The not too serious get fit thread

[somegirl]

I tried out my trainer for the first time last weekend.  It was pretty good, I got a decent (if short workout) in.

I tried watching the free Spinervals DVD that came with the trainer but it was so lame...watching other people sitting on their bikes on trainers at a Mercedes warehouse?  What's the fun of that?  I thought it would have some scenery so I could pretend I was outside.  Next time I'm watching a movie.

[DarkMonster620]

I'm just walking the dog...nothing that involves two arms at this time...

[ROBsS4R]

I picked up a Used Specialized Langster with a flip flop hub setup for a Single Speed right now.

I have started to ride it to work and I plan on taking it in twice a week or so. 9.7 miles each way.
perfect gear ratio for flat and some rolling hills. The only thing I added are Clipless pedals not pictured.

Oh and I am down to 148 now =) My high was 202 =(

[kopfjäger]

I picked up a Used Specialized Langster with a flip flop hub setup for a Single Speed right now.

I have started to ride it to work and I plan on taking it in twice a week or so. 9.7 miles each way.
perfect gear ratio for flat and some rolling hills. The only thing I added are Clipless pedals not pictured.

Oh and I am down to 148 now =) My high was 202 =(

http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=1537.0

[Monster Dave]

Hey MD,

How're you doing...
Well, hope good, my left shoulder sort of dislocated when a tranny 'decided' to fall to the shop's floor while I was trying to push it into place...Wild job related accident...

Ouch! I'm sorry to hear that you got hurt - that sucks. I can only imagine what that must have felt like. I hope that you heal well.

On the flip side though, I'm doing really great. My diet is showing nice results and I'm pushing myself harder all the time. The only hitch that I ran into was over Christmas we went playing in the snow up in Flagstaff and for the first time in 15 years I put on a pair of skis. Wouldn't you know it that going down the first hill on a curve I biffed it pretty hard and jammed my thumb. That was several weeks now and it's still hurting. I'm pretty sure that I didn't break it, but it's sore down near the bottom thumb joint. As a result I can't put a lot of pressure on the thumb pad of my right hand. It's a pretty common injury from what I've learned for skiers, and it's not really getting in the way of my workouts. So all in all it's just a pain that I can't do things like open a 2 liter bottle of soda with that hand...sort of feel like a monkey!! 

We just got back from our New Years vacation. We took a 4 day cruise to Cabo San Lucas and I can't even begin to say how excellent that was. 4 days of no Internet, not cell phones, no land in sight....it was perfect. We laughed a lot, relaxed a lot (though I did run and workout 2 of the 4 days on the ship), and really had a great time. The highlight of our cruise though was our shore excursion in Cabo. We took part in a full Americas Cup race! If you aren't familiar with it, you should check it out - it was awesome! We were in two teams racing 15 million dollar yachts, working the yacht controlling the sails...it was fantastic. We got some great pictures but I need to get them scanned to post. Here's what it looked like though:





...yes they do really roll that far over!!! I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an active, adrenaline pumping expierence! 

I tried out my trainer for the first time last weekend.  It was pretty good, I got a decent (if short workout) in.

I tried watching the free Spinervals DVD that came with the trainer but it was so lame...watching other people sitting on their bikes on trainers at a Mercedes warehouse?  What's the fun of that?  I thought it would have some scenery so I could pretend I was outside.  Next time I'm watching a movie.

Seems like winter time has moved in full swing and lots of people are using indoor trainers. I thought about it, but prefer the spin classes at my gym for variety. I burn between 1200-2000 calories per night/per class (1-2 hrs), so it makes me feel like my $24.99 membership is really working for me!!! Plus I like to do a weight routine before I spin.

I can totally understand about the generic videos though. We have an erg at home (see image)...



...and I much prefer to put in a movie and row away (rowing is great exercise but can be a bit monotonous for me). When I spin at the gym I tend to be really visual and try to see myself going down a road, up a hill, or leading a ride. When I combine that with my music I stay pretty focused. Unfortunately that doesn't work for rowing.

