Tag Archives: exercise

Book Reviews

There is no proof too much exercise will kill you: health news is the worst

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There’s been a piece of “reporting” going around saying that it’s possible to exercise oneself to death. The New York Post’s headline is “You can exercise yourself to death, says new study.” A bunch of articles share that title, or slight variations on it.  Short form: it’s bullshit.  Deep and highly piled bullshit.

The news “stories” is based on a paper that has been electronically distributed by The Mayo Clinic Proceedings titled 25-Year Physical Activity Trajectories and Development of Subclinical Coronary Artery Disease as Measured by Coronary Artery Calcium by Deepika R. Laddu, PhD, Jamal S. Rana, MD, PhD, etc. I’ve provided links so, y’know, you can read it, too, if you’re so inclined. I did.

Continue reading There is no proof too much exercise will kill you: health news is the worst →

Bicycling, Personal

My other bike: Mechashark!

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I’ve given love to my fast bike, Emu, so it’s time to give some love to my slow bike, Mechashark!

It’s a 2014 TerraTrike Rambler.  I got it because, well, at the time I was nearly four hundred pounds, and there aren’t a lot of bikes that can hold a dude that big.  This is the bike that got me over the initial hump of weight loss so I could move on to faster bikes and longer rides.

Now, it’s the ride I use for more casual stuff and local errands.  I’m now a strong enough rider that this bike is useful so I’m not constantly champing at the bit, looking to go ahead of people, so it’s usually the bike I use when riding with other people!

Initially, it was named Shark, but I installed an FSA Metropolis Patterson front drive to increase the gear range:

Now, the front tooth serves both as a 28-tooth ring and a 45-tooth ring.  With the internally geared hub in back, I can spin up to about 20 miles per hour with favorable conditions – which is enough for most rides!

It also has a bike computer mount and a light mount in front.  It’s the bike I prefer to ride at night because of its stability:

Seen from the back, that’s where I put my water and groceries.  The bags hold about two plastic grocery bags worth of stuff, so I do much of our shopping on Mechashark!

The bike is also equipped with fenders for when it’s wet outside, making it my de facto all-weather bike.

While not as sexy as Emu, I’ll always have a fond spot in my heart for Mechashark because it started me on the road to cycling.  So I’m very happy to have found additional uses for the bike in my day-to-day life.

Bicycling, Personal

Weight Loss Monday (on, y’know, Wednesday), Part 9

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I lost about three-fourths of a pound over the last week, which is slow for me, but there was a big contributing factor: I was at a convention. Four days! This is going to be an issue, I think. It’s very easy, at cons and shows, to rationalize overeating. Since I’m an introvert, cons are inherently stressful. I enjoy them, but there is stress. So when I’m at a gas station, and I see some candy, I get it. And then, because I don’t have access to my kitchen, I end up eating at a restaurant, which rarely has healthy choices. And if I go out with other people? Add some beer into the mix. Lastly, at cons, I don’t exercise – no bike, no gym. So, duh, it’s harder to lose weight at a convention!

However, I managed to do it, if only a little.  So, yay!  Hashtag goals or somesuch.

Still, before the con, I did ride 94.8 miles that week, though I didn’t do any lifting.

Which is a boring update, which is probably why it’s so late!

Bicycling, Personal

Weight Loss Tuesday, Part 9

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Bike stats! In the last week, I rode 224.38 miles. I lost 3.8 pounds – I gained weight last time, and I did want to reverse THAT trend, thus the two hundred miles of riding in a week. I didn’t lift but. . . 224.38 miles on my bike in seven days! Forgive me that “lapse!”

In the coming week, I won’t get much riding done.  I messed up the XStream a bit – the problem with fiddling with things is somethings you get in over your head.  The bike isn’t damaged, but if I ride it in its current state it could become damaged, and since I’m going to be leaving Thursday for InConJunction. . . well, it won’t get fixed until next week.  My workout next week will be light.

