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How Out-Of-Shape Were You When You Started Cycling?

83K views 368 replies 201 participants last post by  uberculture 
#1 · (Edited)
The thought: As I anticipated getting my first bicycle in several decades at age 49, I figured I'd start out slowly...like making an 11-mile circuit on the local country roads around my home, here in the rolling hills of Kentucky.

The reality: Riding the first time from my front gate to my rear fence (about 1200') with a good deal of it being a good up-hill grade, I had to stop after about 200' and was huffing and puffing like crazy. Had to stop 2 more times before I made it the entire 1200'. When I came in the house, I was huffing and puffing for an hour!

Fast-forward about 2 weeks of doing that routine....I still have to make two stops...but don't huff and puff nearly as bad, and am breathing normally when I get in the house.

My goal is to be able to do that ride without stopping to rest...then I will venture to ride a little on the street (Like the 3/10ths of a mile to the church just down the road). Maybe by spring I'll be able to do the 11 mile circuit?

I am pathetic! Wow! I wanted a bike largely so that I'd get some much needed aerobic exercise....I'd say I should have gotten it a few years ago. Was anyone else this pathetic? (Granted, if I were still in relatively flat Long Island and NYC, I'd probably be able to ride at least a few miles....)
 
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#295 ·
I've been eating healthier and exercising for 6 months before I ever considered getting a bike. I remember the first time I got on the elliptical in the gym I could only last 5 minutes. I can now easily go an hour. I'm 42 and have lost 44 lbs. My goal is to lose 26 more. I'm a 5'3 small boned woman.

I'm now shopping for my first "real" bike. Finally feel like I'm in shape enough to ride one on a regular basis and hope to join the local cycling club for the social connections. Couldn't decide between MTB and Road, but in the end I think I'd get more exercise and ride a road bike more often. Eventually I'd like a MTB for when we go to the state parks.
 
#296 ·
I'm guessing I'm gonna be in good shape when I start riding considering my job being that I work for a tree removal company and have to lift and move logs anywhere up to 500 pound or more sometimes out in this summer heat. So with that I think I should be in good shape to ride in the heat as well.
 
#298 ·
I haven't taken a elevator in years, the last time I took an elevator was at the BuenaVenture Hotel in Los Angeles CA, or the Lloyds of London elevator in London, or the Gateway Arch elevator in St Louis, but those are cool rides (there are others that may even be more fun but those are the ones I had to ride and I was near. I away's take the stairs even if it's a 12 story hike, not sure if I would do that today if I needed to go up 15 stories or more due to knee issues; but where I live today to climb the small 3 to 10 story buildings around here it's not a problem.
 
#299 ·
Currently 27y/o, 5'9" 210lbs. A few years back I weighted 245lbs and started working out. Got down to 175lbs and just stopped and got lazy again but leveled back to 210lbs for the past two years. I seriously want to get down to 165/170lbs in 12 months and stay that way for good! I'm hoping to stick with cycling for a long time and have this help me regulate my weight.

I've just started about a month and a half a ago. Riding along the river bed at 8mph made me feel like puking! Now about 7 weeks in, I'm averaging 20mph's on 5mi stretches at a time :)
 
#300 ·
I am pretty active, I go to the gym 3-4 times a week. I weight lift and run on alternate days, but my first week of bike riding left me sore for a while. I learned the biking involves a different set of muscles I do not use. Overall I'm excited about my new hobby.
 
#301 ·
started mtb'n back in 2011 nov weighed in at 312 5'11" and 39yo. I started riding trails in the woods and would have to stop after a mile or so. I lost some weight down to 260lbs. and have ridden 20mile mtb loops. and ride several 10mile loops per week. Kinda slowed down on the mtb riding as the bugs seem to be really bad. Just bought my first road bike and after 5 rides i seem to really like road riding as its less impact and less bugs this time of the year. just finished my second 21mile ride and felt as if I had more to go. Im gonna focus on my diet and keep up with riding and hopefully get down to 200lb mark.
 
