# Need some advice..



## velo_guy (May 9, 2010)

Hey guys, I'm new to the cycling world and have only been riding for a little more than 6 months now. I started as a way to loose weight and I've dropped from 265(ish) to 215 in the past few months ( I'm 5'11 and 19 y.o)

Are there any exercise routines that you think would be good for me? As of now I ride about 15 miles a night during the week and 25-28 miles on Saturday with a rest day on Sunday but I have recently seen myself plateau.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.


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## PhysioJoe (May 6, 2008)

Hey man, congrats on making good progress already. That is seriously nice work! I will make a few suggestions for you, but keep in mind your question is pretty broad. You can learn alot of general info just by reading these boards, and slowtwitch.com forums can be good as well. 

Without knowing much about you, I say you can try a few things:
1. Try increasing your saturday ride by a few miles each week. You could also ride longer one day during the week also. If you do a 30-40 mile ride during the week, it's ok if you take the next day off. People plateau, generally, when their body gets used to what they are doing. If you push yourself longer, this is a good thing, but take the next day off if you get tired.

2. Go harder. If you are riding an hour or less on weekdays, you can increase the intensity. This will ultimately help you go faster in the long term, and you will burn more calories during the ride as well. If you have some hills that take 2-5 minutes to ride up, climb hard then pedal easy on the way down. Make sure you are good and warmed up first.

3. You didn't say anything about your diet, but try adding another fruit and vegetable each day. Even if you are already eating them, more is better, and you can use them to replace something less healthy.

Above all, keep it simple! Leave the calorie obsessing to those of us who race  In the meantime, you should be able to drop more weight by making a few changes.

-Physiojoe


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## rydbyk (Feb 17, 2010)

Really really really really watch what you eat. Do NOT call it a "diet". Diet implies short term. 

Be honest with yourself. Are there things that you should really be staying away from?

Write down what you eat AND drink each day. This will keep you "honest". Best of luck and congrats on the progress so far!

Oh yeh...try to get as many miles in on your bike ea. week too. Join a club team perhaps for motivation...:thumbsup:


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## S_Top_Sign (Dec 9, 2009)

I tend to agree with most of the advice posted here.

Familiarize yourself with the term "progressive overload." This is THE central tenant in any type of athletic training. You need to continually "up the ante," so to speak, to see results and improvements.

This means upping mileage, intensity, terrain, etc. when things start to plateau.

Watching the diet is good, but only to the point of making sure that you are simply eating quality foods. I agree totally that calorie counting is best left to when you need to fine tune your diet, and start analyzing your macro intakes for very specific goals. When you're starting out with fitness and cycling, just eat smart foods in smart proportions, and do it consistently. I like the advice about not thinking about it as a diet, because it's not. It's simply how you fuel yourself to be healthy.

Good luck as you move forward and make progress - welcome to the sport!


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## jfhoupert (Nov 9, 2010)

Hey Velo Guy,

I've always found that joining a good club will always help with several things.
I find that clubs will allow you to learn or work on efficient riding technique, lengthen your rides and keep them interesting because your in a group context. Not to mention the other members will be able to give you some advice or at least tell you what works for them. My advice would be to find a solid club.


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