Starting from scratch

[Ruthie]

Ruthie, I hesitate to pour cold water on your enthusiasm but I suspect that getting up an hour earlier is not possible on a longterm basis.

However If you commute could you leave the car halfway to work and walk halfway or get off the bus two stops sooner, use a Brompton and the bus or your car and a Brompton?

I find that if I can convert part of my day into exercise within the same time frame I am much better at succeeding.  my wife, who is a minister now walks and prays instead of sitting and praying (you do not need to keep your eyes shut to pray!)

My short commute takes no longer than sitting in the car in the queue but gets me 15km extra per day.

Ha, I successfully rearranged my life so that work is a five minute walk from my house 

I don't have a car, so walk and cycle pretty much everywhere local    I do use the Pray as you Go app quite often and yes, I could walk while I use that but realistically they've made it the same length of time as the first cup of coffee.  And that first cuppa is an essential.   Saying the CofE daily office needs to be said sitting down with the words until I've memorised them all.

[chrisbainbridge]

Hi Ruthie, Have you found the tortoise in Morning Prayer?

We do morning Prayer in bed on Saturdays together with our first cup of coffee!  We change the words slightly so " The night has passed, and the day lies open before us; let us drink coffee"


Could you lengthen your walk to work?

I will stop giving suggestions now as I suspect you need empathy rather than direction,  God Bless

[Ruthie]

I suspect you need empathy rather than direction,  God Bless

Well, I wasn't really fishing, honest, but thank you for the empathy. 

Lifestyle change is really hard.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I disagree about the coffee. But if you said tea... I also disagree with the thread title. You're not starting from scratch. You're cycling and walking, that's a load more than lots of people do, and perhaps more importantly it's a habit you're into, which means it'll be easier to do some other form of exercise if desired. But at the moment it's just part of your life, which is better.

I do agree about weight loss, not to the extent that being fat is ok but that being thin isn't a goal in itself. Plenty of skinny people are very unfit.

And what on earth is Pray as you Go? How on earth does an app for praying work?

[Ruthie]

And what on earth is Pray as you Go? How on earth does an app for praying work?

I really like it.  It's a Jesuit initiative.  It's a podcast, basically.  Starts with bells ringing, some music, a Bible reading, a reflection, some time for meditating, and finishes with the Gloria Patri. 

I access the Office for Morning Prayer as an app as well, the Bible readings and certain other bits are different every day, so the app gets rid of the need to rifle through putting placeholders in your book before you start.  Reflections for Daily Prayer is another good one, you can buy it as a book (I did for years) but now it's an app, a short form of the Office of Morning Prayer, with one of the daily Bible readings, and a reflection on the reading.  Usually the reflections are written by people quite prominent in apologetics/theology/similar stuffs.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I was having a discussion on this subject with MsC last night, and the difficulties of fitting in exercise in a busy life. We both agreed that much as we both like cycling, getting an effective working means a long bike ride. A 20 min jog is very time efficient, but not pleasant if you are overweight. Having chubby bouncy bits is not comfortable when running; the subject of man boobs bouncing (the painful consequences) and the need for a male sports bra came up.

Given spare money and space at home, being able to fit in a rowing machine or cross-trainer would be nice . . .

[Cudzoziemiec]

And what on earth is Pray as you Go? How on earth does an app for praying work?

I really like it.  It's a Jesuit initiative.  It's a podcast, basically.  Starts with bells ringing, some music, a Bible reading, a reflection, some time for meditating, and finishes with the Gloria Patri. 

I access the Office for Morning Prayer as an app as well, the Bible readings and certain other bits are different every day, so the app gets rid of the need to rifle through putting placeholders in your book before you start.  Reflections for Daily Prayer is another good one, you can buy it as a book (I did for years) but now it's an app, a short form of the Office of Morning Prayer, with one of the daily Bible readings, and a reflection on the reading.  Usually the reflections are written by people quite prominent in apologetics/theology/similar stuffs.

A sort of portable church service. Without communion, I guess. Neat. Name makes it sound like an electronic version of Buddhist prayer wheels though!

[Kim]

Name makes it sound like an electronic version of Buddhist prayer wheels though!

My thoughts exactly, which naturally lead me to wondering whether such a thing could usefully be integrated with a bicycle...

[Cudzoziemiec]

Name makes it sound like an electronic version of Buddhist prayer wheels though!