#302 ·
I was on a fast track to an early death. I was very active as a kid and was ALWAYS out on my bike, playing basketball, baseball, etc. I just turned 36 and the smoking, horrible diet and lack of exercise were catching up to me. I'm a locomotive engineer so I'm on call 24/7 with irregular sleep and eating habits. I'm at work just about every day and sit for 10 to 12 hours at a time. The time to become active again was long overdue. Frankly, going to a gym bores me to death and I never end up sticking to a workout plan. Since I bought my bike I've quit smoking and am eating much better. I feel like a brand new man and I absolutely love it! I was completely exhausted after only one mile just after I bought my bike but as my lung capacity has improved tremendously, I rode 19 miles a few nights ago. Thank goodness I took the initiative to start cycling. I'm obsessed now!!!
 
#303 ·
Just started riding this April on my mountain bike. My first ride of the year I puked about 3 miles into the ride. Despite giving my lunch back to the trail I had a great time. I kept riding, bought a road bike, and then road some more. Yesterday I managed to do 25 miles at 19mph.
 
#304 ·
Bummer

This is easily one of the most inspiring threads in this place. It's about people turning their lives around. Not bragging or arguing politics. And, the author of this thread is banned. Taunted into responding, then kicked for simply voicing an opinion. No profanity. No personal attacks.

Way to go Mods.

Totally chicken shiatt behavior.

Way to lead by example.

Thanks much, and enjoy your little fishbowl of same minded people.

Hope you don't lose any advertisement or $$$.
 
#305 ·
This is easily one of the most inspiring threads in this place. It's about people turning their lives around. Not bragging or arguing politics. And, the author of this thread is banned. Taunted into responding, then kicked for simply voicing an opinion. No profanity. No personal attacks.

Way to go Mods.

Totally chicken shiatt behavior.

Way to lead by example.

Thanks much, and enjoy your little fishbowl of same minded people.

Hope you don't lose any advertisement or $$$.

What the hell happened? I went back and read all of Solitaryriders post's and saw nothing from him or others suggesting even remotely a problem existed. The mods must have deleted all the posts that were "negative" from him and the other person. He was a nice guy, whatever the problem was I hope he's stays on his course of diet and exercise, and not let some forum mod fry him mentally and stop him from reaching his goals.

I hope you don't get kicked off for saying what you said.

If a person gets kicked off can they still be PM'd?
 
#307 ·
15 months later

Maintained great after being a collegiate athlete, couldnt imagine not being healthy. At 30 yrs old (14 years ago) I hit the gym liftting almost every single day on lunch, plus "shock" crazy training after work / weekends. Plus cardio.

At 28 , I ran 12 miles Of slough creek trail, over the pass, in Yellowstone with a loaded Omega Chilkoot pack in leather hiking boots. I also had a case of beer in the pack. Aerated about 9.5 min/ mile.

When i met my wife-to-be, i wouldnt go out to eat with her unless we hit the gym together first. Then I got a job traveling, selling, entertaining, plus lots of windshield time on the other side of the country. My healthy lifestyle crashed around me, and I ballooned up to 239 lbs. (I'm 5-9). Ouch. I was disgusted with myself, avoided contact with folks that never knew me other than very fit.

2008-2010 I started out each spring running hard, hurting myself , pulling stuff, tearing stuff, and rehabing with little result. 2011, still flirting with 240 lbs.

April of last year (2011), I tore my calf badly running up a hill. I was so disheartened, but said ' not this time'. I came home, dusted off an old 1990 Nishiki Manitoba rigid MTB with original tubes/ tires, everything. It wouldn't shift. I rode half a mile to the local MUT, and rode about 7 miles. Road bikes flew by, and I was jealous. I told myself that if I would ride 4 times a week, I'd upgrade. I rode more and knew I'd found something that worked. And I loved cycling.

I sold a drift boat and bought a bike that I knew I'd love to ride. I started using the ' lose it' app on my iPhone to track calories and exercise. First ride on my bike, I rode 30 miles, which was actually the same five miles N & S of trail access repeatedly. My back killed, my legs hurt, my hands were numb, and I couldn't wait to get back on bike. I struggled to average 15 mph the first week on zero grade MUT.

