change is as good as a rest?

[GF29er]

I am looking to loose a load of weight quickly(from 106kg down to 80ish), but find if I ride every day my legs get very sore and I feel very worn down. So have started 'Jogging' in the mornings and planning to cycle 3 times a week or so, 2 MTB 2-3 hours and a club road ride on Saturday mornings. (Of course I may not be able to resist a couple of hours at northern farms on Sunday too...) and do some swimming in my free evenings. I also do Pilates at lunch time twice a week but see this more as a support for my other activities.

 

Will I end up getting over tired or will the cross training boost my fitness and help the weight loss?

 

I am also taking part in the Xterra at the end of the month so need to include some swimming and jogging (I won't call it running the speed I go)

 

Do I need to make sure I have one day of REST every week, will one day be enough or should I plan two?

 

What do you guys think? anyone with experience?

 

Cheers

 

Iain

 

p.s. I do use a recovery drink after sessions, usually instead of a meal.. and otherwise have a relatively balanced meal plan which has worked for me in the past regarding weight loss and maintance.

[mark ellis]

do your self a favour and get a book called "The mountain bikers training bible" by Joe Friel

 

an excellent read and really educates you on the ins and outs of a training, biggest thing i took away from it is how easy it is to over train when you not conditioned.

[Guest agteros]

Yo will need a rest day! (can be the afternoon one day, and morning the next to keep the logbook ticking over)

Jogging takes more out of your body than cycling, so you might want to run on alternative days and do a short cycling on the days in between. Keep the weekends for cycling initially. Once your body has toughen up, change one weekend day to a long run, and keep the other for a long cycle.

I use Mondays as a rest day, after a long run on Sunday - works better than resting on Fridays I find. Actually, I enjoy the coffee after the Friday runs

 

For recovery, within 20 minutes after exercise, eat a mix of protein (to fix the muscles) and carbs to replenish energy. Just stay away from the fatty(tasty) stuff. Even a glass of milk should work fine for the protein. No need for fancy/expensive drinks. Keep the food as simple and unprocessed as possible.

[Wyatt Earp]

And whatever you do, DON"T up your weekly running mileage by more than 10% a week, you will have injuries.

[Guest agteros]

Or do what I did.... Upped my mileage correctly, and then very cockily think 'cycling is easy', I'll just throw the cycling on top. I took my total weekly training time from 7 to 11 hours in one week. Kept it up for two weeks or so and then had a bit of a 'system' crash.

 

Keep tabs on total training time as well But as Dangle said be careful with upping the running. Increase running mileage in a cycle of 4 weeks or 3 if it is too tough, eg

Week 1: 20km,

Week 2: 22 km

Week 3: 24.2km

 

For week 4 drop 10% from week 3:

Week 4: 21.8km

Week 5: 24km

Week 6: 26.4km

Week 7: 29km

 

For week 8 drop 10% from week 7:

Week 8: 26.1km

 

and repeat....

 

Remember, there is nothing to proof, and there are no medals for broken bodies!

[rudi-h]

Listen to your body... If you feel weak, then you've over done it. If you feel strong, you're on the right track.

 

There's no right way, and nobody will be able to tell you exactly how much and how hard to excercise. Your schedule does sound hectic, so maybe you should cut out some volume, and make sure there's good quality in the remaining hours.

 

Good luck

[rudi-h]

Or do what I did.... Upped my mileage correctly, and then very cockily think 'cycling is easy', I'll just throw the cycling on top. I took my total weekly training time from 7 to 11 hours in one week. Kept it up for two weeks or so and then had a bit of a 'system' crash.

 

Keep tabs on total training time as well But as Dangle said be careful with upping the running. Increase running mileage in a cycle of 4 weeks or 3 if it is too tough, eg

Week 1: 20km,

Week 2: 22 km

Week 3: 24.2km

 

For week 4 drop 10% from week 3:

Week 4: 21.8km

Week 5: 24km

Week 6: 26.4km

Week 7: 29km

 

For week 8 drop 10% from week 7:

Week 8: 26.1km

 

and repeat....

