Off season fitness training

[Sirref]

Since not everyone is able to ride year round we need to stay in shape somehow so we don't end up weighing our bikes down at the start of the season I figured I'd start a discussion so we can share tips and tricks for staying optimally fit across the off season. I'll start with what I'm doing and hopefully everyone posts up what they're doing as well.

The way I see it is a three part process, the first being to stay active physically and the second being to stay active mentally. Finally the last step is eating a well balanced diet according to your body and goals.

With my goal being to drop back down to 140lbs (sitting around 170 now, down 5lbs in the last two weeks) my regime is largely cardio focused with a dash of lifting added in. I don't do anything super intensive so it's a daily routine.

Jogging: alternating between 1 mile and 3 miles every other day. I don't jog at a constant rate, I alternate between sprinting and a light jog in a high intensity interval training manner
Cycling: I have an indoor setup with rollers so I can't measure by distance until the weather gets warmer so I measure by time. I cycle while I play CoD with sprints in between matches. Typically twice a day for about 20-30 minute sessions (yes this destroys my K-D in the game but it's worth it)

I have a set of 15lb free weights that I use with the following exercises:
-curls, start counting to 10 after it starts hurting
-crunches, one dumbbell held straight above my chest. Same count as above
-lateral raises, 5 total for now (these are brutal)

Mental aspect:
This is the easiest part, It's simple. Set apart 15 minutes a day to meditate. It increases mental focus and seems to also increase my general happiness and attitude as well.

Diet (the most difficult part):
-I am using a few supplements to assist with weight loss, provided by evlution nutrition
-I have also cut out all soda, bread, empty carb snacks, energy drinks, and alcohol
-Calories are not the enemy, carbs are the enemy so all of this is relatively interchangeable so long as the diet sticks with a low carb philosophy
-Drinking 8 glasses of water daily
breakfast:
-2 egg whites and a strawberry banana smoothie (or mixed berry smoothie)
lunch:
-Tuna salad/shrimp salad/chicken salad
-a banana
dinner:
-blackened chicken/steak/fish
-broccoli/spinach/asparagus/snap peas
Snacks:
-celery with hummus or ranch

I'm thinking about finding a way to add in yoga for the flexibility but time is an issue at this point

Now that I've written a book what is everyone's fitness and diet regime like?

[JohnnyBravo]

Um.... How do you explain all the people around the world at low weight or losing weight on high carb diets? Darned enemies being so helpful

[britx303]

Ditch the smoothies and add more protein to your breakfast.Also you should have 2-3 more small meals in there. Eat every 3 hours......small,low carb meals and dont have so much heavy dressing/sauces like ranch dressing.That stuff is bad for the fat content and MSG thats found in most of them.Do weight training one day and cardio the next....not both on the same day,with a day off every 2-3 days.Also,we are having such a mild+fairly dry winter.....arent you riding the dirtbike to stay active?? Daytonas in 7 weeks......get crackin' Ben.

[michvin]

Your routine aimed squarely at building muscle, mostly, no? Isn't it an opposite of losing weight? A little confused...

[britx303]

Me? No not at all. Especially since he isnt lifting heavy or consuming enough calories to put on size......as long as he doesnt keep eating what I said not to.If he added a little more weight resistance,he would however build some lean muscle which raises metabolism,which in turn will help shed some "stored energy" hes put on.

[DaBlue1]

Fitness Training and weight lose... what a good topic. There are so many ways that one can go about accomplishing weight lose while getting overall fit. To keep this post somewhat short, I'll share a 'lil bit of what I know.

I've lost 35 pounds in the last 6 months, down to 185 lbs (meets USMC height and weight standard) from 220 lbs. I've been as high as 230 lbs since being off active duty 16 years. As someone who has also worked in the health and fitness industry for several years, you tend to learn from personal trainers, dieticians, kinesiologist, physical therapist, yogis and pilates instructors. Each one has a unique approach but they all start and say the same basic thing.....watch what you eat and how much and exercise.

Here is the one important key to any weight lose venture, one pound of weight is lost for every 3000 calories reduced or burned. Those looking to gain the opposite is true, one pound of weight is gained for every 3000 extra calories you take in above what you burn.

Wanna now approx how many calories you need? How much you burn a day? or just how fat you really are?...........Try these and other calculators and see what you come up with. https://www.healthstatus.com/calculators/

Low carb, vegetarian, vegan, mediterranean, raw food, South Beach, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig etc... all work as long as you don't consume too much. The common thing amongst them is calorie restriction/reduction by portion control of well balanced meals. There are dozens of web sites that have calorie specific meals and recipes. All the counting is done for you.

As far as exercise goes, mix it up. Cardio, resistance training, yoga, pilates, sports, walking 3-4 miles, bike riding and even Ninja riding burns calories. Do it all and watch your body respond, just make sure you give it a rest every now and again. My main equipment of choice was a Total Gym. For an old dog like myself, it was perfect for the old bones and joints. The only real heavy weight moving that I did was push that Ninja and my heavy ass around the neighborhood.

For me, I didn't count the first 5 lbs of weight loss. I've lost as much as 4.5 lbs in sweat just cutting my grass. It was back on the next afternoon. 1-1.5 lbs is common for a good sit on the crapper.

Hope someone finds this helpful.

The end result.... my Ninja is 15 mph faster

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by britx303

Ditch the smoothies and add more protein to your breakfast.Also you should have 2-3 more small meals in there. Eat every 3 hours......small,low carb meals and dont have so much heavy dressing/sauces like ranch dressing.That stuff is bad for the fat content and MSG thats found in most of them.Do weight training one day and cardio the next....not both on the same day,with a day off every 2-3 days.Also,we are having such a mild+fairly dry winter.....arent you riding the dirtbike to stay active?? Daytonas in 7 weeks......get crackin' Ben.

Thank you for the advice, I'll switch things up a bit

I am on the dirtbike, I just don't characterize it as exercise since it's too much fun!

As for days off, all my classes are Tue/Thurs so there's the perfect time to make that happen

I'll switch the smoothies (I make them myself so they're almost pure fruit) to snacks across the day and add more protein to the breakfast

As for Daytona, I don't think I'll be riding that one due to cost but I'll be there working with one of the 200 teams and then spend the next few days back up riding the dirtbike with friends at a few mx parks

[Sirref]

Originally Posted by JohnnyBravo

Um.... How do you explain all the people around the world at low weight or losing weight on high carb diets? Darned enemies being so helpful

They probably had a super high fiber diet as well

[britx303]

Bare in mind Ben,that fruit metabolises the same as eating sugar....but citrus is okay if you feel the need to eat fruit. Grapes,strawberries, kiwi etc. are good examples to try and shy away from for trimming down. Bananas are good as a pre-workout....but i tend to stop there with them,besides on raceday when we are expending alot of calories/energy anyways. When I was on the pro strongman circuit,I was more than 100 pounds larger than what I am now......so I know there are other ways to do it,im just offering advice on how we eat to stay leaner that works positively,and without "falling off the wagon" with fad diets and such. Also for crunchy snacks that have a good vitamin boost try sliced bell peppers......they also amp up metabolism.Best o'luck Ben....see ya at daytona

[Sirref]

Good to know, I wasn't aware of that with fruit. I think I can invent a smoothie that avoids sugary fruits