Too old to start cycling @ 70?

[Stalker62]

FB,

Fair play old son.
Great that you are thinking about your health.

Re: the bike.
My top bike tip. Stay off the roads.
I went through a "phase" of cycling to work. When I woke up for the second time in hospital I thought perhaps it was not for me.
Fun Fact.
The AI into London is downhill.
The AI out of London is fing uphill.


Who knew? No one in a car obviously.

You have an "easy" ride into work (providing you are not knocked off your bike by some cnut motorist), you then do a twelve hour shift, to find that to get home (in the dark) you have to peddle up fing hill. Fcuk that.

Weight.

Do not get hung up on numbers. You will know when you feel better. Others will tell you you look better. Do not get hung up on numbers.

Bottles of Beer.
Drink what you enjoy.
With a wee bit of exercise going on, you should be able to enjoy you regular two bottles a night.

Food.
If you are stoking more that you are burning, you are putting on weight.
Moderation is everything (My wife's mantra to me).
Smaller plates - literally smaller plates - equates to smaller portions.

Non-weight bearing exercise if you can, swimming and cycling are good to go on that front.

Lycra.
Never on a man over 40.
Actually, never on a man.
Only ever on a women and only in "specialist clubs" in Soho.

Life and Health is so much more than diet.
It's a lifestyle. Get it right and you can raise a glass to "Good Health" without any guilt.

Cheers.

 

[glasshalffull]

Started cycling in my mid 30's after developing into an unhealthy beer swigging blob to being advised to buy a bike by a doctor friend to loose 3 stone. The weight was gone for good after 4 months and my health both physically and mentally improved even sooner. One piece of advice get the gear it's purpose made to make cycling pleasurable. I know a guy who's now in his mid 80's who cycle's more than I do. So yes you will loose weight and feel better for it you might even get a fit new bird to accompany you as I did

 

[rookyshot]

Never too old to cycle. Fantastic non impact exercise - easy on the joints. A little harder on the arse bet it gets easier.

Get a heart rate monitor. The best way to KNOW how hard you're pushing yourself. Fat burn zone is 120-140 bpm and aim to stay in that zone. If you don't over exert you can only do yourself good.

An hour a day and the weight will fall off if that's your aim.

There’s some golden advice there..

Get a heart rate monitor and when you exercise you calculate the best heart rate for fat burning by taking your age from 180.

As your fitness improves you’ll be able to go faster and longer at this heart rate and consequently burn more and more fat.

This is the key principal of endurance training and how you teach your body to fuel from fats rather than stored glycogen. It takes patience but is highly effective.

The health benefits of regular exercise like this are immeasurable and you will literally put years on your life expectancy if you get your weight down and keep the fitness up.

I personally find this guy very inspiring due to the fact that he’s still completing 140 mile Ironman events at 87.

This 87-year-old triathlete has won a Guinness World Record

He's officially the oldest person to complete the Ironman World Championship.

www.runnersworld.com

anything is possible if you want it enough.

 

[NigelM]

I did my last Ironman at 47. Next to me in transition was a 77 year old Japanese chap. He completed in just under 17 hours. 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and a marathon to finish up. Inspiring.

 

[bullet chucker]

I took a chance two month ago, drove the car to Guildford to have a major warranty carried out on it. Put the bike in the rear to ride home the 20 miles. I am 74, kin hills nearly every 3 miles all the way home only to find 18 speed gear steed only allowed one high and one low before the chain came off! Stopped at the lights on a main junction foot down on the kerb, waiting for my turn to set off again and wonder where the next breath would come from? I turned to look back over my shoulder, to suddenly and with out warning' my sense of ballance left me and I fell over.(red face or what!)So after getting home, as we aint as young as we woz any more, be mindful to check over the unridden bike for 14 odd years to see that it all works still. PS, gear change mechanism seized up with gunk? Also I don't remember saddles being that bliddy uncomfortable.

BC.

 

[C h r i s]

Saddles get a lot more bearable once all that soft arse fat is turned into muscle

 

[flatliner]

I took a chance two month ago, drove the car to Guildford to have a major warranty carried out on it. Put the bike in the rear to ride home the 20 miles. I am 74, kin hills nearly every 3 miles all the way home only to find 18 speed gear steed only allowed one high and one low before the chain came off! Stopped at the lights on a main junction foot down on the kerb, waiting for my turn to set off again and wonder where the next breath would come from? I turned to look back over my shoulder, to suddenly and with out warning' my sense of ballance left me and I fell over.(red face or what!)So after getting home, as we aint as young as we woz any more, be mindful to check over the unridden bike for 14 odd years to see that it all works still. PS, gear change mechanism seized up with gunk? Also I don't remember saddles being that bliddy uncomfortable.

