Cycling - Triathlon - Runner's World

Theflyingbarrell

19/07/2006 at 17:04

im currently trying to lose weight and get fit, when slimmer would like to try a tri. have been told cycling is a great calorie burner and also wanted to make a start towards tri training.
i used to go to a spin class once a week but because of work cant anoymore, i would like to cycle a couple times a week. i have a mountain bike but its a tad small. im a bit worried about riding this out on the roads etc, any ideas on what i could do for training, would it be better to cycle on the gym stationary bikes?

candy ollier

19/07/2006 at 17:10

you could get a turbo trainer - kind of a roller that you fasten to your back wheel. very boring, but good training.

but the best thing will be to get out on the road. you'll need to do that if you ddo a tri!

Theflyingbarrell

19/07/2006 at 17:19

ok thanks ill try to get out on my mtb.

Happychap

19/07/2006 at 18:23

Hi Dan

Make sure you have road tyres rather than the knobbly mountain bike ones.

It will make life so much easier

Happychap

19/07/2006 at 18:24

Oh, and as a rule (albeit very generalised) you can calculate calorie burning at approx 30 per mile

Theflyingbarrell

19/07/2006 at 19:38

thanks happychap, see you on the other thread.

_Kieren

20/07/2006 at 16:12

A fixed gear bike will help you shed the pounds as you'll always be pedalling & never resting / coasting

popsider

20/07/2006 at 16:28

Almost a myth that one, you can ease off the pressure on the cranks and just let your legs spin - I suppose there is some minimal effort involved but effectively you can have a rest just like you can on a geared bike.

SSparky

20/07/2006 at 16:28

If you don't like road riding that much and have a mountain bike, how about finding a local trail / forest or canal path to head out on.

_Kieren

20/07/2006 at 16:35

yeah you can ease up on the effort but as long a teh legs are moving you're not resting. The forward motion of teh bike my give your legs a free ride but those muscles are still contracting & relaxing & clearing away any build up of lactic acid.

I bought one & the weight dropped off

Buney

20/07/2006 at 16:58

that sounds similar to me

just got my MTB out again and have been out on a couple of rides

what sort of sessions should i be doing for fitness /weight loss?

so far ive managed to do a between 75 mins and 2 hours averaging around 9-11mph and covering around 20 miles in the longer sessions -which i imagine is pretty slow !

btw the bike has knobbly tires and i mostly ride on country lanes so its not quite as quick as i used to manage on a road bike a few years ago

im not looking to do longer distances more good general fitness training so im wondering what sort of sessions it would be good to aim for?

YASMR!

21/07/2006 at 10:26

Fitness and weightloss on the bike is similar to running but without the same impact or injury risks. So keep things pretty moderate and the longer you go the more calories you burn. As with running beware going too long without fueling and if you are doing other training then don't skimp on recovery foods as this is just false economy, you'll just pay for it in you're other poor training.

75 min to 2 hrs seems great, just try to do something for an hour nearly every day.

We'd love you to add a comment! Please login or take half a minute to register as a free member