 

Remember, there is nothing to proof, and there are no medals for broken bodies!

 

I'm not trying to be funny, but I think for somebody weighing in at 106kg, 20km / week of running is absolutely over the top. I've been training constantly for the last 5 years, obviously some times more than others, but leave it at that.

 

When I start running after a break of a few weeks / month or two (and just do cycling in those times) then I literally have to start with 2 to 3, 3km runs per week (at very slow pace) to ensure that I don't get chin splints, cartilage (spelling?) injuries etc. and I weight 90kg at the worst of times. Even now, weighing 84kg and running sub 36 min on an 8km and sub 1:45 on a halfmarathon, I cannot do more than 3 x 6-10km sessions a week without risking injury. I also never run two days in a row!

 

I'm no expert, but have read numerous books on training, but mostly what I write is from personal experience, and that varies greatly between individuals, so please keep that in mind when reading my posts. But yes, heavy guys are not made to run far, so be careful!

[Guest agteros]

I'm not trying to be funny, but I think for somebody weighing in at 106kg, 20km / week of running is absolutely over the top. I've been training constantly for the last 5 years, obviously some times more than others, but leave it at that.

 

When I start running after a break of a few weeks / month or two (and just do cycling in those times) then I literally have to start with 2 to 3, 3km runs per week (at very slow pace) to ensure that I don't get chin splints, cartilage (spelling?) injuries etc. and I weight 90kg at the worst of times. Even now, weighing 84kg and running sub 36 min on an 8km and sub 1:45 on a halfmarathon, I cannot do more than 3 x 6-10km sessions a week without risking injury. I also never run two days in a row!

 

I'm no expert, but have read numerous books on training, but mostly what I write is from personal experience, and that varies greatly between individuals, so please keep that in mind when reading my posts. But yes, heavy guys are not made to run far, so be careful!

 

You are looking at the actual numbers, not the principal behind it, but I hear you. At 20km the principal starts to be shown quite nicely, but on a lesser distance the importance of 0.01m is a bit absurd.

 

<snip>

So have started 'Jogging' in the mornings and planning to cycle 3 times a week or so, 2 MTB 2-3 hours and a club road ride on Saturday mornings.

<snip>

 

I looked at that statement and inferred that you want to run every morning and do 3 rides during the week (excluding weekends) Please do not use 20km/week as a starting point but just as an arb number to illustrate the the point.

 

Listen to the body, and do not force it. The distance will come by itself due to consistent training. be mindful of the knees, but also do not be too afraid to push yourself (just not all the time). If we all listen to the naysayers of the world, nothing will happen!

[AndreZA]

The best way to lose weight fast is to stop eating crap. Remove sugar from your dieet and stay away from white starches.

[Big J-WP]

The most important thing is, loosing weight takes time does not matter if you run, cycle, swim or gym. I once lost 16kg in one month and was buggered I could not even go out and do a 50km cycle without feeling it. You need to take the time and spread the loss. Just dont overdo it like the rest of the guys say. But the most important thing is what you put in your mouth. You can even take a week of rest if you want but then you must besure to consume the correct amount of food intake and you can even loose weight.

[Wyatt Earp]

 

When I start running after a break of a few weeks / month or two (and just do cycling in those times) then I literally have to start with 2 to 3, 3km runs per week (at very slow pace) to ensure that I don't get chin splints, cartilage (spelling?) injuries etc. and I weight 90kg at the worst of times. Even now, weighing 84kg and running sub 36 min on an 8km and sub 1:45 on a halfmarathon, I cannot do more than 3 x 6-10km sessions a week without risking injury. I also never run two days in a row!

 

I'm no expert, but have read numerous books on training, but mostly what I write is from personal experience, and that varies greatly between individuals, so please keep that in mind when reading my posts. But yes, heavy guys are not made to run far, so be careful!

Hi Rudi

 

Just reading your post I have to assume the following.

The times you have for 8 km's and 21 km's are quick, the average runner is very happy with a sub 2 hour, 1:45 is quick.