BC.

Don't worry, a face plant at the traffic lights, in full public view,is a right of passage for all those that have tried clipless pedals.

 

[Scandially]

70, 70.... i **** myself at 40mph.

 

[bfltd0]

Well done on getting the get up and go to start shifting the weight. With your cardiac history, I would definitely recommend keeping the doctor/nurse in the loop re your plans, especially if you are on any medication that might affect the results - for example, if you are on a beta-blocker, you probably won't be able to get your heart rate up to the numbers other people have been advising.

Heart problems aren't necessarily an obstacle for exercising - look what Ran Fiennes did 4 months after his bypass surgery:

Heart attack is no bar to running 7 Marathons in 7 days | NEWS | World Athletics

It might not be a feat which would interest the world’s fastest marathon runners, Paul Tergat or Paula Radcliffe but it is still worth recording and admiring the tenacity of British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes who ran the New York Marathon on Sunday, completing his historic challenge of running...

www.worldathletics.org

Apparently, when Ran mentioned his plan to do the marathons, his cardiologist sort of agreed he could but only on the condition that if his heart rate went over a certain number (140 per minute, I think), he had to quit. When it came to it, someone "forgot" to pack the heart monitor for the first marathon.....................how convenient.

 

[Scandially]

Organ Donors, what they call M.A.M.I.L's round here.

 

[Freeforester]

Get an ebike, cycle the byways, invest in a suntour NCX suspension seat pillar to smooth out the bumps.

Gentle exercise over greater distance,
- both give great pleasure, and welcome assistance!

 

[Dodder]

Good on you Frenchieboy for trying to fight the flab! Cycling is great for weight loss - the founder of the company I work for is still a keen cyclist in his eighties and is very lean although I think he now has an E bike to help with the hills!

On a more serious note can I recommend you wear a cycle helmet, especially if you cycle on the road. I know two people who have had potentially life changing cycling accidents in the last year or so and in both of these no cars were involved, they hit potholes or something and simply fell off. Luckily both were wearing helmets - one suffered minor brain damage and was told without his helmet he would have been either dead or in a vegetative state. The other guy was fine head wise, but his helmet fell to bits with the impact and he was told he would probably have suffered some sort of brain damage without it....

 

[Hornet 6]

Fair play to you for making the effort to get back in shape.
I've been a fatty all my life, end of last september it was found my blood pressure was 260 over 155 (yes its a shock when you feel ok)
6 or 7 months on and blood pressure back where it should be, weight is falling off now, was 105 kg, now 80 kg
The down side is I feel nauseous every other day, so eat little and so lose weight, even so, it is great to get rid of the excess.

Neil.

 

[PMA]

After I had a heart attack during the rehab I was told heart rate when exercising should be between 99 and 116

 

[enfieldspares]

The wicked eBay is your friend. Many cheap, now unfashionable bikes local if you use the "Nearest First" function in the drop down search options box.

 

[eldon]

Don't buy a mountain bike unless going seriously off road. A road bike can go off road (to a limit) and will be far more efficient and productive for you

I have both options, a Cube mtb and a Trek road bike plus a teenage son and it always surprises me how much more of a workout it is on the mtb. Tyres (read frictional losses) and headwind play a significant part in the level of effort required.

Proper cycling shorts are a must for arse comfort and I wear them as underpants under 3/4 length tracksuit bottoms.

Make it easy and enjoyable for yourself!

 

[Red Dragon 2]

Will be a sight to see Frenchie, all clad in skin tight black lycra like they do around here, cannot see the bu**ers on the country roads in the shade but fair do's to you. I am 72 but walk everywhere with the dogs so keeps the weight off that way.

 

[FrenchieBoy]

Will be a sight to see Frenchie, all clad in skin tight black lycra like they do around here, cannot see the bu**ers on the country roads in the shade but fair do's to you. I am 72 but walk everywhere with the dogs so keeps the weight off that way.

Sorry my friend, seeing me in skin tight black lycra is something that is never going to happen unless I decide to go to a fancy dress party dressed as a "Chargrilled Michelin Man!

 

[bobthedug]

Sorry my friend, seeing me in skin tight black lycra is something that is never going to happen unless I decide to go to a fancy dress party dressed as a "Chargrilled Michelin Man!

Oh, I don't know. I'm a bit on the large side and I wear it. And I'm sure the ladies find it attractive. They can't seem to take their eyes off me!

 

[gixer1]

Oldest person to summit Everest is 80....no reason at all you couldn’t start and enjoy cycling...please don’t turn into a militant cyclist though...