My thoughts exactly, which naturally lead me to wondering whether such a thing could usefully be integrated with a bicycle...

My limited knowledge of Buddhism leads me to suspect it would have to be in a holy place.

[Kim]

Name makes it sound like an electronic version of Buddhist prayer wheels though!

My thoughts exactly, which naturally lead me to wondering whether such a thing could usefully be integrated with a bicycle...

My limited knowledge of Buddhism leads me to suspect it would have to be in a holy place.

You're suggesting that a bicycle isn't a holy place?

[L CC]

We have a rowing machine at home- it doesn't mean we use it regularly.

If you want to lose weight- you have to change what you eat. It's as simple as that. But also as complicated- we (as a society) still don't really know the magic trick to losing weight, and then there's the whole emotional and social aspect to eating which can't be ignored.

But- what you really want isn't to be thinner, is it? It's to maintain your health, and the stuff you need to do for that doesn't necessarily mean you need to lose weight.
Does it matter to you that you ride sloooooowly? [I know it matters for me, but that's because I'm vain, and used to be faster than I am now, but that doesn't mean it matters to you]
Being more mobile requires more strength and more flexibilty. More strength comes from lifting things, and more flexibility comes from bending.
Your walking and cycling is probably all the aerobic stuff you need.

I'd recommend pilates (you're a middle class white woman, you should be doing it already )

[Wowbagger]

Name makes it sound like an electronic version of Buddhist prayer wheels though!

My thoughts exactly, which naturally lead me to wondering whether such a thing could usefully be integrated with a bicycle...

My limited knowledge of Buddhism leads me to suspect it would have to be in a holy place.

That would be where you drilled your flapjack.

[Tim Hall]

I'm following this with interest, especially Ian's eating tips, as the scales at work seem to be broken I'm several kg heavier than I feel is good.

Meanwhile Ruthie, are you riding Andrij's Thames Pootle  on Saturday? It would be great to meet you.

[cameronp]

Name makes it sound like an electronic version of Buddhist prayer wheels though!

My thoughts exactly, which naturally lead me to wondering whether such a thing could usefully be integrated with a bicycle...

I remember seeing wind-powered and water-powered prayer wheels in Nepal, so surely bike powered must be a possibility too! There are strict rules on the direction of spin: always clockwise. All of the prayer wheels I saw were mounted with the axle normal to the ground, i.e. perpendicular to the direction a bike wheel spins, so incorporating one into a bicycle hub might not be legit.

[Ruthie]

I am trying to get a shift swap to come out n Andrij's ride.

Don't get me wrong, from a vanity point of view I wouldn't mind being thinner, if only to get back into my beautiful clothes I can't wear any more. But it's about so much more than that.

[Ruthie]

You have the heart-rate monitor, but have you tested your maximum heart rate or just used a formula?

I just went with what Strava said.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Getting fit (again) seems to be about overcoming barriers:

Finding time

Motivation

Doing exercise when mentally tired (if not bodily tired)

Overcoming embarrassment
(maybe because we feel embarrassed about how pathetically slow we are, or how we feel we look in 'exercise' clothes, or how weak we are; several of these are putting me off from joining a gym convenient to work, I've looked in the window and seen the normal gym attendees)

[Kim]

You have the heart-rate monitor, but have you tested your maximum heart rate or just used a formula?

I just went with what Strava said.

Well that's clearly wrong.  Strava couldn't estimate the length of a piece of string if you coiled it around a Ant+ speed sensor.

A proper balls-out try-not-to-puke thrash up a convenient hill to get a proper figure would seem like a good idea, if only to check there isn't something funny going on.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Name makes it sound like an electronic version of Buddhist prayer wheels though!

My thoughts exactly, which naturally lead me to wondering whether such a thing could usefully be integrated with a bicycle...

My limited knowledge of Buddhism leads me to suspect it would have to be in a holy place.

You're suggesting that a bicycle isn't a holy place?

Sacred but not sanctified, maybe. 

[Ruthie]

Getting fit (again) seems to be about overcoming barriers:

Finding time

Motivation

Doing exercise when mentally tired (if not bodily tired)

Overcoming embarrassment
(maybe because we feel embarrassed about how pathetically slow we are, or how we feel we look in 'exercise' clothes, or how weak we are; several of these are putting me off from joining a gym convenient to work, I've looked in the window and seen the normal gym attendees)

I honestly am so past embarrassment.  I did a 20 minute run shambling flail through the park yesterday.  Heart rate was still under 150bpm, although I was just trying to get round, not to break any records. 

