A bit of topic but I would REALLY value your advice.

[Vikki]

Lidl do a cheap HRM for a tenner. I shall get that this evening on the way home.

Here's the ride out for those that are interested. Maybe I will hear the words "Hey, that's not so bad."

Trike from Southsea to the Bat and Ball at Hambledon. by vikki15 at Garmin Connect - Details

1 hour 30 minutes riding time + 45 minutes resting time scattered throughout making 2 hours 15 minutes total.

I am actually worrying too much about this in reality? I don't want to be a speed freak but I'd like to be able to cruise at 13 mph. That's not a bad goal is it?

At the moment my trike journey takes ten minutes more than the electric over 7 miles. That's not too shabby is it? Am I worrying over nothing?

Best regards and thanks you everyone for your contributions.

Vikki (lots of food for thought).

 

[Mussels]

Lidl do a cheap HRM for a tenner. I shall get that this evening on the way home.

Excellent, this thread has me convinced to get one and I happen to ride past Lidl on the way home.

 

[flecc]

Hi Vikki,

Leave the speed and cycle with heart rate of approx 120-145 per min. You then built your endurance and burn most fat.

Thanks for this confirmation Andrew. In that year of intensive cycling to rebuild fitness that I mentioned above, I just went with instinct but did regularly check my heart rate while cycling, showing a consistent rate close to 140 all the time. What you've said accounts for the big increase in continuous ranges I could cycle in hilly country then and my two stone loss in weight. As an aside, my resting heart rate at that time was a low 48 which I did learn was excellent, and both figures not bad at 57 years old at that time. Useful advice, it's good to know the reason behind my accidentally achieving.
.

 

[timidtom]

I'm impressed - there's more common sense in this thread than I've seen for years in 'get fit' articles. Well done all and may the electric wind be ever at your back!
Tom

 

[allen-uk]

Yes indeed to Tom (timidtom) - more sense than testosterone, so a welcome change from normal 'fitness' threads in (I hasten to add) OTHER bike forums.

My angle is this, Vikki: while Flecc is of course right that electric biking ain't a DIRECT route to increased fitness, I think it is a road that does lead to Rome, if you want to get there (sorry about the mix).

I'm old. I'm fat. I'm super-unfit. I have one leg.

On the plus side, I gave up the weed 23 years ago, and the booze 8 years back. And although I've only been on the Wisper for a few weeks, I make sure that each time I go out I attempt 2 or 3 of the worst hills round here, and damn me they ARE getting a smidgeen less hard than they were. And at my weight (120kg, I forgot to mention that), there is NO chance of going up on throttle! If you don't pedal, and pedal hard, you stop dead/fall off in whichever order.

I think getting fitter using an electric bike is like getting fitter by walking rather than pounding a treadmill in a gym. It will just take longer, a lot longer. Determination is more important.

There is a cliché in amputee circles: "Never mind the length of your stump, it's the six inches between your EARS that's important." And the people I know who have overcome this 'disability' are the ones with well-developed powers of determination. (Example: a woman I met 5 years ago had her lower leg messily amputated in Thailand by the Tsunami, and two weeks ago ran a 10K charity race, and regularly cycles 100mile+ charity runs.) When I'm at my lowest, thinking 'it can't be done', I bring Fiona to mind (the Tsunami girl), and think, 'oh yes it can'.

You will achieve whatever you set your mind to.


Allen.

 

[Vikki]

TimidTom: I agree wholeheartedly.

Allen: The thread relates to my trike, not the eleccy

Quite frankly I don't stand a snowflake's chance in hell of getting fit on my Wisper "Ooo, throttle, oooo, me twisty"

Brian was down at Lidl's and informs no HRM left. I went to Halfords as they have them reduced from £30 to £20. Only one left and it was obvious it had been used by the way it was just stuffed back in its box. Went over to Tesco and picked up a spanky new HRM for just under twenty squids. Catching those squids was murder.

Looks good. I reckon the advice to use a heart monitor is a spanking good one. Because I don't know what range my heart is working in. I should say that at no point has it felt stressed to the point of giving me distress. So I guess the ticker is ok.

I'm looking forward to trying it out. I'm also far more interested in dumping the fat so the heart range advice for that has been invaluable.