I picked up a Used Specialized Langster with a flip flop hub setup for a Single Speed right now.

I have started to ride it to work and I plan on taking it in twice a week or so. 9.7 miles each way.
perfect gear ratio for flat and some rolling hills. The only thing I added are Clipless pedals not pictured.

Oh and I am down to 148 now =) My high was 202 =(

Excellent! Keep up the good effort and congrats on loosing 54lbs! That's a great accomplishment! 

[triangleforge]

Oh and I am down to 148 now =) My high was 202 =(

Great work!!!

I went for a short run Monday night for the first time since, well, the last time I overcame my revulsion of running because I didn't want to suck that badly at that part of cyclocross racing. Probably five-ish years. It felt generally good while I was doing it, but pretty creaky and sore the yesterday morning.

The reason this time around was that Ann-Marie and a number of our friends want to do the "Couch Potato to 5K" program & I really enjoy their company, especially hers.  Unfortunately, after a little bit of experimenting, it looks like the foot surgery she had last winter is going to pretty much rule out running of any sort for her, so that means less time on foot and more time on the bike for us. I'm trying not to take the news too hard.

And to be honest, it's only running on the road that drives me nuts -- trail running can be pretty entertaining and we've got some decent trail loops that start just a block from our house.

[ROBsS4R]

You know I was thinking of picking up rowing.

The elyptical in the gym is getting really boreing for me.

[Monster Dave]

You know I was thinking of picking up rowing.

The elyptical in the gym is getting really boreing for me.

Its actually really great exercise for arms, core, back shoulders, legs....from head to toe. 

[Popeye the Sailor]

Its actually really great exercise for arms, core, back shoulders, legs....from head to toe. 

It's also a million times more satisfying in a real live proper rowing boat.

[DarkMonster620]

Ouch! I'm sorry to hear that you got hurt - that sucks. I can only imagine what that must have felt like. I hope that you heal well.

Hell yeah it did...

But, we 'superheroes' heal fast....so actually I've been at work since Monday/....this weekend, fork swap...yipppie

[cokey]

Speed doesn't suffer much at all..  I haven't started counting calories or checking heart rate..  

[somegirl]

Oh and I am down to 148 now =) My high was 202 =(

Awesome!

Speed doesn't suffer much at all..  I haven't started counting calories or checking heart rate.. 

I don't bother with those either...it would suck all the fun out of cycling for me.

[Monster Dave]

I don't bother with those either...it would suck all the fun out of cycling for me.

My two cents for what it's worth:

If you don't have something in place to gauge your output effort, how are you defining your fitness zone and accurately measuring your progress?

It's one thing to get on and go for 20, 30, or 45 minutes, but during that time if you aren't actively tracking your output effort, how will you define physiological progress other than saying "last time I only went 20 minutes and this time I went 30 so I must be doing better".

Really, that's not a precisely accurate assessment since variables like speed, resistance, and time all vary to some degree with each of your workouts.

To try and rope in a more focused assessment, you might try and consider cadence pedal strokes (the number of times one knee comes up) and see how long you can hold a cadence of 80-90 for example. Here's how it works:

1) Set your watch for one minute and count the number of times you turn the pedals over.

2) Make sure you count at the same point in the pedal stroke every time. For example, if you start the count when the right foot is at the bottom of the pedal stroke then continue to count it when it reaches that point for each pedal stroke.

3) Stop counting at the minute mark. This is your cadence.

At the same time select a level of resistance that you feel is challenging but that you are able to can maintain for the same amount of time.

Cadence will vary depending on the level of resistance that you have/gearing. So don't expect to maintain the cadence of a flat road when you are on a climb. This also brings up a good point regarding gearing. To get the most out of your workout, I'd suggest that you really focus on your gearing if you're on a trainer. Finding the right cadence for each gear is really important.

If you're not going to track distance, heart rate, or calories burned, at least give this a try so that you can follow your progress based on some defined components.

[Statler]

or.........you could just excersise daily in a way that's fun for you and like that your clothes fit better and you can still drink.   

[Monster Dave]

Well.....I suppose there is always that option....