Cycling Excercise?

Hi,

Would love to know exactly what is and isn't exercised when you cycle.

I am managing 70 miles on every Saturday, and another 30 min throughout the rest of the week.

This all started as I started to get a bit of a "beer belly" around Christmas time, and I don't
want it Am I going to be given my stomach exercise when cycling? What about upper body? I
presume not...

Thanks,

Gary.

 

Gary wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Would love to know exactly what is and isn't exercised when you cycle.
>
> I am managing 70 miles on every Saturday, and another 30 min throughout the rest of the week.
>
> This all started as I started to get a bit of a "beer belly" around Christmas time, and I don't
> want it

You are in need of moving to the darkside. The shape you are developing is aerodynamically perfect.

You have no choice. Your body is telling you.

John B

 

"Gary" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> Would love to know exactly what is and isn't exercised when you cycle.
>
> I am managing 70 miles on every Saturday, and another 30 min throughout
the
> rest of the week.
>
> This all started as I started to get a bit of a "beer belly" around Christmas time, and I don't
> want it Am I going to be given my stomach exercise when cycling? What about upper body? I
> presume not...
>
> Thanks,
>
> Gary.
>
>
>
Hi Gary, I'm not a 100% sure about which parts are / aren't exercised but.... I recently road cycled
John O' Groats to Land End <yawn ;-) > in 10 days. Approx 100 miles per day for 9 days, then 20 on
10th. By the end of it, my stomach was flatter than it had been since my late teens and I lost half
a stone. I'm 42 now. So, it definitely has an effect. However, I had been road cycling at least 50
miles once a week, also running, swimming and rock climbing, each week, throughout winter, from
approx last September and although there'd been a certain amount of toning up generally, there was
nothing as marked as that detailed above. I also believe that 'proper' mountain biking, i.e through
singletrack / downhill courses, acts as a good all round exercise, more so than road cycling because
of the need to control the machine over (sometimes) very difficult terrain. I think the release of
various 'fight or flight' chemicals in the body also helps with the metabolic rate and fat burning.
Most important is not to get dissillusioned with it. Accept the fact that it will take time. Take a
yearly view on it, stick with it, enjoy it and good luck. Any exercise is better than none, taken at
the right pace. I think swimming is excellent as an upper body exercise. Cheers, Dave.

I am not a doctor ;-)

 

John B wrote:

> You are in need of moving to the darkside. The shape you are developing is aerodynamically
> perfect.
>
> You have no choice. Your body is telling you.

Or... flatten that belly *and* move to the Dark Side. Check out http://www.rowingbike.com/

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email protected]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

Gary <[email protected]> wrote:
: This all started as I started to get a bit of a "beer belly" around Christmas time, and I don't
: want it Am I going to be given my stomach exercise when cycling? What about upper body? I
: presume not...

Stomach? No, but you will be burning fat which will get rid of the beer belly.

If you just want to lose the beer belly, cycling will do it fine (just remember not to eat any more
than normal!).

If you want a 6-pack, then you'll have to do lots of crunches.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune http://www.clune.org Power is delightful. Absolute power is absolutely delightful -
Lord Lester

 

On 9 May 2003 10:35:34 GMT, Arthur Clune scrawled: ) Gary <[email protected]> wrote:
) : This all started as I started to get a bit of a "beer belly" around ) : Christmas time, and I
don't want it Am I going to be given my stomach ) : exercise when cycling? What about upper
body? I presume not... ) ) Stomach? No, but you will be burning fat which will get rid of the )
beer belly.

In addition, if you keep well-hydrated, then your water retention drops dramatically. This is
another aspect of beer belly/general apparently poor tone.

J-P
--
"I mean, I don't question the depth of their grief, but there's got to be a better way to show it
than with a beanbag frog."

 

In message <[email protected]>, Gary
<[email protected]> writes
>Hi,
>
>Would love to know exactly what is and isn't exercised when you cycle.
>
>I am managing 70 miles on every Saturday, and another 30 min throughout the rest of the week.
>
>This all started as I started to get a bit of a "beer belly" around Christmas time, and I don't
>want it Am I going to be given my stomach exercise when cycling? What about upper body? I
>presume not...

If you can get something like a Round-Rowing bike, I guess you'll trim everything:

http://homepages.compuserve.de/PhotoCD3D/index.htm

Arms, legs, back, and belly, from the look of it.

Are there mechanically-skilled people around who could build such a thing to order?

