been riding 6 weeks

scottystar said:

hi guys,

bought a mountain bike about 6 weeks ago, have been riding about 8-10 miles a day 3-4 times a week, some hills but mostly flats, i try to pedal all the time when on the flats so im exercising 99% of the time, and although i can tackle those hills without too much bother after this week, im a little concerned about the next level its hard to ride in the evening because i work long hours and the nights are drawing in, should i ride further but stick to 3-4 rides a week or ride the same distance but maybe 6 nights a week? i primiraly started riding to lose weight cant see no differnence just feel a little fitter........

also i need advice on what lights to buy for evneing riding i.e i want some bright lights are led ones bright? if so a minimum amount of leds to look for?

hope all this makes sense

thanks
scott

First off, don't get discouraged... keep riding as much as you can! Think long term.

Weight loss is a simple formula, but more difficult in practice.... burn more calories than you take in. I tend to drop weight faster if I ride in the early morning. Some thoughts:

1. more riding = burn more calories. So riding 6 days will burn more calories, just have at least one easy day.

2. higher intensity = burn more calories. Try increasing the intensity of your rides if you can't lengthen them. Try not to stay in your "anaerobic zone" all the time, but try keeping just under it.

3. Long rides on the weekends. I save my longer rides (over 1.5 hours) for the weekends. These tend to really get my "fat burning" metabolizm going.

4. Forget #1 and #2 if it makes riding no fun! The most important thing is that you enjoy riding, it shouldn't be a chore.

Good luck!

scottystar said:

hi guys,

bought a mountain bike about 6 weeks ago, have been riding about 8-10 miles a day 3-4 times a week, some hills but mostly flats, i try to pedal all the time when on the flats so im exercising 99% of the time, and although i can tackle those hills without too much bother after this week, im a little concerned about the next level its hard to ride in the evening because i work long hours and the nights are drawing in, should i ride further but stick to 3-4 rides a week or ride the same distance but maybe 6 nights a week? i primiraly started riding to lose weight cant see no differnence just feel a little fitter........

also i need advice on what lights to buy for evneing riding i.e i want some bright lights are led ones bright? if so a minimum amount of leds to look for?

hope all this makes sense

thanks
scott

I will comment on the weight question. You will need to adjust your diet as well as exercising to increase your metabolism to see weight losses.
You must burn more than you consume.
Sometimes it take a while to get the "pump primed' so to speak. It's a life style change rather than a training program that will work.

jhuskey said:

I will comment on the weight question. You will need to adjust your diet as well as exercising to increase your metabolism to see weight losses.
You must burn more than you consume.
Sometimes it take a while to get the "pump primed' so to speak. It's a life style change rather than a training program that will work.

thanks for the answers guys,

i understand the burn more than consume to lose weight and im not expecting miracles, considering before i started riding i had little or no exercise just doing my job, ive dieting and it mae very little difference so i thought id try it the other way round, i know its early days and the most important thing is that i really look forward to the ride at the end of the day and enjoy the freedom while im out riding, i think ill try extending my riding time/distance in the evenings and ride further maybe 25 miles at the weekend unfortunately morning riding is totally out of the questions have to be at work at 7am and its half hour drive, so any ideas on the lights question, if i dont get a set soon i wont be able to ride after work either :-(

thanks again
scott

Longer distances on weekends, or start looking for steeper hills. If you can easily ride 10 miles, try 20 on a Saturday. The first time, that last 5 will be interesting. When 20 gets easy, try 30. Or try 15 with more hills to climb. These days, I mix it up between 50-60 miles on rolling hills on Saturday, and 15-20 with a couple of brutal hillclimbs on Sunday.

I got back into cycling to combat weight gain from quitting smoking. After a few months, I felt great but wasn't any lighter. It's a lifestyle change, not just riding. Cut down on food intake in general, but cram in some carbs before riding so you don't bonk. I have since knocked off around 15 pounds, so I can climb hills better.