 Bluetooth Heart Rate Sensor and a Wahoo Blue SC Cadence/Speed Sensor. The idea is not to be anal about tracking and monitoring everything daily but rather to be able run reports periodically so as to observe the trends; kind of like only stepping on the scale every four weeks.


As for clothing, I picked up merino wool stuff, mostly from Ibex: an Ibex Momentum vest, a couple Indie S/S full zip jerseys, a Woolies 150 sleeveless base layer, El Frito and Arrivee bibs, arm, leg and knee warmers on sale this spring; trying out those Castelli sleeveless mesh base layer shirts for <80° weather. I picked up previous season Swabo Trad S/S jersey on clearance for comparison; it’s very well made and a hair heavier weave than the Ibex even though they are both 18.5 micron. I taken to wearing a Halo Skull cap to deal with my longer hair; it is dark brown and can get hot in the sun and can be a pain keeping under my helmet, I really like the skull cap so far.


As for strength training; I’ve got my gym set up: a TRX suspension trainer, kettlebells, dumbbells,barbells, pullup/dip stand, medicine balls, exercise ball.

I hope to be maintaining 190 lbs. by next summer, and to, actually, run the Bolder Boulder 10k next spring under 45 minutes. Then perhaps I’ll be ready to start dating grad students again too. . .

Any perspective on cadence? Some sources suggest a target of 70-90 rpm and others suggest 90-120 rpm. Perspective on hills? Mileage?

I am grateful for encouragement, any tips, guidance, suggestions, and resources to consult.



Ted,
Hartland, WI

ericm979

Ride more, obsess over equipment less.

70-90 is more appropriate for a rec rider. But it is an individual thing and as long as it's not too low doens't really matter.

Hills and mileage? Yes.

Do what's fun. If your goal is to get fitter, time on the bike will do that. Doesn't really matter what you're doing on the bike at this point, it's all good. So do what is fun and don't sweat "training". More hours is better than going hard. Increase time on the bike gradually.

Of course watch your diet and cut out junk and sugar. Soda, regular or diet, is particularly evil. Include sweetened "water" in that too.

caloso

That's a great bike for $50. Well done. Now go out and ride it as often and as far as you reasonably can. I wouldn't worry about distance, speed, or cadence yet; just ride.

teodorojt

Yeah, I understand about equipment obsession; not sure why I added that stuff.

Just like golfing, go back to the basics to improve your game, go to the club pro for a few refresher lessons and spend time at the local pitch and put to bolster your short game; skip the driving range (reinforces bad habits) and getting the latest equipment.

Thanks for the suggestions. I used to ride for transportation from my primary school to college days; we rode everywhere, not giving a thought to distance or difficulty.

seely

Great choice on the wheelset, but I'm a little biased I guess.

Keep us posted on your weight loss journey and how the wheels hold up for you. We recommend that our rims are built to 120kgf for what it's worth.

teodorojt

Ride, just ride; I like that.

That's what I'll do.

teodorojt

Rabbi,

Cool, thanks for the tip.

I am building my first wheelset, no access to a tensiometer; thought I'd go by the musical note they make when being plucked. Or, I could take them to the local bike coop for that step.

Perspective?

seely

You can get tension even using the auditory method -- three of our wheel builders actually do it, but when it comes to getting to a precise tension we rely on our DT Tensio's. They are a prohibitively expensive for a consumer level wheel build (~$600), but your co-op may have one, or at least a Park Tensio which isn't quite as precise, but will get you into the ballpark. On a Park, according to our chart here, you'll want a tension figure of about 25 to be at 120kgf.

ericm979

The Park number depends on the spoke thickness.

seely

Good point, as with any tensio. I was assuming double-butted.

Machka 

Mileage ... 5 miles 3-4 times a week would be good for the first couple weeks. Then you can start increasing your distance. Pick 1 or 2 days each week, and start increasing the distance on those days by about 10% each week.

Cadence ... aim to keep it between about 80 and 90. Over 100 is more for racing.

Hills ... yep, include some if you can.

Garfield Cat

The bike riding will help in aerobic conditioning. That means more riding time, each time. That will take the weight off the joints and still get in some kind of aerobic fitness. Running while over weight really hurts. You don't want injuries. Just ride more.