Continue reading Weight Loss Tuesday, Part 9 →

Bicycling, Personal

Fare thee well, Cruzbike, adieu, adieu

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I. . . got another new bike. Well, a new used bike. A Rans X-Stream.

One might be asking, “Kit, what happened to the Cruzbike Sofrider v3?” Good question! Here is my review of the Cruzbike Sofrider v3.

I rode the Sofrider for almost exactly four weeks. During that time, though, I rode it thirty times for a distance of approximately 650 miles. Without a doubt, it is a faster bike than my Sun Bike EZ-Racer, which I rode before it. I can claim without hesitation or reservation that, indeed, Cruzbikes are climbers. I saw increases uphill in the 30% range, and the Sofrider was just faster everywhere else, too. Like all recumbents, it is a comfortable bike, too, though it wasn’t until the end that I got everything dialed in. Pro tip: if you’re not comfortable on a recumbent from day one, seek advice!

Continue reading Fare thee well, Cruzbike, adieu, adieu →

Bicycling, Personal

Weight Loss Monday, Part 8, with weight GAIN!

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I crossed a couple of thresholds this workout period. Since starting this experiment eight weeks ago, I’ve ridden over a thousand miles and burned over one hundred thousand calories on those rides. Which means I’m riding an average of 132 miles a week! I think that’s pretty cool, even if. . .

This past week, I rode 132.2 miles, worked out for 120 minutes, burned 15,780 calories and GAINED, yes, gained 1.8 pounds.

It is an object lesson on the importance of diet. No matter how much you exercise, you can sabotage yourself with diet.

Continue reading Weight Loss Monday, Part 8, with weight GAIN! →

Bicycling, Personal, Uncategorized

Weight Loss Monday, Part 7

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The best news is that when taking my blood pressure and pulse, my BP was 106/72 and my resting pulse was 62.  Not only am I losing weight, my cardio fitness is great!  It’s weird to me that I don’t have the body of an athlete (albeit a weekend warrior), but the abilities of one.

Last week, I rode 118.3 miles and lifted twice for a recorded time of 120 minutes, which burned 13,235 calories according to Map My Ride. I lost 2.6 pounds, which is 1 pound for every 5,090 calories.

Continue reading Weight Loss Monday, Part 7 →

Bicycling, Personal

Weight Loss Monday (Back to Monday!), Part 6

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Well, I’m getting back to a Monday schedule for this!

I rode 78.94 miles. I know! Under a hundred! But this is just Thursday to Sunday, not a full week, right? Right. Also, with the Cruzbike, I’ve decided to “ease” myself into the rides a little, let myself get more used to the bicycle, so I’m not jumping back to sixty-mile rides immediately. Anyway, that amount of riding used 7804 calories theoretically.

Continue reading Weight Loss Monday (Back to Monday!), Part 6 →

Bicycling, Personal

Weight Lost Monday (uh, Thursday?), Part 5

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I was initially going to start this post with comments about my new used bike, the Cruzbike Sofrider whose name is Rhino, and then some thoughts about the perils of calorie calculations BEFORE giving my weight data. But it turned into a rant, so I’m going to do weight numbers, first!

Over the past eight days, I’ve ridden 211.91 miles (not a typo), which used 23,362 calories according to MapMyRide. I’ve lost 2.6 pounds, which is a pound lost for every 8,985 calories. Which is HORRIBLE accuracy.  It’s off by more than 100% for this week! Overall, I’ve lost 13.4 pounds since May 25th, which (overall) is a pound lost for every 5,771 calories. Which, overall, is also awful accuracy, being off by 61%.

Continue reading Weight Lost Monday (uh, Thursday?), Part 5 →

Personal

Weight Loss Monday (well, Tuesday, but who’s checking?), Part 4

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A day late because I was traveling this weekend.

For the next couple of weeks, probably, the numbers might be a little wonky. My new bike is more challenging to ride, but I’ll be doing the 20-mile rides on it with my wife! I won’t be having the same intensity as before, not until I get comfortable on the Cruzbike Sofrider.

Continue reading Weight Loss Monday (well, Tuesday, but who’s checking?), Part 4 →