Reading your distances and basing on the times you gave I would have to say that you are actually pushing too hard when you do run, it's a common mistake amongst us humans, we push to way beyond our limits and then we hurt like crazy for punishing the body.

 

3 sessions a week at 6-10 could be overdoing it if there are no base miles.

4 runs at shorter distances will achieve a better result.

 

Your last statement could cause a war on a runners forum

I will even go as far as to say that heavier runners just need to run slower, depending on your BMI of course.

[Face Plant]

Hi Rudi

 

Just reading your post I have to assume the following.

The times you have for 8 km's and 21 km's are quick, the average runner is very happy with a sub 2 hour, 1:45 is quick.

Reading your distances and basing on the times you gave I would have to say that you are actually pushing too hard when you do run, it's a common mistake amongst us humans, we push to way beyond our limits and then we hurt like crazy for punishing the body.

 

3 sessions a week at 6-10 could be overdoing it if there are no base miles.

4 runs at shorter distances will achieve a better result.

 

Your last statement could cause a war on a runners forum

I will even go as far as to say that heavier runners just need to run slower, depending on your BMI of course.

 

 

totally agree Dangle!

 

it is a fact though that the heaviest runner to do a sub 27 min 10k (in competition)is 73kg and he is seen as a heavy runner but heavy runners can be very good endurance athletes (with the right conditioning ofcourse)

Edited January 4, 2011 by Face Plant

[rudi-h]

Hi Rudi

 

Just reading your post I have to assume the following.

The times you have for 8 km's and 21 km's are quick, the average runner is very happy with a sub 2 hour, 1:45 is quick.

Reading your distances and basing on the times you gave I would have to say that you are actually pushing too hard when you do run, it's a common mistake amongst us humans, we push to way beyond our limits and then we hurt like crazy for punishing the body.

 

3 sessions a week at 6-10 could be overdoing it if there are no base miles.

4 runs at shorter distances will achieve a better result.

 

Your last statement could cause a war on a runners forum

I will even go as far as to say that heavier runners just need to run slower, depending on your BMI of course.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

 

In winter, I only did base km's, so that was normally 2 x 5km runs per week and 1 x 8km run per week. To improve my speed (for sprint triathlons mainly) I changed my routine to 2 x "interval sessions" per week (total distance 6km-7km, including the slow intervals) following 40 minutes of swimming in the gym, and one longer 8km - 10km easy run on weekends / mid week. The intervals got my speed up from 5min/km to 4:30min/km pushing hard in only a matter of a few months.

 

Now that the sprints are over, I'm changing back to more relaxed longer runs as prep for ironman, but try to do as much of my longer runs off-road or on trails. I'm very prone to chin splints, so have to be very careful about that. I do find that lots of base km's on the bike does wonders for my running, thus I can reduce my running distance and still run reasonably well!

 

I didn't know that there are many competitive heavy runners out there then, so I guess I should rather shut up about heavy runners then

[Wyatt Earp]

Hi Rudi

 

The shinsplints are a common problem especially amongst heavy strikers.

Predominantly happens with runners who speed up on the downhills.

Thry and strike more mid foot, slow your runs down by 15-30 seconds per kilometre, do at least 4 runs a week with an average distance and one mid distance.

I would obviously advise Vibrams or Nike Free's and suggest forefoot striking

But ultimately this will only have you conditioned by Iron Man next year.

[Starry nights]

I am in the same situation - be careful of overdoing it or you will end up like me at the moment not being able to do anything. Weighing so much and doing plenty exercise is heavy on the body and it gets hurt quickly - take 2 days a week rest till you weigh less! I am busy reading Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald - witch I will now recommend to anyone trying to lose weight - whether they have 5 or 35 kg to lose. It has plenty brilliant advice for people wanting to lose weight while training to the max.

[CharlV]

I'm not trying to be funny, but I think for somebody weighing in at 106kg, 20km / week of running is absolutely over the top. I've ............................................................................... But yes, heavy guys are not made to run far, so be careful!

 

Ag nee Rudi ! I weigh 105Kg pure mussel my ou ! you make us sound like Fat and Slow !!! Geez now I'm not eating nothing till 14h00 !!!