Weight Loss For Cycling

Cycling strongly is all about power to weight ratio. This ratio becomes most apparent when you hit the hills. The reasons why all the devastating climbers are built like whippets – small, lean and muscular -  is that their power to weight ratio is better. The sprinters may be strong in short bursts but when it comes to grinding up a steep unrelenting climb all that weight that the muscles brings is a liability.

So obviously the easiest way to improve your power to weight ratio is to dump the weight that doesn’t have any function – ie fat. A low body fat percentage will not only improve your riding but also save your wallet. It is likely less painful to dump a kilo or two than spend an extra few thousand on the latest lightest bike.

So, as mentioned, just a quick word on weight loss related to heart rate zone training. There has been a myth that the best way to dump weight is to train in the lower intensity ‘fat burning’ zone. Each of the heart rate zones using a different physiological system to fuel it. At lower intensity it the body is primarily using its fat stores so the idea was that training in that zone would be the best way to get rid of it – however studies have shown that the most effective way to use heart rate zone training to lose weight is to  engage in high intensity interval training. This has multiple benefits.

Firstly – higher intensity=more calories burnt during exercise. If you want weight loss boiled down to a simple equation it’s use more calories than you’re taking in -  or  eat less, move more.

Secondly - higher intensity training is going build your muscle strength far more than low intensity. Larger stronger muscles need more fuel to run so as you progress you’ll be burning more calories simply by engaging in in the same activity.

Thirdly (and most importantly) – engaging in high intensity interval training will result in you burning calories for some time after you’ve finished training. This due to a metabolic process called  EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption ) What this basically represents is how many additional calories your body will burn after the exercise session has been completed in order to return your body to the state it was in before the exercise took place. These include bringing down the bodies temperature and heart rate and restoring the blood lactate levels to normal.  This increased metabolic rate and the associated calorie burn that goes with it last for some time after exercise. Some studies have shown the effect to still be measurable after 38 hours. So you can be still burning fuel and engaged in effective weight loss whilst sitting on the couch watching the Giro – now that’s a result!

High intensity training has multiple benefit across a range of physiological systems – effective weight loss is another great benefit.

BTW I have to say every time I see an over weight cyclist stuffed into less than flattering lycra I applaud them – They are beginning down a road that will change their lives and doing it courageously. It must take some balls to get out on a bike in skin tight gear if you’re  over weight – give them some encouragement.

 

 

 

 

Body Mass Index

Body Mass Index(BMI) or Quetelet Index is a statistical measure of the weight of a person scaled according to height. It can be a useful measure as you begin cycling training.
As a measure, BMI became popular during the early 1980s as obesity started to become a discernible issue in prosperous Western society. BMI provided a simple numeric measure of a person’s “fatness” or “thinness”, allowing health professionals to discuss over- and under-weight problems more objectively with their patients. It is meant to be used as a simple means of classifying sedentary (physically inactive) individuals with an average body composition. For these individuals, the current value settings are as follows:
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Resting Heart Rate

‘Resting heart rate’ refers to your heart rate in beats per minute when you are completely at rest.Your resting heart rate is often a good determination as to how fit you are, as well as indicating if you’re either over training or unwell – showing up as unexplained increases in resting heart rate. Monitoring your heart rate throughout your cycling training program will help you keep track of your fitness

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Body Fat Percentage

If you’re serious about your cycling training you probably care about your body fat percentage for the simple reason that the less fat you’re carrying around, the greater your power to weight ratio will be.

Body fat percentage is an estimate of the fraction of the total body mass that is adipose tissue (or referred to as Fat Mass), as opposed to lean body mass (muscle, bone, organ tissue, blood, and everything else) or referred to as Fat Free Mass. This index is often used as a means to monitor progress during a diet or as a measure of physical fitness for certain sports. It is more accurate as a measure of excess body weight than body mass index (BMI) since it differentiates between the weight of muscle mass and that of the fat mass while BMI lump all masses into one figure. However, its popularity is less than BMI because equipment required to perform the body fat percentage is not readily available and skills are required to perform the measurement. Even when measured by a skillful person, there are factors that contribute to a significant margin of error.

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