Personal fitness milestone...

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Brandon

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I just rode ten miles on my bicycle today!

I was disgusted with myself and started to get serious about it. I was tired of fixing my old bike and it was interfering with my pacing so I went and bought a new one. Best thing I have done for myself in quite a while.

I started off at about 3 miles and added about .5 to 1 mile a day by going to the next hilltop.

It isn't showing on the scale yet (which I consider a good thing at the moment) but I can tell I have lost weight in my face and I've gained a notch on my belt.

Just had to tell someone,

Thanks,

Brandon
 
Good for you, I am just coming off of 3 months of physical thearapy for a back injury an another 3 month of lazyness.:rolleyes: I use to be in pretty good shape, but now I have to make that long, hard climb all over again.

I am not a big bike rider, but I use to do it quite often. Set aside a Saturday and try a 25 mile ride, it's not that hard if you take your time; pack a lunch it's lots of fun.

To keep this related to the forum, what do people consider "good shape" for survival if things suddenly turn bad. In my opinion the minimum level of fitness for a SHTF would be something like this:

Be able to sprint 100 yards
Be able to run 2 mi
Be able to complete 10 pull-up (needed for climbing)
Hike 10-15 mi in a day (with a pack)

I didn't include any times b/c different people will take different amounts of time. I think that if a person can do those activities, they should be fit enough to handle most SHTF

What do you think?
 
Good for you! It's hard to keep a healthy lifestyle; unless you do something silly like, say, join the Marine infantry.:)

As for what is fit enough.... It may be the Corps talking, but I'd put the run to 3 miles at a good pace. I've seen guys "run" about as fast as my arthritic grandmother walks. Pullups are good, but can be misleading. They favor lean wiry types. 10-15 miles isn't that far, depending on the pack's weight. If you do nothing but hike for a fairly full day (10-12 hours) w/ a moderate weight (50-60 lbs) pack, I'd shoot for 20-30 miles depending on terrain and weather.
 
I can walk all day...

I can outwalk most people even with a 50 lb pack, I just never lost weight doing it.

I needed the cardio aspect of the bike, my heartrate just never gets that high when I walk.

I consider 10-15 mile/day pretty good walking, but I made 10 miles in just a short time this afternoon.
 
I am not talking about getting into war-fighting shape, just the minimum for your everyday person. 2 or 3 miles is splitting hairs, the idea is you can get away from trouble reasonably quick (for a person on foot). The idea behind pull-ups is that you can lift you body weight up to get over a ledge (and do it more than once). Hiking: I have been hiking most of my life and 20 mi in a day is quite possible, however, when I have taken people new to hiking out and have found that 15 mi is the farthest that people in good shape can do before they physically quit. After a few days that improves, but the average person can only be expected to go about 15 mi unless they have done a lot of hiking.
 
I lost 60 pounds in 7 months bike riding several years ago.

I went from 235 to 175. I am about 178 today, several years later - when I started working out on the home gym I actually gained a few pounds, muscle I assume (hope!).

This winter I have been doing the Parabody gym and 30 minutes on the eliptic machine, alternating every day, and walk about 2 1/2 miles at lunch several days a week. I also jog a bit, usually about 5 miles or so.

I always park out in the boonies in parking lots and always take the stairs. Little things add up over time.
 
I really need to get my bike back on the road. It's great excercise if you have less than fit knees.

FYI: Get a bike that FITS! Then set it up properly. Use your gears and try to stay aerobic as much as you can, avoid the "burn". Try to ride for at least an hour. This does two things; One, is it helps force your body to use stored fat for fuel. Two, it makes your muscles use more of their fibers, and therefore makes them more efficient.

I'll also need to come up with a rifle scabbard for one of my Lee Enfields. Hmmm, across the handlebars, or alongside the forks? :rolleyes:
 
"I was tired of fixing my old bike and it was interfering with my pacing so I went and bought a new one."

So what did you get, Honda, Harley, Yamaha...?
 
I got out of the bike riding habit when I moved up to the big icecube. I've seen folks brave enough to ride on sheets of ice, but I'm not one of them. Gravity and I don't get along as well as we used to, and I used up all nine of my lives in my 20's. I try to focus on hiking and walking as much as possible, though it's far too easy to become a cave dweller in the cold dark months up here. In past summers I've tried to make a target milestone, usually climbing some small peak in the chugach not over 4,000 foot vertical rise from the trailhead. That's more than enough for me. This winter I blew out my left knee and my bones have started feeling their age, so I'm adjusting my elevation down a bit and lengthening my goal. I'm planning on retracing an old trade route from the mouth of Indian Creek to the headwaters of Ship Creek and then, trail condition permitting, into Anchorage from the north.
The scouting I did on that trail this past fall was pretty dismal, though. It's in bad shape and I'm in worse.
 