Thank you for all your input. I knew I'd get some sense from here and I surely have. I'm going to enjoy my trike and not worry too much about it. I'm going to use my HRM to 'put me in the zone'. I'm not going to poop myself out and I'm not going to make it hard to the point were I lose interest. I'm going to take my time and let my fitness improve over time. Sounds like a plan to me.

Thanks everyone.

Vikki.

 

[Mussels]

Excellent, this thread has me convinced to get one and I happen to ride past Lidl on the way home.

Sportypal are introducing a pro version soon, I think I may wait for that as I'll get the features of a premium HRM at a budget price.
SportyPal Pro - Part 1

 

[overlander]

The only thing i will add is maybe not an issue for some people but when i was training hard the last thing i want to do is look at my HRM watch. I chose one that has an alarm function, you set the zone you want to be in, in your case it will be the fat burning/aerobic zone. Now this is different for everyone but you can easily work it out, mine starts about 140 bpm up to about 155 bpm (70-80 max heart rate). Now if i stray out of this zone my watch will alarm and i need to slow up or speed up. You can work all these figures out with online calculators.

I personally use the polar FT80 which is perfect for zone training and even includes cycle fitness programs using polars own software online. Its very expensive so would not recommend it for general use but i was training for a full marathon when i used it earnest. I do plan on using it to help shift the weight when i get the bike but thats only because i have it already.

 

[Pedalo]

I used a heart rate monitor when I dabbled with running a few years ago. It is well worth reading up to get a clear idea of how to get the best results from heart rate monitor training.

I used this book which I would recommend. Most of the content is really targetted at runners but I think a lot of it is also generally applicable.

Heart Monitor Training for the Compleat Idiot: Amazon.co.uk: John L. Parker: Books

The main message and the challenge when training is to keep the heart rate below a certain threshold for the majority of the time which keeps the body in the most useful fat burning zone. This long slow training also has the effect of greatly improving the potential of the body to run faster and for longer during a race.

The trouble I found with the approach was that to keep within the required zone I actually had to reduce my pace to barely above walking level - which is probably about right given my level of fitness at the time. It was boring but after about six months to a year I got to the point where I could happily run for an hour without getting overly tired - beforehand I had only ever run for 10 minutes at a time and would be utterly exhausted.

One thing you should note is that everybody's 'zones' are different. You can get a rough idea with a formula based on your age and whether you're male or female.

To be honest, once I realised that the key was just to run slowly, that's what I did and I didn't really use the HRM. I do like gadgets though and having one to play with was a useful distraction to keep my interest up. Ultimately, life took over and I got married and had kids and turned back into a blubber monster - which I'm now addressing with cycling

I must dig it out again and wear it while cycling - for some reason it never occurred to me!

 

[overlander]

Yes that is a good point, your instinct when wanting to burn fat is to go as hard as you can. it is a really strange sensation when you have to slow up to keep in the zone, it just feels unnatural. I would also like to add that you also need to spend time in the other 2 zones but the time is minimal. I know this sounds hard but once you work the figures out it really is easy. And like Pedalo says after a while you can tell what zone you are in without the watch. I mainly use mine for tracking my progress on the polar fitness program. But i also enjoy the online challenges they are very good motivational tools.

 

[lemmy]

Yes that is a good point, your instinct when wanting to burn fat is to go as hard as you can..

As way of losing weight, exercise does not cut it. The way to lose weight is to eat less. Exercise is a way to keep fit.

One pound of body fat is around 3,500 calories and 12-13mph cycling on average going will burn about 500 cals per hour (at my weight of 72kg). So I need to cycle for 17 hours solid to lose 1kg of fat. Unfortunately, cycling at that level for even a couple of hours (if you can do it) makes you mighty hungry

If I cut out all alcohol and moderate my eating, I lose 1kg per week easily - so I dropped my ungainly 81kg to 72 (I'm only 5'8") in a couple of months. I could never do that by exercise.

Obviously, the best way is to moderate eating and drinking and take a decent amount of exercise as well. One kilo per week is then easily possible for anyone.

And if anyone knows a cheaper way of increasing their e-bike range than becoming a lighter load on it, do let me know

Incidentally, I seem to get more exercise on my e-bike than before 'e' because I use it for more journeys and for much longer distances.

