Judging by some recent health and fitness threads on here, you lot are all super buff enduro-athletes. Your diets are über wholesome and geared to high performance, which means you’d never find yourself lurking under the Golden Arches with all the poor misguided fatties! 😆

I, on the other hand, confess to being just coincidentally fit. I’m (well) fit because I ride all the time – and I ride all the time because I love it, not really because of the health benefits it offers me. Yesterday, I got into trousers that I hadn’t been able to get on since the days when I worked 14-hour shifts behind the Leeds United conference bar. I’m well fit!

But if I stopped riding I’d be Camo36 again in no time. All other forms of exercise, IMO, are basically pants.

So – are you naturally fit, or coincidentally fit?

If you weren’t riding would you be (a) out on the moors/on the track/in the gym keeping in shape or (b) a right bloater?

No one is naturally fit, though some have genes and a mind more suitable to moving around a bit

I’ve just joined a gym 🙁

Anoyingly I still judge rides on the same 10mph average, I just end up dissapointed a lot more often these days!

a for me, I have to exercise. I run, just started playing footie again, do 150 odd miles a week on my bikes (starting club winter turbo sessions next week too).

If I didn’t exercise I’d be
a. unhappy and bored
b. a right fattie, because I eat like a horse.

This is a pretty accurate image of what I’d look like if I didn’t ride so much

At the moment, I’m more….

I am fit* because I enjoy riding and playing footy. I eat what I want, though it’s mainly healthy if not properly portioned 🙂

*relatively.

Definately a happy by product of riding, and it depends fully on how much riding im able to get in. although I reckon that since turning 30 if I wasn’t fit by accident I’d be an unhappy gym bunny.

Fit is a funny word, I reckon I’m fitter then the vast majority of the people I meet day to day and I’m happy with my level of fitness as it compares to the people I ride with. The thing is though when I do a race or enduro I’m reminded that fit I us a relative term by all the Lycra boys.

Question is where are all the Lycra boys the rest of the time, do they only emerge from their turbo trainers and road bikes to smash me at races?

Fitness through exercise
Thinness through diet

I am sure someone can come up with the numbers about how many miles you have to ride to displace the calories in the end of ride beer. Someone told me once and it looks like my Thursday night ride followed by beer will actually make me fatter 🙁

I think if I didn’t ride, skate, climb, etc.. I’d be a right old fatty!

I ride twice a week, skateboard at least twice a week, also keep my hand in down at the climbing wall for summer high-mountain trips a few times a month, get out walking with the family as often as is possible.

I like eating and I like doing stuff so it works out pretty well for me.

I reckon i’m fitter than ive got a right to expect, all things considered.

I didn’t exercise for 7 whole days last week. 7 WHOLE DAYS!

I still can’t ride though, so I’ll gym, swim, whatever. Riding is very important to me, but I’d still exercise if bikes didn’t exist.

I am sure someone can come up with the numbers about how many miles you have to ride to displace the calories in the end of ride beer. Someone told me once and it looks like my Thursday night ride followed by beer will actually make me fatter

Despite what people say on here, it isn’t quite as simple as “Calories In versus Calories Out”

When you regularly perform reasonably strenuous exercise your body responds by producing more mitochondria – which are basically the engines for your muscles.

More mitochondria means your metabolism gets faster (basal metabolic rate increases).

So not only do you burn off some calories by doing the exercise, but you actually make your body better at burning more calories in the future, even when you are not “exercising”.

WCA – Depends how many beers and what the night ride route is? 😉

BURP!

Despite what people say on here, it isn’t quite as simple as “Calories In versus Calories Out”

Yes it is, for weight loss anyway

The rest of your post is pretty much bang on though. So well done, have a cookie 😉

Also alcohol interferes with a lot of the body’s systems, so having a post ride beer will proabbaly not make you fat accoring to the “Calories in Vs Calories out” mantra. However it may interfere with everything from replenishing energy stores in the muscles, to muscle building, to digestion. So Ride+Beer can result in the destruction of muscles during excercise which would normaly grow back bigger and stronger not growing back.

I’ve just eaten a Ginsters pasty, my nutritional advice may not be sound.

I’ve been more off the bike than on in recent months. I had my first (road) ride for ages yesterday and I wasn’t as unfit as I thought, so I think there is some latent fitness there that I’ve always had, even during periods of *ahem* laziness. Like someone said up above, I get fat and miserable without some form of activity, so I reckon something kicks in to stop me ever getting properly unfit.

Yes it is, for weight loss anyway

Yeah but my point is that exercise actually increases the Calories Out part, even when not exercising. So while a simple sum of “I ate one Mars Bar so I need to run X miles to burn off the Y calories” will help you lose weight it isn’t the whole story.

