I am OUT OF SHAPE!!!
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ra0828
Posts: 5
Just got my bike road ready again after having it sit for over 6 months. Being out on the road in the truck and then being sick with heart complications, I couldn't ride like I did. Decided to get back on it and figured I would pick up where I left off...not losing too much of what I had accomplished (15 mile PR). Took the bike out after pumping the tires (finally got a pump) from the flats that they were. I didnt wear my clipless shoes, no gloves, only a helmet and my walking shoes. Figured I would just ride around the block to get a feel for the bike again, and then maybe do 5 miles or so.
Hmmmph! I didnt make it all the way around the block and I was blowing up. Breathing was hard. Legs were burning like fire, and I was getting worried that I might not make it back up the hill (very tiny small bump of a hill that is my driveway) to the house. I MADE myself not stop that bike as I climbed that hill and thought I was going to pass out when I stepped off of the bike. LOL.
I sat in the chair under my carport and tried to keep my eyeballs from falling out of my skull as they were pumping with every beat of my heart. My chest was on fire! My heart was beating HARD. It got a little scary for a few minutes. I made it up the steps into the house and sat in front of the fan thinking just how miserable I was at that precise moment. I was also, at that precise moment, looking forward to tomorrow and doing it all over again!
It really did surprise me just how out of shape I had gotten! I knew I had gained back the weight that I had lost, and am now at a personal high weight of 294, but I didn't expect to have lost THAT much of what I had gained.
I guess the time for hard work has come upon me again! :happy:
Hmmmph! I didnt make it all the way around the block and I was blowing up. Breathing was hard. Legs were burning like fire, and I was getting worried that I might not make it back up the hill (very tiny small bump of a hill that is my driveway) to the house. I MADE myself not stop that bike as I climbed that hill and thought I was going to pass out when I stepped off of the bike. LOL.
I sat in the chair under my carport and tried to keep my eyeballs from falling out of my skull as they were pumping with every beat of my heart. My chest was on fire! My heart was beating HARD. It got a little scary for a few minutes. I made it up the steps into the house and sat in front of the fan thinking just how miserable I was at that precise moment. I was also, at that precise moment, looking forward to tomorrow and doing it all over again!
It really did surprise me just how out of shape I had gotten! I knew I had gained back the weight that I had lost, and am now at a personal high weight of 294, but I didn't expect to have lost THAT much of what I had gained.
I guess the time for hard work has come upon me again! :happy:
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Replies
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For you a number of rules need to apply:
Rule 4 - it's all about the bike
Rule 10 - it never get easier, you just get faster
Rule 68 - Rides are measured by quality, not quantity
And the most important rule of all
NUMBER 5 - HTFU
Enjoy the rides and make the most of time spent on the bike.0 -
If you have heart trouble, you might want to visit with your doctor to determine your exercise program and diet. Also, USE AN EASY GEAR, no point putting yourself at risk.
I saw a very interesting documentary on Hulu called Forks over Knives - all about changing your diet to reverse heart disease and other diseases - well worth watching a couple of times.
http://www.hulu.com/watch/279734
also another video about reversing heart disease
http://www.hulu.com/watch/1725580 -
Please visit your doctor and get checked out before undertaking (no pun intended) any exercises programs.0
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Make sure you are cleared by your Dr to resume exercising. When you are cleared, stay in a lower gear and just spin. Enjoy the ride.0
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When I started up riding again last year after a long enforced lay-off due to a knee injury, I was 397lb and a complete mess. I went to the Doctor, told him that I really wanted to get back into shape, and got a full medical work-up done. After all the results, he said I was fine to start exercising gently, PROVIDED I bought a Heart Rate Monitor, and didn't push myself any harder than XXXbpm (I've not actually quoted the figures, as there's always going to be someone who'll take that figure as gospel, use it, and die - or, as it's MFP, someone who'll say "that was complete rubbish as a number" - suffice to say, it was a figure that the doctor established as a safe figure for me, whilst measuring my HR during a treadmill ramp test - and was perfect for me) The BPM figure was actually remarkably low - it pretty much equated to exercising at a speed/intensity that you could sing along to your favourite track on the iPod whilst riding on the stationary bike...
After 2 months of this, I found that the speed I could hold whilst remaining at the HR threshold had gone from 10mph to 14mph (on a stationary bike) and that I could manage up to a hour of this before becoming either too tired to continue or having to work too hard to hold the speed. This again was a great improvement from the original 15 minutes. At this point, I again checked with the Dr. and was told "fine - ride out on the road if you want - but keep to the HR". Well - I was back to square one - 20 minute ride outside, and had to walk up half the hills... but within another month, I was used to it again, and gradually improving.
All this time, I was also using MFP to track my food intake, and the exercise from the HR system. The weight was coming off, a little quicker than the 2lb a week MFP was expecting, though that was down to the exercise.
Fast forward to now. 13 months on, I'm 144lb lighter, ride around 30 miles a day 5-6 days a week, my average speed on the road is getting towards 15mph, and I can't remember the last time I had to walk up a hill. Top and bottom of it, it's a long journey, and one I'm still a good 40lb away from being satisfied with, but I reckon what the hell - it took me 48 years to get this fat, what if it takes me 2 more to get thin again!
It's not easy, it takes a bit of application, and a lot of patience, and an awful lot of bloody-mindedness and (dare I say it) selfishness to just say "I'm going to do this, and anything that gets in my way, will have to move, or I'll ride over it!" :laugh:0 -
dr cleared me before i ever got on the bike. im good to go!0
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dr cleared me before i ever got on the bike. im good to go!
Then go for it mate - best thing I ever did...
from
to
in just over a year... got to be worth a shot
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dr cleared me before i ever got on the bike. im good to go!
Then go for it mate - best thing I ever did...
from
to
in just over a year... got to be worth a shot
Amazing transformation!0 -
Amazing transformation!
Still managed to retain the comedy facial hair and windswept and interesting coiffure though
Just got rid of most of the chins really. 0 -
Do it like the Yin did, with your doctor's blessings of course. You can do this too. Although not as dramatic as the Yin, I had a similar transformation. Started cycling again in Feb 2012, began cutting calories and eating right in March 2012, lost 65 lbs going from 310 to 245lbs. Now I ride 20 to 60 miles per ride, probably 6 days a week most weeks. I just rode my first road race (30 miles) and loved it. I was very pleased with my performance and the adrenaline rush was awesome. Mostly, I feel good that I have been able to improve my fitness, my appearance, my overall feeling of well being, and having renewed a passion for cycling. Good stuff. Keep it up. Take baby steps but take slightly bigger when you can!0