 

[Mussels]

And if anyone knows a cheaper way of increasing their e-bike range than becoming a lighter load on it, do let me know

It'll pay for itself eventually in saved electricity.

 

[flecc]

Yes Lemmy, quite right. Hard exercise alone is a very unproductive way to lose fat, a sensible diet does it very much faster, while plenty of steady exercise in conjunction speeds up the process.
.

 

[lemmy]

It'll pay for itself eventually in saved electricity.

Maybe, but think of the cost in tyre wear with all that tacking needed to go into the wind

 

[overlander]

In my particular case i find it is not as clear cut. I must have an extremely slow metabolism which means i just look at food and i put weight on. But if i exercise i find that my metabolism speeds up and i find that exercise is just as efficient at getting rid of the fat. Also remember if you build muscle and increase your metabolism you can raise your base calorie levels by up to 40 %. Therefore you burn more calories day in day out which is much more efficient at keeping the weight off. The effect of exercise on your metabolism remember is 24 hrs a day so you still use more calories just watching telly . Now thats the key, yes diets can shed the weight fast but they are very poor for keeping weight off. It really is a sensible balance between the two, but my preferable choice is exercise as i like my grub

 

[Old Timer]

Vikki

I used to ride when young and thought nothing of 60 miles on a Saturday afternoon just for fun. So after years of working and keeping quite fit I started my own business which led to more desk work and poor fitness. Couple that to 30 a day habit and you get the idea.
Then I became semi retired and kept my hand in around the home and garden and last year my wife and I purchased two MTB`s (not electric) the shock was too much and we didn`t use them much. Then I met someone who used an E bike and decided to get one and gradually get fit and loose weight. I enjoyed the E bike like crazy and started to go further and push myself a touch more( I`m 65, 5`10 1/2" and now 14st) till the pain in the chest saw me in hospital with a heart attack. The doctor told me that without the pushing I might have gone on for quite a while before being struck down. They fitted a stent in the collapsed artery and I`m now recovering. I took the opportunity to stop smoking BTW. Tightened up my diet and am getting back to feeling better than I have for a while( no afternoon sleep needed)
I`ve enrolled in a cardiac rehabilitation course at the local hospital and they have taught me an important fact that we should all take note of and that is, no smoking, sensible high veg diet and loose weight. They have put me through various tests and have now given me a starting heart rate to get up to for 15 mins each day( 96 heart beats) and then just ride and enjoy the rest. At first I wasn`t going to join the course but really glad I have because now I`m getting great sensible advice aimed at me, my weight and my fitness.
My advice is to seek pro advice at maybe a sport centre where you can be monitered and a programme aimed at just you can be worked on. You seem as if it`s fairly important for you to become fitter and that`s great but you need to get some weight off by diet as well as exercise and (sorry) but stop smoking. I don`t get half as much out of breath now and my lungs have a chance of putting oxygen into uncontaminated blood which just makes so much difference. If you can`t give up smoking then fine but if you push yourself too hard you might be in danger of a heart attack.
I`ve now got a resting pulse of 60 andif the weather is poor I exercise on my walking machine and my heart rate returns to my resting rate very quickly.

You don`t need any symptoms to push your heart too far( I know) You are at the age(I wish I was 52 and know what I know now) and with no smoking and proper training advice on a one to one basis with sensible eating in a few years you will be tackling runs you never thought possible. For me! it`s a bit late although I will make the most of my future years.
I have nothing against people smoking BTW but you did ask the question.

Good Luck

Dave

 

[allen-uk]

Certainly overlander, your point is important.

For the glucose-intolerant (whether in the modern parlance 'pre-' diabetic, or actual Type II diabetic), exercise is an important part of the road to health, as it helps shifts the slow-moving glucose along the digestive chain. This obviously helps weight loss as it stops that glucose from being deposited as fat, where it would otherwise end up.

And then there are the spin-off benefits of keeping joints moving, improving lung and heart efficiency, and so on, all of which help in the longer term.

But essentially the old equation of In and Out holds good. You have to take in less calories than you burn.


