Re: 5 more weeks till biking

Roger Zoul said:

dgk wrote:
:: I have made one (1) successful visit to the gym. They have TVs on the
:: NorticTrak things now. Just bring your own headphones. That almost
:: makes it usable. Still a waste of time compared to commuting by bike.
:: The whole idea of moving your feet and ending up in the same spot is
:: a bit odd. So is the concept of swimming back and forth in a pool.
:: You end up the same place that you started! How absurd.

Could it be that your attitude is a bit absurd? Some folks enjoy those
activities (I admit it is hard to really enjoy riding a stationary, but the
potential health benefits are decidedly not absurb.

Yes, that is why I belong to the gym. I just haven't used it much
since I started commuting. I never enjoyed it very much but did manage
to make it fairly regularly. Bike commuting serves the dual purpose of
getting me to work and doing the daily exercise.

Quoted message said:

::
:: My pre-op physical showed an HDL of 61. That is about 20 points
:: higher than when I started bike commuting. Stunning. It lowered my
:: cornonary risk down to below normal from a previous high risk level.
:: That can only be the biking. Only 5 more weeks.

Good. Weight lifting and flax seed can help, too.

No weight lifting for many weeks. I suspect I have a few rounds of
physical therapy before they let me loose on the weights. I could be
wrong about this but I believe that weight lifting is not particularly
good for HDL raising. I think aerobic exercise is recommended.

I never really do free weights; mostly I do the machines They have
replaced all the old machines with a new kind though. Much nicer but
the computer tracking system is gone. I think it was a real problem to
maintain so it looks like we're back to big index cards and
clipboards. Seems like a step backwards.

dgk said:

Roger Zoul said:

dgk wrote:
:: I have made one (1) successful visit to the gym. They have TVs on
:: the NorticTrak things now. Just bring your own headphones. That
:: almost makes it usable. Still a waste of time compared to
:: commuting by bike. The whole idea of moving your feet and ending
:: up in the same spot is
:: a bit odd. So is the concept of swimming back and forth in a pool.
:: You end up the same place that you started! How absurd.

Could it be that your attitude is a bit absurd? Some folks enjoy
those activities (I admit it is hard to really enjoy riding a
stationary, but the potential health benefits are decidedly not
absurb.

Yes, that is why I belong to the gym. I just haven't used it much
since I started commuting. I never enjoyed it very much but did manage
to make it fairly regularly. Bike commuting serves the dual purpose of
getting me to work and doing the daily exercise.

Quoted message said:

::
:: My pre-op physical showed an HDL of 61. That is about 20 points
:: higher than when I started bike commuting. Stunning. It lowered my
:: cornonary risk down to below normal from a previous high risk
:: level. That can only be the biking. Only 5 more weeks.

Good. Weight lifting and flax seed can help, too.

No weight lifting for many weeks. I suspect I have a few rounds of
physical therapy before they let me loose on the weights. I could be
wrong about this but I believe that weight lifting is not particularly
good for HDL raising. I think aerobic exercise is recommended.

You're wrong about that. Both forms of exercise help HDL. I took mine from
44 to 87.

Quoted message said:

I never really do free weights; mostly I do the machines They have
replaced all the old machines with a new kind though. Much nicer but
the computer tracking system is gone. I think it was a real problem to
maintain so it looks like we're back to big index cards and
clipboards. Seems like a step backwards.

Well, machines work too. No excuses now, kiddo!