Excercise Bike 30mins x 3 daily???

[Lucklisa76]

I have a beach holiday in 8wks & I'm going to try my hardest to lose 21-28lbs in that time. I have messed about since New Year, on & off Atkins constantly but now I seriously need to get my BIG butt in gear. I've started Atkins again today & I plan to go on my excercise bike 3 times a day for 30min. Is this too intense? Will I just end up with even bigger thighs? Will I loose nothing because muscle weighs more? I'm 5ft 9 inches tall & weigh 210lbs. Please be as honest as you like. Thanks.

[Gostrydr]

What you need to do to get rid of the fat fast is an INTENSE workout . Atkins is a great start but biking is good only if it is intense enough to burn fat. You just can;t think you will pedal a bike and your legs will be bigger and the fat will drop off.

How about lifiting some weights? Lots of great studies out there that have shown that lifting weights bunrs more fat than aerobic work and it builds muscle! That is what will get your metabolism going.

Also why not join the Weight Training Buddies thread with Lisa,Demi,Galatia and others and see what has worked for those ladies. Lilli and Valerie L are also very knowledgeable

The have all made tremendous progress and they all lift weights

Yes you can lose that weight,but you have to bust your butt and get out of your comfort zone. Bike riding should just be a small part of your weight loss routine.

Good luck

[Gostrydr]

I went back and read your post again and you are going to do th ebike 3 x's a day? I thought it was 3 x's a week.

You cannot do justice to your self doing the bike 3 x's a day. How about the bike 2 x's a week and weight lift 3x's a week with the weekends off for active rest? A nice stroll a hike..

If you did not have this event coming up, 3 x's a week of intense weightlifting would be plenty to get you going..but 4 to 5 days of excercise is what you need...You will be extremely sore at first but your body wil adapt.

[Lucklisa76]

It's not easy for me to get to the gym as my daughter is 2 & my hubbie works all different hours. I've started doping the bike 3 times a day cos I can manage that without killing myself. I've only just started excercising again after years so high intensity is a bit scary for me & the last thing I want to do is give myself an injury then not be able to excercise at all. The last thing I want to do is bulk up, this is about getting thinner, I'm not a body builder. I thought I would ask in here as you all seem to know a fair bit about excercise. In the past I have only ever done Atkins own it's own without excercise & normally loose about 7lbs, first week then 2lbs thereafter. Surely if I do Atkins & the bike 3 times a day I will loose more rapidly? After doing the bike yesterday I do feel quite tired but my legs aren't exhausted so I know I will be able to do it again today. I would rather do it this way than high intensity cos I feel I won't enjoy that, then I will have an excuse to give up. Surely any excercise is better than none?

[1000times]

If you have a choice between weight work and endurance cycling, you'll lose more weight doing weight work than doing cycling. However, if the choice is between sitting on your bicycle seat turning the pedals versus sitting on the couch, you'll lose more weight on that bike -- obviously!

You shouldn't end up with muscular thunder thighs in only 8 weeks. In fact, you probably won't end up building much muscle at any time on a ketogenic diet like Atkins. It takes carbohydrates and protein to build muscle -- if you're doing Atkins correcty, FAT should make up the greater portion of your calorie intake, not protein and certainly not carbs.

If you wind up losing "nothing because muscle weighs more", you will LOOK slimmer, because muscle is more dense than fat. That's a GOOD tradeoff. At the beach, are you more concerned with the number on your bathroom scale back home, or the way you look in your swimsuit?

The biggest risk of your plan is that you might wind up eating more as a result of your exercise, canceling out any "gains" (losses, actually) from the exercise. DON'T use your workouts as an excuse to eat more of the questionable foods (too many endurance exercisers do this), and watch your appetite after your workout.

Good luck with your plan. It's going to take discipline, but looking good in that bathing suit will make it all worth while, won't it? :agree:

[Gostrydr]

Good post 1000 times.


Why does the myth of bulking up never cease? Why does one think that high intensity training is going to lead to injuries?

There are more injuries from long cardio than from weightlifitng,,period.

You ask for advice on your program and you get it,then you try and debunk what is given to you.

Here's what happens alot. People ask questions about there routine and really do not seek advice on it. They just seek validation or verification that what they are doing is ok.

You say you want to lose weight fast to look good in a swimsuit.

Well I'm telling you that riding a bike 3 times a day is not the best way to lose weight. Sure its better than nothing,but if you can work out 3x's a day,then you are not working out hard enough. I'm not saying you need to be a bodybuilder,but pick up some cheap dumbells and incorporate those into your routine.

do pushups,reverse crunches, Y squats,spidermans,lunges,split squats..none of these require weights,,just your body. And they will do more for you than riding on your bike.

Cut back on your bike and do some of the excercises mentioned above a few times a week.

bike 3x's a week..intensely
bodyweight excercises 3 x's a week

or just do them both on the same day 3-4 times a week.

If you build muscle ,you will look better in your swimsuit. But it will take alot of work

Get the notion out of your head that if you lift weights you will automatically and magically put on all this muscle! Ask Galatia how hard it is and she is one hardcore lifter.

[Lucklisa76]

Thank you for the post 1000times. I appreciate your comments. Like you said, if it wasn't for the bike, I would be sitting on my backside!! If I can build up my fitness then I would definetley consider Higher Intensity Workouts. I've done Atkins a few times b4 so I know what I'm doing as far as the fat issue goes. I know I've left it pretty late to loose weight b4 a holiday & I know I'm not making it any easier on myself but I haven't been in the right place mentally for diet & excercise. This has been the first time I have started excercising in years and I'm not looking for perfection as I won't get that in 8wks but if I can get a good bulk off b4 the holiday & get my fitness up then by the time the holiday comes around I will be in a good routine to continue with it when I come home. I posted on this board cos I know you guys have a good knowledge of excercise and wanted your opinion but I'm not trying to achieve the same levels as alot of people on here. I'm not aiming to loose weight to then train for marathons or body building competitions or anything like that, I'm just a Mother trying to get rid of the excess baby weight, get fitter & look better on the beach. If I can keeps this intensity up until I go on holiday then I will be happy to go on the bike everyday & do weights along with Atkins. Thanks again 1000times, your comments have been really helpful.

[Lenin]

How about 45 mins 2x a day? The longer the session, the better.

Anyway, I think it will take several weeks for your body to start manufacturing fat-burning enzymes in large enough amounts to cause the rapid fat-loss you desire. But you can certainly try. That's why I dont pay too much attention to the scale my first 4-5 wks of cardio training after a long layoff.

Another mistake I've made is by lowering calories too much and overdoing the cardio. This essentially put my body into starvation mode which resulted in a slowing of the metabolism and no weight lost.

After I build up my endurance over 4-6 wks, I switch over to HIIT, which helps accelerate fat loss.

But 8-12 wks is what some fitness competitors give themselves to lose fat before a competition. Of course they are doing 3 hours of walking/slow cardio a day, which I dont recommend.

[docjon]

I agree with Gostrydr, you need to incorporate some weights into your routine and also do some intervals where you alternate high speed intensity for a minute or two and then low intensity for a minute or two and then repeat for 20-30 minutes. Why not try a 3 month complete program like Body for Life or P90x? 3 months is all you need to dramatically change your physique. Good luck.

[obsessive]

the bike isn't going to do anything for your upper body.