I put 1900 miles on my bike last year, lost over 45 lbs, and kept it off. Started doing hills, intervals, group rides, end of last season.

Had a nasty crash that separated my shoulder and broke clavicle in June. Been back on bike for three weeks since crash, and riding with A Group.

Cycling has changed my life in so many ways that go far beyond losing weight.
 
#309 · (Edited)
I am 170 cms tall about 5'7
tried everything from the gym, all the low fat stuff, forcing myself to run.
Jan 2011 - 120kg - 265 pounds
March 2011 purchased a mountain bike and rode once a week - 118kg - 260 pounds
... ... didn't weight myself for a long time
August 2011 first 50km mountain bike event 105 kg - 230 pounds
November 2011 purchased my road bike I was mountain biking saturday and sunday and wanted to train on the road bike 98kg - 216 pounds
Feb 2012 weekend mountain biking and 2 x 50km road biking during the week 95 kg - 210 pounds
Aug 2012 weekend mountain biking and 3 x 60km road biking during the week 90 kg - 198 pounds
to give you guys an idea of how crazy my weight was
Jan 2011 weist size 40
Aug 2011 weist size 38
Feb 2012 weist size 34
now (in between of 32 and 34)

I am touching below 90kg / 198 pounds so I rewarded myself with a Scott Foil with SRAM RED.

I aim to be in the low 80kgs 175 pounds by the end of the year.

Not once did I consider what I ate. I just stopped junk foods, and planned my meals prior to rides and leading up to races.

It's the only sport where I can eat whatever I want provided i don't eat junk food
I haven't eaten McDonalds ....etc for a year and a half (except maybe a coupleof sundaes)

By the way if I get to 75 kg or high 70s I plan on rewarding myself with some Zipps or HEDs and a carbon dual sus 29er (new giant trance x29er on the low end of the budget or a santa cruz big mama)

and to step up this weight loss I am looking around for a package that includes introduction / training and rental of a track bike / track riding
 
#312 ·
I'm just starting again. Never really rode a nice bike or anything before, but I use to be able to go across town when I was younger like it was no problem. But I'm only 26. With that said I rode to the gas station the other day and there's a very small hill on the way back. If you were in shape it would be very small.

When I got back I laid down out of breath and woke up at 6:45 am. I got back at 5:30 or 6 pm. It's maybe 3/4 a mile ride. Pretty bad. But I've been that way with running before. Thing is I don't like running so I don't wanna do that. Biking is fun though. Not to mention some guy was making just as good time as me the other day when I was driving and he didn't have to pay for gas.
 
#313 ·
Just finished ride #3 after about an 18 yr hiatus. 37 now. Got hooked in '84 due to Alexi Grewal's road race win and unhooked due to college and beer.

Outwardly, I don't look to be in terrible shape. 5'10" and 176lbs. But no exercise and drinking beers about nightly, so knew my insides probably not so good. Had the itch to start again for several years, but the health reasons and wanting to give myself the best chance to be around for my kids as long as possible are what finally got me back.

Ride #1 30min, 6mi
Ride #2 60min, 14mi
Ride #3 55min, 12mi

All relatively painful, but feels good to be back : )
 
#314 ·
I was 200# at the start of the year.. im 200# now... i only ride 10 miles 4-5 times a week.. im trying to get that higher though. My main problem is i like food too much and hate working out.. so if i can hang at 200 and still enjoy life, that makes me happy.

P.S. even without losing weight though i feel SOOOO much better after i ride, if i miss 2 days i feel like a slug
 
#315 ·
I bought my shiny new bike last week and I weighed 283 lbs. I accredit the weight gain due to taking sympathetic pregnancy eating to the next level with the wife having two kids. And, becoming a WoW player for the last 5 years.

The moment I realized that I am getting snug on the size 42 pants.... was the day I said "Im going to buy a bike!" Its only been a week and no amazing stories but Ive at least hit 100+ miles since the purchase of my ride! So, Im happy to read/hear that there is a lot of hope in the side effect of weight loss!
 