Congratulations

Just remember that at first you will put on muscle as you shed fat so you may not see much weight loss at first.
 
Bike riding is a relatively low-impact way of staying in shape. So is swimming. If you feel the need to run, try to do it on something other than concrete or asphalt!

A good friend of mine was a weight lifter for many years, and strong as an ox. He added bike riding to his regimen, and started losing weight, but still maintained his strength. I got him started with swimming, to work on his cardio-vascular, and he's now taking 75-mile bike rides!
 
Congratulations! I'm sure that there are more than a few of us THRs that would benefit from putting in more time at physically challenging activity than keyboarding or even (gasp) time at the range.
 
Back when I lived in Alexandria I bought a mountain bike and replaced the knob tires with 2' slicks. It was a good combo for me. Good bike paths in NoVA along the Potomac. My longest was a 30 mile ride from my place to George Washington's place at Mt Vernon, side streets and the bike path. Took about 2 hrs. Back then I also ran 4 miles every other day. The trick to going distance is to take lots of water and don't stop.
To keep this related to the forum, what do people consider "good shape" for survival if things suddenly turn bad. In my opinion the minimum level of fitness for a SHTF would be something like this:Be able to sprint 100 yards
Be able to run 2 mi
Be able to complete 10 pull-up (needed for climbing)
Hike 10-15 mi in a day (with a pack)
Click to expand...
Don't set an upper limit. Just get on your bike and go, you don't need to go fast, just don't impose an artificial reason to stop. In a real survival situation, your limit may be where you die. Think about that when you set a fitness goal.

Now that you've gone 10 miles, go 15 or 20. Next, start riding every other day and on your off days walk 4 or 5 or 10 miles (100 calories per mile whether your walking or running) and work on upper body doing push-ups, pull-ups and sit-ups -- do lots of sit-ups. I hate 'em too, but I can crank out 120 in 2 minutes and I'm 54 yo.
 
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Thats a great way to get into shape without hurting your knees. Its also more fun than walking.
I started my fitness quest last sept, and now have lost over 40 lbs, and am MUCH stronger. I used to be nearly dead after "jogging" a mile, the other day I did 3 consecutive miles in record time. I ride frequently, and go for hikes to the top of a local mountain, each time trying to better my last time. Its very encouraging to see improvments. Its also said that being in good shape makes you a better shot, which is good because I need all the help I can get.
I need a new stick to beat all the ladies away, the old one has now worn out;)
 
I once had a SERE instructor tell me "Hit the ground running"

He said "If you can cover three miles in 30 minutes over any terrain, day or night, you've got it made"

That has always been the standard I use for personal fitness. I guess it would also come in handy for basic SHTF.

I could even do it once....many moons ago.
 
Sarge,
Is that with or without a 40-60 lb pack and a long gun (e.g. tactical rifle or shotgun)?
 
I'd like to drop 30 lbs AND do a 50 mile bike ride sometime. I've done 31 mile ones during the summer, maybe once every 2 weeks (it's a round trip to my gunshop and if I'm gonna ride that far, I'm gonna buy something!! :D )
My older brother (formerly 80-90 lbs heavier than me), has lost almost all of that and I'll be damned if he's going to wear a smaller pants size than me!!!!! Thus my new diet!
 
It's been mentioned before, but I wanted to re-emphasize it. Biking and swimming are superior to straight running because of the lessened impact and joint stress. Swimming is also more strenous and lots of fun IMHO.

Just keep working and be persistent. Any type of physical activity, be it running marathons or walking the dog briskly, will pay dividends; but only if you keep it up. A regiment that takes longer to show results or that maintains a lower level of fitness is better than a hardcore program you won't keep up with. Integrate it into your lifestyle.
 
Good for you Brandon

A few years back I hurt my shoulder so badly I couldn't even run. Eventually I was able to get on a bike and lose my padding. Since then I ride on the road and offroad, and to work at least twice a week. I like to run too, but you almost never see somebody on two wheels looking like they hate what they are doing. Can't say the same about running.
 
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