Fat Camp
Yesterday I got my April program from my coach. After discussing my goals for the year, he made a frank statement. "Chris, your weight needs to come down before you can make serious progress on your goals." As some of you more frequent readers know, I have stated that in the past. Since September I have dropped about 37 pounds. I am about to go under 200 pounds for the first time in several years. Back in my first go-round with cycling I was tipping the scale at about 170 pounds. Even then, I was still a bit heavy in my opinion. I find that with weight loss you have to have goals on the way down. My first goal was to get to 200 pounds. The second goal will be to get back to 170 pounds. I will decide from there how much more if any I should lose. My average weight loss has been about 2 pounds per week.So, basically my April plan is a "Fat Camp" of sorts. Lots of off the bike stuff like push-ups, sit-ups, stretching, cross training, etc. The bike stuff is all low HR workouts to keep me in the fat burning zone. I was a bit bummed at first because I want to be competitive in the races that I have committed to in May and June. So I was hoping for some high intensity workouts. However, the facts are the facts. It is simple physics. It takes more power to move more weight. I can only generate so much power so that only leaves the weight to work on. So, for the next month or so Chris will be in cycling Fat Camp. All you skinny bastards out there remember that you could end up in Fat Camp with me if you aren't thoughtful about your decisions. :)
posted by Chris at 6:26 PM
11 Comments:
Those long slow distance rides are the best! Savor it while you can. The high intensity training really wears the body down to a nub. It becomes a struggle to stay in top form but not push over to sickness. You'll be to 170 in no time!
wow! you've lost some good weight already!
how tall are you? my husband is 200 and he's 6'3".
for a while, while the kids were really young he was up at 250!! his goal is 180, but he's got no fat now. it's all muscle, so the last 20 aren't coming off.
you look like you have a lot of muscle too.
those long, long ass rides helped him lose all the weight.
and it'll be good for you to build up a really good base. then you can add in the intensity.
So how'd you gain all that extra weight? I let myself go for a few years, and I thought gaining the weight was just part of getting older. One day I rode my bike down to the video store, and I almost had a heart attack. My thighs were slapping my belly with every pedal stroke. That's when I snapped and decided I needed to do something. I rediscovered cycling, and have been doing it seriously again for the last 6 years.
It's a constant balancing act now...calories in vs. calories burned. I really need to watch it, because I love to eat. Smaller portions and daily exercise seem to be the key!
If all else fails...jerseys with vertical stripes!
You are so going to make your goal!
Have fun while you're doing it.
Oh yeah, and I found it easiest to be strict with the diet if I got one cheat day a week...it really works to know that now you can hold off because Sunday you can eat your fries or ice cream or whatever.
More power to you for making a commitment like that. And good luck.
I'm just sorry now that I tempted you with brats and beers at the ballgame; I will be more careful about that in the future!
Chatterbox - I don't think I have ever been in top form, so I will have to take your word for it. :)
Lauren - 5'7"
Jeff - mid 20s and early 30s lifestyle. Lots of going out to eat and not much exercise. Lots of vacations. You know the deal. I know the the balancing act you describe. It will be ongoing for me as well.
Sweet Cheeks - so I can still have Super Sized Sundays?? :)
Oldman - don't tempt me with brats or hotdogs. I think I can give Kobayashi a run for his money if I wanted to.
you'll get it done, no problemo. just hang tough
It can be so hard to take things one at a time, step by step - but you can do it!!
Keep your eyes on the prize, that's what I always say. I look forward to following your progress here on the old blog.
Best wishes!
don't go with super-sized Sundays. Eat whatever you want, just not a ton of it. Good way to undo the week's work.
I dropped 30 pounds or so about 6 years ago. Moderation was the key for me. Cut out the really nasty stuff and limit the sort-of-nasty stuff.
Clarification: always eat your veggies first. then the ice cream. in that order. always.
no fast food. organic ice cream, on Sundays only. after you eat your veggies.
i'm going to go to "fat camp"...
peace out, yo!
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