Bigfuzzydoug aw come on talk to me

Sorry - I've been down with the flu for a bit
But I'm back now!

I'm big, have always been big and will probably always be big. I used to be an amateur bodybuilder and competed at 240lbs while having a 29-inch waist. And then I got married and had kids...

I stayed 240, but it went from mostly muscle to a lot of fat. I started doing triathlons 10 years ago to get back into shape. I've always been a big cyclist and have ridden across the US from San Diego to Montauk Long Island when I was 15. I did three Ironmans and dropped 30 pounds, but it's been a bit of a roller coaster for me. After the 2nd kid, work got tough and stressful and I was back up to 230 again.

I lost 17 pounds during my treatments, but have since put it all back on. :-( I really do need to lose 30 pounds of fat and I'm trying.

For gaining muscle the recipe is three-fold and this is the ONLY way to do it:

1. Eat more and eat a higher lean protein, low fat diet. Your body needs the fuel to build the muscle. Riding the bike won't do it. You gain muscle through eating. When I was competing, I ate close to 5,000 calories a day!

2. Muscle is gained through a cycle of break-down and build-back-up. You have to do some weight training (fast-twitch) to break down muscle fibers. For this, if you belong to a gym, it means squats, hamstring curls, quad lifts, calf raises, leg press, abductor & inductors and leg press exercises. You have to "go to burn". If you doing sets of 10 reps, you should barely be able to complete the last rep. If you can get in 10 reps easy, you're not using enough weight.

3. The muscle break-down through weight training doesn't build up more muscle, it breaks it down. You build more muscle when you SLEEP at night using the fuel that you've eaten. If you're not getting enough sleep, you're not building muscle.

I would finally add that I would add on the milage slowly. I would follow the "10% rule". Don't add more than 10% of the distance from one week to the next. And make sure to have a complete recovery day. One day of NO exercise to again allow your body and muscles to build back up again. I'm a firm believer in that.

GOOD LUCK!!!

'longtermsurvivor' made me think of another thing
Make sure the bike is professional set up and fitted for you and if you run, that you go to a proper running store to analyze your gait and stride and get fitted for the proper shoes. The proper equipment makes all the difference in the world! It can help you avoid injury and make recovery faster. It truly is worth the time and money!

RayTodd said:

we should start a club guys hehehe
So sorry to hear about the flue hope things are better. I am 60 in April but am still blowing my medical people out of the water.
Running is out used to do marathon but through arthritis and damage so had knee replacements done Christmas 2011 4 months later they found the cancer. I have used my Asthma fundraising ride as sort of a bench mark. Sleep is the hardest but have gotten used to it. The bike is my second as I used a hybryd to see if I could still do it and the guys at the bike shop picked the frame and helped me with the set up transition was a breeze.You people above all will understand that when I say if I don't do the ride this March this thing will have scored points off me.

I'm in
and I nominate ratface for membership as well. He says his knees are bugging hell out of him too.

I was packed and ready to start a 220 mile backpacking trip, the entire length of the Ozark highlands trail when I got handed this latest diagnosis. Dangit.

I've done some pretty long trips. My longest bike trip was almost 1500 miles, and I've done a run that was 127 miles in length. that was a long time ago though.

The hardest thing I've dealt with during lengthy endeavors in the last 13 years is dry mouth. I've been able to work past the orthopedic problems, at least thusfar. I wouldn't claim to be able to do the super long stuff any more, but I like to dream I can.

I completely understand what you just said.

Pat

RayTodd said:

who is Ratface
hehe

it's me, it's me, it's Ernest "T"
Not really, but it is ratface. Hi Raytodd, yes my knee is still bothering me. Was really bugging me yesterday. I have run four Chicago marathons in the past and most of my life have been running to some extent. I agree with not letting this cancer get the best of us when possible. I just got off the recumbent bike for forty minuets of gentle pedal time. Not what I would prefer but good enough for today. No reason we can't exercise like non-cancer folks.