WCA could do exactly the same ride as his mates, then have exactly the same beer, but because he rides more regularly his metabolism is faster so he could still be in negative calories while his mates are positive.

So well done, have a cookie

nice, double white chocolate please 😀

mum is small and skinny, and so is my dad. I’m 160cm and at my heaviest (a couple of years or so ago when I was v unhappy) I was 45kg.

I’ve always been doing sports; Gymnastics was my thing from 6 to quite recently, it burns through calories like you wouldn’t believe, but the injuries are relentless. Now I run and cycle, running I luv ’cause I can do it, and it’s like a release, cycling is a hang over from when I used to ride with my dad.

Eating wise my diet is shit if I’m honest. I’ll often not bother, and wonder why the room spins when I stand up LOL, or I’ll eat a massive cake in one sitting, I live off yoghurt and granola or cheese on toast. I can cook, and I do pretty much everyday, but other people eat it. I know I drink waaaay too much.

I’ve no idea if I’m fit, or really what that even means TBH. I’ve got a flat tummy and a 4 pack. Does that count?

Even if i don’t ride i’m fortunate to be able to maintain a svelt athletic appearance, in fact i look better from not riding as i don’t burn of the cakage so i look less skinny so bulkier in a slim way.

I eat badly and like a beer or ten.
However, if i’m not riding i’m walking a far bit with is what i’ve been doing for the last month or so having not ridden in that time.

But that is appearance only, my bike fitness will be lower than usual, which most that know me will state that it’ll still be at freakish levels.

Having said all that, if i attempt to run for much more of a distance than to chase the ladies, i weez and puff like the very unheathiest of 40 year olds.

Glad however to be able to look at most guys my age and think, yes, i am lucky to have the body and mind i have, even if that is a have,

Interesting…

I rediscovered how much I like being fit about two weeks after I started riding again. I used to exercise sporadically – swimming, hiking etc – but I’ve never been in a gym and my dumb-bells are hidden away in a dark scary cupboard I no longer use. 😳

Isn’t riding a bike the only fun, easily accessible form of exercise there is?

I’ve no idea if I’m fit, or really what that even means TBH. I’ve got a flat tummy and a 4 pack. Does that count?

WTF? Of course that counts. 😆

yay!!

😀

I had a headwind today for 3.5 miles so, after doing the math, I deserve this Screme Egg *slurp*

I’m one of nature’s slim people. I’m sorry.

I eat what I like, which is usually chips and cake. I’m vegetarian and allergic to cheese, so I’m essentially the anti-Atkins and live off carbs. I drink too much, and up until a couple of years ago exercise was intermittent at best. I do a mostly desk-based job, and spend most evenings in front of the TV / Xbox.

I’ve never formally “exercised,” the gym bores me rigid. I used to rock-climb at least three times a week, but stopped that several years ago and did nowt up until discovering MTBing a year or two back. I’ve taken part in a few 10km running races, but my training for this consists of thinking “christ, the race is in a few weeks” and doing half a dozen ~5km practice runs beforehand.

I’m 5’10”, around 11 stone give or take, and am showing signs of middle-aged spread in so far as I’ve had to move up from 28″ to 30″ jeans.

I’m not ‘fit’ exactly, but I expect I could be without too much effort.

hmmmm,

was going to say as well. At my gymnastics club we were ‘encouraged’ not to eat, not directly, but we understood that to be good you had to be small and skinny. not helped by the pictures all over the walls of teeny little russians. The boys had it easier as they need muscles, so needed to eat to get them, but even they were made to feel pressured to use protein shakes and stuff rather than food. Then there was Ballet, oh my word!! whole new world of skinny!

no wonder a few girls i know from back then have eating disorders 🙄

I’m 160cm ……………I was 45kg.

F***** me! And that was your heaviest? I did a calculation the other day (it was wrong, but still the anecdote doesn’t work if the maths was correct) and it said I could lose 45kg!

Just had corned beef pie and chips with gravy, followed by three Freddo bars. *burp*

A short ride to work and back each morning seems to keep my ticking over. I’m not as fast as I would be if I rode more, but I’m struggling to keep the weight on as it is.

I am quite fit ,but I have always managed it through having a decent commute distance ( don’t do gyms).
I have been doing it for so long that I can now switch to auto pilot if my cycling amounts change.
If I am not cycling as much ,I just don’t eat as much.
I like having a good general level of fitness ,just gives me more options.

I’m one of nature’s slim people. I’m sorry.

I’ve always been “broad”.

Even at uni, in the depths of stooodent poverty when I was surviving on a few tins of Kwik Save beans a week, walking everywhere (+ riding, indoor climbing, and plenty of raving) I was still heavy (around 14 stone) though in photos from that time I look decidedly gaunt and unwell.

