#558

i was going to suggest breeze

(https://www.letsride.co.uk/social suggests there’s a couple relatively near you, but not super close)

(there’s someone in Penge who leads breeze rides multiple times a week. there’s a reason they’re women only, cos rocking up to a bike ride with a whole bunch of blokes can be very intimidating, and statistically way less women take part in cycling as a hobby compared to men. we’ve been v careful in penge to not do anything specific for women in terms of club rides and events, but stuff like breeze allows women to get into the sport easier imho)

(also, the wednesday arvo thing: i expect you’d be surprised. a whole bunch of folk i know and ride with regularly are either retired, or self employed, so can just ride whenever they want. i’m so jealous when they ask on pengebook if anyone is around on a weekday to head out!)

1 Like
#559

What @laelfy said.

Also take photos of yourself side-on and from the front once a month depending on what sort of exercise you’re doing you might see more of a difference in photos than on the scales. When I was actively trying to lose weight there was no difference on the scales at all over months but my body visibly changed a lot.

I wouldn’t bother with body fat scales btw, mine still reckon my body fat % is the same as it was before I started weight training which can’t be right.

#560

Thanks guys @laelfy

I only ever do cardio (cycling running and very very occasional swimming)

Always try and psych myself up to do some weights or something, but can absolutely never be arsed. :slight_smile:

#561

I haven’t played since last week so I’m stuck on my week 3 stats.

Hopefully your break will allow me to catch up a bit.

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#562

push ups are hard

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#563

went for another run inspired by all the hard work you people are putting in :slight_smile:

Was feeling really down about this stuff a couple of weeks ago but I don’t want to be beaten so easily, thanks for the inspiration x

10 Likes
#565

want to see some strength benchmarks for cyclists? https://www.trainerroad.com/strength-training-calculator

think the idea is that any strength gains over and above those standards doesn’t necessarily directly make you a better cyclist. bear in mind for competitive cycling power to weight ratio is pretty important, so they don’t want to be carrying around any extra muscle mass they don’t have to.

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#566

Do they do classes at your gym? I’ve only been a member of 2 gyms, never spoke to anyone at the first one which ended up closing down. Moved to a new one, became a regular at one class and the instructor started a WhatsApp group as lots of the same faces seemed to attend. Not sure how common it is, but might be worth asking them?

I was initially quite reluctant to join in but ended up getting to know a few people and on occasion a few of us will make loose plans to go to the gym at the same time. It’s a very ragtag bunch but actually quite nice. They do Xmas beers and stuff (that I haven’t yet attended).

#567

I found it really helpful just asking one of the salaried gym staff to help out. They did a routine/plan thing for me, gave me loads of tips on eating, and were just always about in the gym to help out and comment on progress and just chat which was super encouraging.

Just a thought, worth a go as they’re usually free and it really worked for me.

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#568

Really need to incorporate some toning + stretching and squatting into my exercise regime but I just cba.
Need a 20 minute or half an hour routine, just can’t motivate myself to sift through YouTube for something good.

#569

What do you mean by toning?

#570

Good data.

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#571

doesn’t seem like much at all…

but then you get track sprinters. remember hearing chris høy squats 250kg :astonished:

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#572

unexpected metal.

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#573

I might just bite the bullet and try that pvolve thing. It looks kind of like low impact toning and stretching…almost yoga/Pilates/barre style workouts to do at home!

#574

feeling it in my legs today, especially going up and down stairs

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#575

Success!

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#576

Did some more deadlifts last night, concentrating on form a bit more. Worked up to 80kg x 10r - quite happy with that as a benchmark to improve on.

Didn’t do my back in or anything

4 Likes
#577

What’s that? I mean is it an app or a YouTube thing or something else?

#578

Making my wobbly bits a bit firmer I guess? Building a bit of muscle + strength +flexibility