Sometimes at the end of a day's work my feet are so painful I am limping all the way home.  I walk between 4 and 9 miles during my normal working day, including working to and from work.

[CrinklyLion]

Don't worry about it Ruthie- I'm 50 next year, too. And fatter and shorter than you.

Fancy a ride on Sunday?

And I'm only a few years behind the pair of you, and I'm fatter and shorter than you both....

Ride down to see me, then I won't have to go for a bike ride

[DuncanM]

I was having a discussion on this subject with MsC last night, and the difficulties of fitting in exercise in a busy life. We both agreed that much as we both like cycling, getting an effective working means a long bike ride. A 20 min jog is very time efficient, but not pleasant if you are overweight. Having chubby bouncy bits is not comfortable when running; the subject of man boobs bouncing (the painful consequences) and the need for a male sports bra came up.

Given spare money and space at home, being able to fit in a rowing machine or cross-trainer would be nice . . .

I've recently bought myself a turbo trainer. 20 minutes on that is seriously hard work - I doubt I could push myself that hard on a run outdoors. It's not social though, and it requires motivation (I had a fail this morning - alarm went off at 6 and I turned it off and went back to bed) - the nice thing about cycling for a commute or similar is that it just becomes part of your day and you don't need motivation to make it happen.

[mcshroom]

You're not starting from scratch. I just rode with you in the Wicklow Mountains. A ride which passed over Sally Gap down and then back over the Wicklow Gap. Someone who can complete 100km with 1500m ascent is a pretty decent cyclist.

I guess that where you start depends on what you want to improve. If it's general pace on the bike then maybe try moving up to the next group at your club so you're stretched a bit more, or spinning as suggested above.

I've found I've got better at climbing hills by riding the singlespeed more. Basically I've learnt that I can ride up hills faster and in a higher gear if I have no choice in the matter. Also just riding more hills helped. Ok, I'm still slow but I'm better than I was (and I'd be faster still without the ballast )

For the flexibility, I'm waiting to see what others suggest as I really should do more myself. Maybe swimming would helpful, if there's a pool that matches when you are free.

Another thought. How accurate is your HRM? It's a wrist based one and I seem to remember some stories about those being a bit inaccurate compared to a chest strap.



 

[Sergeant Pluck]

Where to start?

Your current status is not too bad in the general scheme of things. You can ride a bike up long hills and go for a 20 minute run.

Forget what your heart rate is doing, bloody "zones", how fast you do or do not go up hills on a bike, and all forms of non-emergency running for the time being. Those will all take care of themselves.

Strength / mobility and food would be my starting points for mobility scooter avoidance. That’s two things really as you can tackle strength and mobility together.

I’d recommend pilates classes somewhere with a good reputation that offers classes at different levels. It really does increase your sense of well being and strengthens lots of important muscle groups - some of which are under-used in modern lifestyles - that should help to reduce the risk of injury and improve your abilities in all sports as well as day to day life. Maintaining muscle mass is important as one gets older. Pilates gets lots of big muscle groups going so that they use more energy even when not exercising.

Running when not fit and already experiencing possible biomechanical issues is quite hard on the body and puts you at risk of injuries that can really put ones plans for improvement out of whack.

Food. Ian’s advice above is really good. Having found myself to be larger than necessary recently I’ve taken the calorie counting approach. Even if done for a short period, thoroughly, it will give you a real insight into what foods are contributing what. At the end of the day, though, it is not necessary to take that approach and in my case it resulted in me doing pretty much exactly what Ian suggests. And it doesn’t mean a life of misery - I am rarely hungry and I eat very well indeed.

I don’t want to focus to much on weight but I’m quite sceptical of the fit and fat notion. There have been headlines suggesting that being overweight does not increase your risk of x or y, and this may well be the case, but my experience over quite a number of years now of assessing people of all sorts of ages and shapes leaves me in no doubt that our bodies are not designed to carry too much extra weight. Problems might take quite some time to express themselves but sooner or later people tend to experience the metabolic and / or mechanical consequences of extra weight.

As your core strength improves, underused muscle groups get brought into play, and your weight slowly comes down a bit the cycling up hills will sort itself out.

[Sergeant Pluck]

A ride which passed over Sally Gap down and then back over the Wicklow Gap.

I’ve ridden that. I think you are being somewhat modest about your current abilities Ruthie!