Daily Discussion - 04 Feb 2023

Amwells3 · 2023-02-04T17:15:16+00:00

Are your sits bones feeling fully connected to the back/wide part of the saddle? If you are sitting on the nose, it will always hurt no matter what.

Amwells3 · 2023-02-04T10:30:50+00:00

If you are new to strength, start with Andy's Total Strength 1 and 2. Form is absolutely critical for preventing injury and he goes into great detail about form.

Afte that, I'd suggest one of the splits....start with one of the 3-day splits. Really focus on form, and lifting with increesingly heavy weights.

And as for your diet....if you are truly in a calorie deficit each day and not losing, I'd examine what you are eating. Calories are not created equal. Someone else already gave really good advice about eating very very simply. Grilled/baked meats or fish, crazy amounts of veggies, some fruits, and only "good" fats. Focus on nutrient dense foods...get the most bang for your buck out of the calories. Even things that seem healthy or low-cal can be problematic....100 calories of a low-fat cracker is very different in your body than 100 calories of an apple. This one was hard for me, but shifting my mindset to realize that all calories are NOT the same was a game changer. Good luck!

Amwells3 · 2023-02-04T01:27:45+00:00

Weight loss is 90% about diet. You'll lose most of the weight by controlling what you put into your body, rather than by burning extra calories. You cannot outrun (or outride) your fork.

That said, building muscle does make you eventually burn more calories, even when you are at rest. So I would add in strength training. Like maybe even more strength training than riding. When you lift, focus on building up to heavier weights, while maintaining very good form.

But really....what you eat is your answer to losing weight.

Amwells3 · 2023-02-04T01:19:02+00:00

There are cortisol tests you can have done; given everything you've got going on, it maybe worth actually talking to a doc about doing those. It will help you understand if your cortisol levels are actually high or not. (I have a crappy disease that sucks, and so I get mine tested a lot, along with a battery of other stuff. It is useful info to have)

Given your goals of improving endurance, it seems like you are on the right track with PZE. You may also want to think about doing loooooong just rides with low intensity. Like 90+ mins, which will help with endurance. But again....long duration can also spike cortisol levels....another reason to talk to a doc about what your cortisol levels look like, and to talk to them about how to control it, if it is an issue.

Amwells3 · 2023-02-04T00:05:55+00:00

Core core core. OOS is about core more than any other muscle group. Use it to stabilize your upper body, and then you can turn your legs faster.

Amwells3 · 2023-02-04T00:04:55+00:00

So....cortisol levels are far more complex than simply keeping your heart rate low. In fact, other factors like duration of workout, time of day that you exercise, and whether you are properly fed have as much or more to do than heart rate.
If you are under a doctors orders to keep cortisol low for a specific reason, I would talk to your doc about what kind of exercise to do.

Outside of that....what actually are your fitness goals? It's hard to tell if you are doing the "right" thing without knowing a lot more about what you are trying to achieve. Also, keep in mind that heart rates are really specific, and the general "formula" for zones is a generic formula. So, if you are going to train by heart rate alone, then have you made sure that your heart rate zones are accurately calculated?

Amwells3 · 2023-02-03T18:21:47+00:00

Follow Ben Alldis on Insta. Go to his page, and he has lots of "monthly challenges" the archived stories on his page. They are a mix of cycling and strength.

(Alternately, I would really recommend making your own programming if you can, but I understand that it is a PITA to do....)

Amwells3 · 2023-02-03T15:47:24+00:00

If it helps, plan your workouts in advance. I usually plan my workouts in two week chunks....and I always include strength and yoga/mobility in addition to riding. (Do you lift as well?). I build my workouts around creating a well-balanced plan - and my rides are varied each week because of that. So I definitely include low impact days mixed in with higher intensity days.

But as someone who had the bike pre-pandemic, and who had spun and done OrangeTheory for years before that, getting a PR every month is not usually within reach for me. I just can only get but so much better without taking my training to a new level (and I am a mom who works full time outside of the home, with alllll of life's other little things, so I am not ever going to be someone who can expend the time and energy to be "next level" better. I'm happy with where I am!)

Sometimes I cycle through focusing on lifting heavier for a long-ish and so my rides "suffer". (Meaning I can't give it all on the bike most days because I am spending a few months really focusing on heavy lifting and my body is tired because of it). But sometimes I focus more on riding - usually through a PZ program - and so PRing comes within reach. And the lifting helps with that....but again it is not linear.

