I should throw away the bathroom scales... 2kg heavier than this time last week -isn't- real, but it's got me in a sulk. I worry that it is real, or at least a bit real and that I am very slowly gaining weight. Every time I think that, it goes down again after a couple of days.
Having a total rest day today, same as yesterday. And I'm not cycling next week at all. 2x gyms is the size of it. It's a short week for us, so.
Something that might be interesting to investigate when we come back from hols is cycle commuting and what other people do. My gut feel is that I should be able to get 120km tidied away every week as a background level of activity rather than special and extra - it's commuting, not exercise. But Mr TOTKat reckons that most cycle commuters don't do 30km a day round trips and that actually it's quite a lot. I can see both sides of that argument, but surely it would become a background thing with time?
I think a week off the commuting next week is a good idea. When I was doing a cycle commute I was only doing 16km, and no other exercise. I think 30km is an awful lot to do as "background" along with running, swimming and weights thrown in as well. If you wanted to keep it up, I'd consider taking the train every 4th week or something..
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the hols when they come. Sounds like you need them :)
I manage just shy of 100km/week of "background" cycling (although for me, that's also feels "foreground" too, as it's my only exercise).
ReplyDelete[Switching to imperial, even though I want to stick to km, as it's my mid-year resolution to embrace metric (which is awesome btw), but the numbers are easier for this one...]
I started going 2 miles each way for a year; this was after much lazyness and was a near zero-to-100% ramp-up in exercise. After that, earlier *this* year, I switched to a 9 miles round trip. About a month ago, it started to feel "normal" rather than a distance. I wouldn't go back to the 2 mile route as it involves train-switching (yay for Bromptons).
I wonder if anyone has performed studies to find out how long it takes muscles and the brain to get used to a given amount of exercise, such that it becomes as you say, "background"?
I do 9 miles... so er... 15km? a day. But that's only 3-4 days a week as I WFH one day a week and often have some event before or after that prevents cyclage.
ReplyDeleteI have set myself a challenge to stop weighing myself for 2 weeks. SO far so good, although it's only been 2 days! I know how you feel, I'm happy with myself until I step on the scales and it either makes or breaks my day!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that 2kg will have vanished in a couple of days. Don't worry x
It looks like most people who cycle to work either have shorter journeys or do it 3-4 times a week and no appreciable other exercise.
ReplyDeleteI'm still convinced it's possible to do it 4x a week -and- gym as well, but it'll most likely take more than a couple of months to get to that stage. For now, 3-4 times a week and a week off every now and then will probably work. However, I do think more sleep would have to factor in there too. Less than 7 hours every night probably isn't enough for good recovery.
And as for the 2kg... 500g was gone today, so.