A

 

[Vikki]

Hi, Old Timer. Hear you about the smoking but I get nasty when I try to give up, and I mean Nasty! I can't help myself. I have a partner who, even though I warn him I can get snappy, won't put up with it at all. I also recall my doc saying "you need to lose weight and quitting smoking would be good but weight loss comes first". I was heavy back then (15 years ago) clocking in at 18.5 stone. I got down to 14 st and it crept up and stabilised at 15st 4 lb. Since October last year it crept up to 16 12. Since March I've dragged that back down to 15 8. I have no intention of pushing myself hard. I do not want to be super fit and I deffo don't want to stress my system. I want to be able to just cruise my trike at 13 mph and carrying on losing weight, I'm not fussy about the loss being slow, I can live with slow and steady. Of course, as I get lighter the trike will be easier to pedal.

My diet is quite good now and the exercise means I don't have to starve my self with stupid calorie intake levels. I like my food, too I've just switched to more sensible foods with occasional treat foods.

I got my HRM from Tesco and it works well. I don't want to push my heart into a danger zone and it will be useful to know that I am keeping it in the right area.

As to personal trainer (using the term loosely) type stuff I'm afraid that's not me. I couldn't do it. I am a sociophobe (I really hate gatherings) and am excruciatingly shy with strangers. You wouldn't believe how much I can be stressed by strangers that I'm thrust in front of. I'm not as bad as I was, though. Stick me in front of a row of strangers and point at me and my heart would get all the exercise it needs right then and there HRMs would be beeping like crazy.

I like riding my trike and I just want to know that it will get easier and that I can enjoy it more without struggling too much. I want to improve my fitness a little for now, that's all. That actually wouldn't be difficult considering where I'm starting from. But I do realise I need to take it slowly. I just needed to know that taking it slowly would still improve my general fitness level. I'm not really interested in belting around the place like a Tour de Francer but who knows, that may come later as things improve.

My last check-up was good bar a bit of high blood pressure. Exercise was recommended (and lose some weight). Oh, apparently I was at the lower end of obese, now I'm at the upper end of overweight so that's a good thing, I've got myself out of a danger area. Now to gently drop a couple of more stone

I already feel better. A bit more alert.

If it wasn't for the trike I wouldn't even be bothering. Here's where it gets weird, I got the trike to get exercise. The trike makes it fun. I want to ride it. So, I must have recognised my need for exercise on some level, obviously the weight loss was important to me. I knew I wouldn't do it on a regular bike and actively sought out the trike to give me incentive and make exercise fun. I hate exercise for exercises sake and that, I believe, was the fault of the PE teachers at school (not going to go there, too many bad memories there). Psychologically I am, and always have been since then, exercise averse. That's why it has to be something I enjoy and don't see as exercise.

It works a bit like this: Nice day. Get Prowler out and head into the countryside. At the end of the outward leg, a nice lunch at the pub (it's nice and quiet and I eat in the garden). Nice ride back and hey presto, 30 miles done. That on top of 45 miles during the week (a flat ride). That's not exercise, that's a fun few hours out (OK, it is exercise but as long as I don't think of it like that I'm fine with it). Did that make any sense at all?

Best regards.

Vikki.

 

[nigel]

Flipping heck vikki 30 miles.

works a bit like this: Nice day. Get Prowler out and head into the countryside. At the end of the outward leg, a nice lunch at the pub (it's nice and quiet and I eat in the garden). Nice ride back and hey presto, 30 miles done. That on top of 45 miles during the week (a flat ride). That's not exercise, that's a fun few hours out (OK, it is exercise but as long as I don't think of it like that I'm fine with it). Did that make any sense at all?
No but fair play to you i did 32 miles in 1 day never again for me it was to far and that was on my torq. I am not into fitness but this year i decided to eat healthy and in about 4 months i lost 3 stone 5 llb and now weigh a nice 10 stone for me it was quite easy i just cut out all fat and most sugar. Nigel.

 

[Vikki]

Bloody hell, Nigel! That's great going

Isn't that a rather large drop in a short time? I thought that was not a good thing. Either way, bravo You must feel great. The achievement alone must be satisfying.

Meh, trouble is, I can do 30 mile easy (pootling) - on the flat. Getting out into the countryside demands getting over Portsdown Hill. Next time, I go via Bedhampton and the longer gentler slope up rather than (shudders) Farlington Avenue.

Best regards.

Vikki.