#318 ·
I posted in this thread a few months ago when I first bought my new bike, and here I am again.

To be honest, I think I am sitll nearly as out of shape as I was when I started. I don't get to ride nearly as much as I want. I have been pulling off 50k rides most weekends, but my weight has stayed the same, about 25-30lbs more than I'd like it to be.

Keep on spinning, I guess.
 
#319 ·
Under no circumstances give up!! This is fight, a fight for your life, a fight for the quality of life, you don't give up, you will win, but it will take time as anything does, and a few months is not a long time, your body is still trying to ramp up it's metabolism.

Hopefully your following a diet program. Typically you need to be losing about 2 pounds a week, if your not then your calorie intake needs to be reduced by about 100, recheck again for a week then readjust by another 100, and repeat till you get the desired results. DON'T LOSE MORE THEN 2 POUNDS A WEEK. Keep it adjusted to between 1 to 2 pounds. Sometimes this will vary depending on the amount of riding or other physical stuff you're doing.

You also should be considering doing a training schedule for riding so you stay on a schedule that slowly increases mileages per day and per week. If you level off your miles and ride 31 miles on a weekend all the time the body gets use to that and will flat line.

Here is one such schedule: http://www.cyclewyoming.org/training.htm

Word from the wise about these schedules...if you're going to follow this then do so EXACTLY as it's laid out, don't just jump into it and alter it, it's design with the very principles that the human body learns and adapts while minimizing injury. I would start at week 1 even though you ride more just to get into the flow of it, this will allow you to do some interval training as well which will ramp up your body faster then just riding.

Here is how to do intervals: http://www.bicycling.com/training-n...ss/quick-cycling-workouts-power-and-endurance

Fit these intervals into your schedule I gave you. Don't forget to check your resting 1 minute pulse rate when you wake up in the morning, first time check after a day off to get your idea pulse rate, then when your doing intervals that next morning your pulse rate should be a tad higher then normal, this indicates that you need to have a slower paced ride that day, then the following morning your pulse will drop again then go and do intervals that day. You can do this without buying a heart rate monitor, I don't own one and never have because I know how to adjust stuff since I was raised in racing in an era without such devices, but if you want one it's a good idea.

See this for more on heart rate: http://www.marathonguide.com/training/articles/HeartMonitorTraining.cfm

You can do this, just have to keep doing it. Turn it into fun to, don't ride the same path or road, take in the sights, ride to different towns or lakes or rivers etc. I like to go places I've never been to, sometimes I get lost but for me that's just part of the adventure!! Make it fun.
 
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#320 ·
Pathetic? What makes you say that? Maybe you need to change what you say. What you say with your lips becomes self-fulfilling prophecy. So change what you say to something more positive. Your not pathetic, in fact you're one of the few in America who at least goes out and exercises! Only 2 out of 10 Americans do any sort of exercising, you're one of just two!!! That's not pathetic. Now go look in a mirror and see yourself differently.
 
#321 ·
How many days a week are you riding? If it's only the one ride per week, I can well imagine you're not seeing a lot of progress!

By the same token, not all pounds are the same when it comes to fitness. If you are doing shorter rides three times a week, and one of 50k on the weekend, your fitness will improve, even if the numbers on the scale don't change much. To lose weight, you will have to take a look at your food intake, both the volumes and the contents thereof.
 
#322 · (Edited)
Hi all - Long time lurker (3 months), first time poster. I figured this thread would be good as any to lose my RBR virginity on; considering I got into cycling because I felt disgusted with myself and couldn't believe how out-of-shape I had become:

Growing up, I was always pretty athletic (basketball, tennis, baseball). Around 5'11'', 170-75 lbs. Never struggled too much with my weight. Played collegiate basketball. Graduated. Law school. Graduated.