I think if I got down to 11 stone something would snap 😕

I’m pretty fit, eat reasonably well, but could be better! I don’t drink, save for an occasional bottle of wine with the girlfriend. 5’10” and 10.5 stone, but that does go up quite rapidly if I don’t ride!

Currently doing a 50 mile round trip commute 2-3 times a week, a 30 mile round trip 1-2 days, plus a decent MTB ride at the weekend. Affords me the ability to have a pizza or two!

Question is where are all the Lycra boys the rest of the time, do they only emerge from their turbo trainers and road bikes to smash me at races?

I guess that’s me! I’m out there often enough! We tend to hunt in packs though, you’ll get a ‘clan’ of racers out riding together!

I’ve no idea if I’m fit, or really what that even means TBH. I’ve got a flat tummy and a 4 pack. Does that count?

We need proof of that claim!

I’m pretty fit through commuting everyday. I too have a six pack, it’s just hidden and keeping warm for the winter under a layer of fat!

exercise is something that happens by accident*.

i tried ‘training’ once, it was rubbish. why do people do it?

i’m a skinny streak of p!55, and i live on a diet of curry, pies, cake, and other assorted rubbish*.

(*there’ll be a headwind on the way home today, i need all the fuel i can get)

Not co-incidental, being fit is about being able to ride up more hills and so enjoy more downhills. Something I’m missing at the moment 🙁

I also ride as much as possible to offset my gluttony.

I’m always astonished at the levels of fitness on STW Peak forum rides.

I started off fit because I rode lots. Then I realised I was fit so decided to start doing some races which encouraged me to ride a bit more. I’m reluctant to describe it as training as it’s not gym work or intervals, just a more concerted effort to ride regularly and go that bit further on a regular basis. I was probably doing 200miles a week over summer on average (80% road) but some weeks could do 300.

I eat healthily most of the time and my alcohol consumption is in single figures per week unit wise. I like to drink but prefer riding without a hangover. I do occasionally eat junk food. Love sweets, pizza and plenty of other stuff.

If I didn’t ride then I’d be doing something else. Used to kayak 4 or so times a week as a student, used to swim at school I peaked at 8 training sessions in a week when I was swimming for a club, school and playing polo. I could get back into swimming, I always thought running might be good, especially if I get short of time as it’s generally harder. Recently started to horse ride which is suprisingly physical.

I wouldn’t say I’m fit and riding fast (especially on the road bike) isn’t something that comes easily to me. I’ve had to work quite hard to get to the weight I’m at now and I’m still not at my ideal weight.

Sort of on topic, does it make anyone else laugh a bit when they read “I’m such and such a weight fully kitted up” as if bike gear adds a substantial amount of weight?

I’ve never really enjoyed sport until I started biking and I know if I stopped I would getter fat as my eating has increased loads since I started. Infact it has increased too much and I’m currently altering my diet to lose 5-10kg which is not made easy by reading about other people eatig cake and pastie.

As someone mentioned already many people friends and collegues think I’m extremly fit and I probably am compared to many but compared to many cyclists and general fitness freaks I am unfit and overweight.

The benefits of exercise and a sport I enjoy have been amazing for me so if for any reason I couldn’t ride anymore I’d have to find another way of keeping fit (it won’t be as much fun though).

I ride to work 4 miles each way, that’s around 30 mins a day. A lot of people think I must be fit to do that – but it’s still only the govt. recommended MINIMUM exercise per week!

No one is naturally fit

Actually I would say that I am naturally fit, but coincidently unfit, I let myself go for many many years before this year, but even in that state could put in a pretty fair showing in a game of football or squash etc. Earlier this year I put in quite a bit of effort in mountain biking and was able to lose 12 kilos and complete the trans Germany.

My fitness varies but strangely my shape/weight seems to stay the same. I hate feeling unfit, but I also know that the fittest I’ve ever been is not even close to ‘fit’ on some people’s scales. I do a couple of different sports including MTBing and am fit enough to enjoy them but in both I compete participate with one or two others who are on such a different level of fitness and skill that my best efforts barely get them troubled. But they train and practice and get upset when they lose and all that dull stuff, I just enjoy myself.

I’m always astonished at the levels of fitness on STW Peak forum rides.

You mean the lack of it? 😉

My sister and I are both naturally slim although she admitted to being quite unfit as (until recently) she hardly ever exercised but she just never really got fat.

Personally I hate to go for more than a couple of days without exercise so I guess it sort of works out that I’m reasonably fit although nowhere near what I was in my early/mid 20’s when I was racing every weekend pretty much.