I didn't want to write this in with the other entry, since this is a much different sort of topic. The previous entry today was much harder to write, so I decided to do it first. Anyways!
My weight loss goal of 140 pounds was reached as of yesterday morning. I lost roughly 45 pounds between late June and now.
I still have a little bit of remaining pudge in some areas, but that should go soon enough as I move on to the next stage of my get healthy plan: muscle toning.
I'm not interested in building up huge masses of ugly arse muscle, but I do wish to have a more toned upper body than I do now. Wiry strength type of toning.
As such, I'm going to need to look into getting a membership with either a gym or the Y so I can pick up some cardio and lifting. My job alone isn't going to cut it, and the bike is only good for my already seriously well toned lower body.
Don't bother wishing me luck, all this takes is a little drive to actually do it and avoiding the depressions - since with the last entry I've detailed why the depressions aren't likely to bother me ever again, I should have no problems getting to where I want to be.
Comments
020) Ganbatte! Yattane! Banzai! Goal!
TY for update
May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
You're wrong about the bike
Definitely wrong.
If you're sitting on it properly, and the bike fits you and is correctly adjusted, rather a large proportion of your body should be given a work-out.
Around a third of your weight should be on your arms. This is what I found after a couple years serious riding. (If it isn't, your stance is too upright and you risk jarring up the spine.) The riding also cleared up my lower back pain, and the crap roads I used meant I didn't spend a lot of time actually in the saddle, most of the weight being taken by the leg muscles with the rest by the arms and shoulders. And I am not talking of riding "out of the saddle" either. Contrary to popular belief most of a cyclist's weight does not rest on the saddle.
Your neck should also receive a benefit, along with your lungs, and of course you will get a superb cardiovascular workout. In my case my resting pulse went down to 44 and I had slight enlargement of the heart muscle.
Drawbacks: because you're expending more energy you'll eat more, but this doesn't always mean that you'll gain weight. Mine stayed stable over ten years of riding, although my food intake almost doubled during that period. I sweated a lot (I don't usually) and very rarely needed quilts/blankets or sheets at night because I was so hot. Some of the above may be due to the Fibromyalgia I was fighting all along without realizing it, but I've seen similar happen with my sons, who both competed on the bike.
Penny
Well...
I don't have a proper fitting bike, and haven't for years. Should've been using a womens bike, pretty sure of that now, and have been using a mens.
You are correct that it does more than "just the lower body" now that I'm on a womens saddle again, but while I was on the mens saddle, that really was pretty much all that got any work out at all.
With the mens bike, womens saddle, posture I'm currently in, all the work is getting concentrated in my lower abdomen and back, and down.
When I can afford to, I intend replacing my mens steed with a womens one, which should make a lot of difference.
The only bits that really aren't too fond of the womens saddle are the bits I'd rather not have anyways. ;)
I don't particularly desire to wait until I can replace my steed to begin this next stage, and even when that occurs, bike alone isn't really enough.
Abigail Drew.
I don't think the difference
I don't think the difference is that big. You probably only need a professional to adjust it correctly. I could always use my mothers or my sisters bike without problems once I adjusted the saddle. You might need to lower the handlebar. But it should work. The difference between men and women bikes are mostly style, as far as I can tell.
That may be different for professional bikes, but I never really saw a difference.
I once took my sisters bike for about a month, and it was exactly the same.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so...
It's a question of size...
My bike is simply too big. And it's the smallest mens bike I can find. Also, generally the handlebars on womens bikes are positioned a little bit differently, and you may not casually notice the difference, but it's enough to cause a very different riding posture.
Abigail Drew.
Size is all it is
Generally, you get the frame sized to your body. I'm not going to go into that here, there's plenty out there about the subject.
The width of the handlebars should be the same as the width of your shoulders. The length of the 'top tube' is related to the length of your lower arm, to give you the correct reach.
Men and women, at least all those I rode with, all rode man's-style frames, because they were structurally stronger from an engineering standpoint. The only reason for a woman's bike to have a dropped top tube is for when she is wearing a skirt. With the usual cycling gear, there's no need to accept something that is mechanically less strong.
About the only thing I did different to most of the other riders was to choose the widest women's saddle I could find, and it was gel one. Otherwise, there is really no difference between a bike for a man and one for a woman if the frame (and fittings!) are sized correctly.
[Of course, all my frames were custom made. I'm a funny shape.]
Penny
Trying to afford a custom bike...
Isn't in the running right now. But yes, it's all just a matter of size. Size of various bits and parts, the frame itself, etc. My point though, is that the bike I'm currently riding on is entirely wrong on all counts and, at least buying a local pre-built, it is more likely I'll find a proper fit in a bike marketed as a womens.
At least at my local shop most of the bikes marketed for women are really almost identical to the mens except for sizing and color choice. The mens tend towards darker paint jobs.
Remember, for years I'd been trying to avoid anything that even hinted at girly as a reaction against my personal demons. It's time to end that, so the next bike will be one that fits, and if that happens to be marketed as womens with a lighter color paint job and all, that's what it'll be. I already intend getting kit that fits, which would mean womens, so heck, maybe if I'm riding on a womens bike with womens kit, any stray body hairs I haven't quite gotten rid of will be ignored. ;P
New bike will probably wait until after I get new clothes and my Aavexx 500 I've been wanting. But before a truck. So... 2 or 3 months if I keep my job and don't get a raise, that I will continue to be riding on a badly fitting bike?
Abigail Drew.
Oh No, Not Another Comment!
Amazing and excellent weight loss. Way To Go!
I know a fair amount about road bikes; I'm self taught, build bikes up from bare frames and parts and also machine/construct my own bike parts.
Big name bike makers have only been making wimyn specific bikes for 10 years or less. These are the same light weight diamond framed, many geared bikes as made for men racers or sports riders, but dimensions are changed. For the same leg length (the main determinant of frame size, the distance from the top of the seat tube or the center of where the seat tube meets the top tube to the bottom bracket, like 21" or 56 cm) wimyn have shorter upper bodies and arms. Wimyn's bikes have shorter top tubes, possibly a higher head tube height and a shorter stem, so the handlebar is closer to the saddle.
If your bike frame is not too, too, big, I think you could get a pretty good fit by just getting a shorter stem. Guessing: the average stem length for a 56cm (medium large) good quality bike is 10cm, but they are made as short as 6cm. The angle the stem makes to the fork steerer tube, that the stem clamps onto, also varies. A pretty big variety of stems that can be bought on line are pretty cheap, like $35 or less. You could go to a bike shop, get fitted for a bike then measure it. Take the measurements of your current bike and figure out what you need to get the handle bar the right height and the right distance from your seat. Remember the the seat can be moved closer or farther. The seat's position over the pedals isn't all that important.
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
My bike frame...
Is really really too big. Even from the seat to the ground, I need to lean the bike slightly to touch my feet to the ground.
My seat adjusts not just closer or farther, but also up or down at the same time, if I try to move my seat closer to my handlebars, it'll also move to an almost vertical angle! Not Good! Could try to find a new seat pipe that doesn't do that, I suppose. And the handlebar suggestion. Would make the bike at least a little better fitting than currently, anyways, doing those two things together.
Thanks for these suggestions, I'll look into them.
Abigail Drew.