>
>Thanks,
>
>Gary.
>
>
>

--
Richard Keatinge

http://www.keatinge.net

 

Richard Keatinge wrote:

> If you can get something like a Round-Rowing bike, I guess you'll trim everything:
[...]
> Are there mechanically-skilled people around who could build such a thing to order?

http://www.rowingbike.com/ There's at least one in the UK...

Dave Larrington - http://legslarry.crosswinds.net/
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
http://www.bhpc.org.uk/
===========================================================

 

Arthur Clune wrote:

>If you want a 6-pack, then you'll have to do lots of crunches.

Doesn't a 6-pack refer to beer also?
--
remove remove to reply

 

On Fri, 09 May 2003 08:47:50 GMT, "Gary" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I am managing 70 miles on every Saturday, and another 30 min throughout the rest of the week.
>
>This all started as I started to get a bit of a "beer belly" around Christmas time, and I don't
>want it Am I going to be given my stomach exercise when cycling? What about upper body? I
>presume not...
>
>Thanks,
>
>Gary.
>
>
It's still all about the difference between the calories you use against those you eat. Eat more
than you use and you get fatter.

Alan

 

In news:[email protected], Arthur Clune <[email protected]> typed:
>
> If you want a 6-pack, then you'll have to do lots of crunches.
>

I've settled for a Party Seven and lots of Crunchies ;-)

Tony

--
http://www.raven-family.com

"All truth goes through three steps: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed.
Finally, it is accepted as self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer

 

"Arthur Clune" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Gary <[email protected]> wrote:
> : This all started as I started to get a bit of a "beer belly" around Christmas time, and I don't
> : want it Am I going to be given my stomach exercise when cycling? What about upper body? I
> : presume not...
>
> Stomach? No, but you will be burning fat which will get rid of the beer belly.
>
> If you just want to lose the beer belly, cycling will do it fine (just remember not to eat any
> more than normal!).
>
> If you want a 6-pack, then you'll have to do lots of crunches.

crunches are only half the story...

lay flat on stomach, raise head and shoulders as far off the ground as you can whilst keeping your
knees and ankles on the floor.

3 sets of 5 to begin with, every other day moving to 3 sets of 8 after 1 week and 3 sets of 12 (if
you can manage it) at week three.

standing, make like a star and bend as far as you can to the right, follow reps as set out
above. don't forget the left side, too (it may help early on to keep your arms at your side,
less stress)

standing, raise arms to shoulder height with arms bent in, rotate at the waist first, right, then
left. about 5 mins of this built into your warm up ought to do.

the reason you get a sag in your belly is the decreased distance between your pubis and your
sternum. go on, straighten your spine and arch your back... see the distance between your pubis and
sternum ? now relax into a head down cycling position (or, in my case sitting at a display) and the
distance between the 2 points decreases dramatically... see the sag, feel the bulge.

following the above exercises, regularly, will keep your spine erector muscles taut and your abs and
(forget what side ones are called, can't be bothered to google) stiff and you, consequently, upright
instead of slouched over... you'll walk taller, too.

next reshaping exercise ? the distance between your shoulders...not aerodynamic for cycling but your
shirts fit much better

Albert Fit

 

"Gonzalez" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Arthur Clune wrote:
>
> >If you want a 6-pack, then you'll have to do lots of crunches.
>
> Doesn't a 6-pack refer to beer also?

Yep. A widely used expresion in spite of the fact that in the UK I have never seen a six pack of
beer. (oh ... apart from the "stella stubbies" [*] I bought in France).

Seriously - cycling is poor for the stomach muscles - almost any other exercise is far better for
them. Not that it matters when your muscles are covered in a layer of blubber

[*] Arrrg - I rail against an americanism but use an aussieism - but only in this context.

 

On Sat, 10 May 2003 13:19:43 +0000 (UTC), "W K" <[email protected]> wrote:

>Seriously - cycling is poor for the stomach muscles

But who needs huge stomach muscles ? Most of us already have a decent set, we just have them hidden
under the blubber layer. Cycling is good enough at shifting that.

 

In news:[email protected], Andy Dingley <[email protected]> typed:
>
> But who needs huge stomach muscles ? Most of us already have a decent set, we just have them
> hidden under the blubber layer. Cycling is good enough at shifting that.

You must still be young to say things like that.

Tony ;-)

--
http://www.raven-family.com

"All truth goes through three steps: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed.
Finally, it is accepted as self-evident." Arthur Schopenhauer