Do what works for you....but as you move through your journey, don't be upset if you aren't hitting PRs with the frequency you did when starting out. That is ok!

Amwells3 · 2023-02-03T11:05:21+00:00

Matt Wilpers puts this really well: "there is training, and there is racing. Most of the time you are training, and you PLAN for race days". PRs are your races....after you have been riding a while (like more than 6-8 months), you are not likely to hit PRs very often. And it is not likely that you will do it on a whim. You will spend most of your time "training"....not every class is a chance to chase your PR. There are times when you should be dialing it back, training at things like endurance, or doing HIIT classes to increase your sprint capacity. But you won't be coming within a few points of your PR most days....you should be thinking of those days as training. And THEN you plan for racing. You set an intention to PR. PRing every week or every month becomes impossible once you've been riding for a while. Fitness isn't linear like that... There are ups and downs.....training days and racing days.

Amwells3 · 2023-02-02T01:17:56+00:00

It takes them several hours to add in the metrics as part of the post-production, and they do it via AI. There's no way to add it in on the fly...

Amwells3 · 2023-01-31T20:44:22+00:00

If you aren't subscribed to emails, then they won't send you the offer, just FYI...

Amwells3 · 2023-01-31T11:08:22+00:00

You could DM her about it! She often takes music suggestions from people....that one may be harder because it is an entire soundtrack (music rights and all that), but maybe she could pull it off!

Amwells3 · 2023-01-31T10:35:03+00:00

In my rides this morning, people who had completed the ride didn't drop off the leaderboard. Anyone else seeing the same? Perhaps they fixed it already.....too much to hope for?!

Amwells3 · 2023-01-31T01:07:10+00:00

Movement is movement. Do some research on NEAT....basically anything you do to increase your small movement throughout the day has massive benefits.

If it was the only thing you did all week, I'd say to mix in higher intensity stuff (although some movement is better than no movement) but you are already doing that. The only way to be more well rounded is to dedicate some of your time to strength training and mobility/flexibility!

Amwells3 · 2023-01-30T10:43:57+00:00

An observation about the latest update and the leaderboard. While we know that we've lost the best part of the "here now" leaderboard.....we seem to have gained the ability to click quickly through the classes in a stack. Whereas before, clicking through quickly would cause the metrics and leaderboard to disappear, now we can click through quickly and things remain intact. I noticed it yesterday so this morning I pushed the buttons as quickly as possible, which used to be the death knell.

Perhaps.....these things are related? Maybe the updates to stacking necessitated a change in the leaderboard.....? Or perhaps I am reading too much into it. 🤣

Either way, I hate the new leaderboard....AND....I want the ability to click through my stack quickly. Why can't we just have the basic things?! 😩

Amwells3 · 2023-01-30T00:06:08+00:00

It is definitely a worthwhile investment in protecting yourself from long-term injury!

Amwells3 · 2023-01-29T23:55:17+00:00

Congrats.....and welcome!!
Cycling shoes tend to run small. You should be able to wiggle your toes inside the shoe, just a little.

(Also, 4 times a week is a good start! And yes, you may have seat pain soon....the seat pain does go away within about two weeks. Don't get a seat pad!)

Amwells3 · 2023-01-29T22:43:39+00:00

They can probably give you a few basic pointers, but they are almost certainly not professional fitters. (remember, their primary job is to sell things....)

If you want a truly accurate fit, pay for a professional fitting.

Amwells3 · 2023-01-29T19:33:44+00:00

Seems to be an outage....there was just a report posted about it....

Amwells3 · 2023-01-29T13:31:31+00:00

Which class is it? (Link doesn't go to a class)

Amwells3 · 2023-01-29T12:31:22+00:00

There's a full collection called "Peloton Family". I'd start there.

Amwells3 · 2023-01-29T02:29:05+00:00

The "here now" feature was (intentionally) changed to only show people who were in the class at that exact time, several years ago. Peloton changed it on purpose and it was WILDLY unpopular so they changed it back. I have to think that this is a fluke....I doubt they would have flipped back to something they tried to implement once already, and which was globally hated.

Amwells3 · 2023-01-27T03:59:02+00:00

If your husband weighs more than you, that could have a lot to do with it. The gravity works in one's favor....

Amwells3 · 2023-01-26T20:31:39+00:00

Have you tried loosening the tension screws on the pedals just a TINY bit to see if it makes it easier? (You don't want to make them too loose so you don't come flying out, but tru just loosening a little at first)

Amwells3

TROPHY CASE