Bit worrying. I don’t get to ride that much these days, basically I’m having to focus on other parts of my life, but when I DO get to ride, it’s always a biggie in somewhere very remote nowhere near a defibrillator! Apparently my heart attack risk doubles when I’m on these rides, compared to what it’s at when I’m at my desk. IF you ride regularly, heart attack risk when you’re on those rides doesn’t increase that much if at all.

I’m sure that there are others on here who only get to ride infrequently too and will also be a bit concerned.

The implication effectively is, if you’re not going to do strenuous exercise at least weekly – don’t bother doing it at all. It seems the maxim “all exercise is good exercise” isn’t actually true.

Here’s the study:

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/health/Sudden-Exercise-Poses-Heart-Risk-for-Sedentary-People.html

In short – get out on that effing ride this week!

Classic STW response in that I haven’t read the link (as it’s blocked from here) but seems a bit of an extreme conclusion from the summary you give.

First thing to ask is what is the baseline risk – i.e. that of having a heart attack at your desk? And then, does doubling that risk by exercising make any meaningful difference to the actual risk you face?

Say it’s a one in three risk, doubling it clearly does matter. But say it’s a (more realistic) one in an hundred thousand, putting that up to one in two hundred thousand doesn’t make any meaningful difference to an individual’s risk does it?

Is increased risk of heart attack the only thing covered in the paper?

What about the other risks and benefits of irregular exercise?

Etc Etc Etc.

[pedant mode]

But say it’s a (more realistic) one in an hundred thousand, putting that up to one in two hundred thousand doesn’t make any meaningful difference to an individual’s risk does it?

thats actually halving it. doubling the risk would be one in 50,000. :-p

[/pedant mode]

I see the logic. Insufficient exercise is unhealthy, but exercise requires time and energy to do. But since you appear healthy, work and family don’t really acknowledge that their demands are excessive.

It’s true to say in my case, that I have random “spare” hours in the weekday evenings when I could exercise. But after the demands have been met I just don’t have the energy to do anything except surf this bl00dy forum.

Not going to stop me riding whenever I can, doesn’t the enhanced risk just make it more exciting? Also if you worry about it won’t your blood pressure go up and that make it even more likely you’ll have a heart attack, so you can worry about the risk trebling and then quadrupling and eventually die a big fat pasty lump on the sofa having never done anything. Or you could live a little 😀

Probably still got more chance of going under a lorry / getting killed on the motorway / while shouting play up Pompey on the way through Southampton.

Apologies in advance to my son if I end up orphaning him by pushing too hard on the first climb of the day (but he prefers mummy anyway and they’d be rich).

Does that not more apply to fatty fatty desk rider who suddenly decides to do LEJOG rather than someone who keeps moderately fit riding once a week.

Missus told me I spend an excessive ammount of time and money cycling, I told her I didn’t care and was contemplating supplementing it with coke and hookers.

I used to carry a few aspirin with me – no idea where they went

It’s a bit “proving the bleeding obvious” though isn’t it?

How often do you ride/exercise at all then jhw? Just out of interest.

at least you’ll die doing something you enjoy,

does this also apply to sex?

does this also apply to sex?

I know someone who died ‘on the job’

Hotel room in Paris, and not with his missus – He’d taken his bit on the side to the races there.

He was a well known publican so the local paper carried full details of the inquest

Why not take up running? Quick and the easiest way to keep fit.

At this point, never, despite the fact my (small) flat in Brussels has about four and a half grand’s worth of bike in it. It sucks balls but I’m having to network like crazy and learn French to progress my career and there just isn’t time when that’s done to ride, except when on (many) actual riding holidays when I do nothing else.

Before I left London, I’d get out on the mountain bike on a weekly basis plus commute and Regent’s Park laps in the week.

Some quite interesting statistical analysis points above. Yeah, I’m not going to let this get to my head.