You know the drill...stopped working out as much because life got in the way, and then 6 years removed from college I realized I had slowly ballooned up 30 pounds. During the time since graduating, I had always tried to keep the weight off, half-heartedly doing a diet here or there, ran for a few months here or there (would typically lose 5-10 lbs and then put it right back on). Tipping the scale at over 205 lbs was tough. I know many have much better weight gains on here, but for me, given my lifestyle previously, that was a hard fall. I reached my low point December 2011, when none of my suits fit anymore, and I ended up buying a 44R jacket and 40W pants. Yeah, my wife loved me "no matter how I looked," but I was completely disgusted with myself. I decided then and there that enough was enough.

New Year's Resolution on January 1, 2012: I gave myself 1 year to get healthy.

No, I didn't give myself a goal weight (even though I thought it'd hopefully be around 165-170ish). No, I didn't say I was going to lose x amount of weight in y amount of days. I knew it was going to be a long road back, and I figured 12 months would be a healthy timeline to not go nuts over some crazed diet, but to change my lifestyle and eating habits.

I started on our treadmill, trying to run around 3-4 days a week. Couldn't even go a mile without stopping (and 5 years ago I ran a number of 5k's <20 min no problem). That was a real eye-opener. But I kept with it. Every meal I ate, I would cut the meal in half when I got it, and would wait a minimum of 10 min after eating the first half. The majority of time, I'd be full after waiting the 10 min.

In April, I didn't keep up the running as much, because frankly, I was getting sick of it, and I kept getting shinsplints. So I picked up tennis again, and would run 1-2 days a week. By this time, I had lost about 10-12 lbs and had been keeping it off pretty well. But 10 lbs over 4 months wasn't anything earth-shattering.

Fast-forward to June; I said to myself, "Road biking has always looked really fun, and it'd be a good workout" (I live in a western suburb of Minneapolis, and the amount of roadies around here is mind-numbing; I believe I heard something like we have the highest amount of road bikers per capita of any state in the country?).

So I hopped on Craigslist, and picked up a 2011 Trek 2.3 for $1,100 w/shoes that I believed to by my size after a few weeks of research (54cm, since I only have a 30.5 inseam).

I went to my LBS, bought a jersey, helmet, gloves, shorts, bag, tire tools, etc. Set me back $750. At that point, I said, "no going back now!"

Hop on the bike the next day and go 20 miles; that was it. I fell in love HARD.

Since that day in late June, I've logged just over 1,000 miles over the past 3 months (around 4 rides per week), and am so addicted to riding that I think about it almost all day and night (along with stalking this website for info). I've gotten respectable enough I think; as my typical ride is 30-35 miles averaging ~18.6-19.1 mph with around 800-900 ft in elevation gain (we don't have any extended hills around the lakes that I ride, but there are a number of pretty decent 1/2 to 1 mile inclines). I'll hit up weekend rides of 40-50 miles. I'm a really competitive person, so I do like seeing bikers in kit gear up ahead and working to blow by them.

Again, since I'm not weighing myself, I can't say for sure how much weight I've lost, but I know many co-workers & friends say it looks like I've lost 15-20 lbs easy. I now fit into clothes I haven't worn since college (I'm now a 40R top and 34ish waist).

Best part of it all; I love being able to take hills that 3 months ago would've brutalized my legs; standing out of the saddle at 13-14 mph and sucking air the whole time, to now being able to sit in the saddle all the way averaging 19-20 mph up the hill while hitting KOM's against others on MapMyRide (I know Strava is where the serious guys role, but I'll stick with MMR a tad bit longer because I need the self-esteem boost:)

So short story long, cycling has definitely changed my life. My only worry now is being in MN, with the weather getting cold, that I fear riding a trainer (looking at the Kurt Kinetic?) will bore me to tears after the scenery I get to see around our many lakes on my typical routes.

P.S. I'm already on the hunt for a new ride (I need to get fitted to make sure I'm buying the right size between the 54/56cm), and targeting the Cervelo R3, even though I've never been on one. Also looking at the mid-level Madone's and Orbea Orca's. Anything else I should be looking at?

Sorry for the rambling message, but I just thought I'd get my intro out there as well. This site is easily the best cycling website on the web, and I'm glad to be part of it!
 
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