Wednesday, October 27, 2010
New goal for my biking excursions...HR > 140
Today was a short, but productive ride...I burned 385 calories while I rode for 33 minutes (avg speed 12.9). It was one of my highest calorie burned/minute rides, probably due to avg heart rate of 143. I decided I would try to keep my heart rate above 140; every time it dipped below, I stood up & rode. Worked like a charm!
Monday, October 25, 2010
Rode at a different park today
Today I went to a park that is farther away than the ones I usually go to. I remember geocaching at this park about 1.5 years ago & I thought since I was up that way, I would give a try on the bike. I rode 16 miles in 74 minutes and burned 778 calories! My average heart rate was 135 and this was one of the highest calories burned per minute rides! The difference?? Standing up when I went up the small hills! I always assumed I would burn more calories by staying seated, as I can really feel it in the thigh muscles. Wrong! Standing up gives me more leverage, but it also increases the heart rate significantly more.
This course is relatively flat & about 1/3 of the way through, I noticed that even though I was out of breath, my heart rate wasn't getting up as high as it needs to in order to maximize the calorie burn. Standing up didn't feel like THAT much more effort, yet it certainly increased the heart rate significantly!
This course is relatively flat & about 1/3 of the way through, I noticed that even though I was out of breath, my heart rate wasn't getting up as high as it needs to in order to maximize the calorie burn. Standing up didn't feel like THAT much more effort, yet it certainly increased the heart rate significantly!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Feeling some frustration, but found a potential answer online...
SPUF worked me out this morning & then an hour later I rode 11.5 miles for 56 minutes and burned 503 calories. The route was pretty flat, so I determined that I was going to increase my resistance by staying in 28th gear the whole time. It was pretty brutal as I would not have been able to carry on a conversation 3/4 of the time I was biking. My legs were very sore, but I know there will be no stopping for sore legs in Dec/Jan!! I was also riding into the wind on the way back. At the end I was very frustrated because I thought I my average heart rate would have been higher (it was 127) and thus would have burned more calories.
A friend suggested that I go to a website called www.caloriecontrol.org & use their "get moving calculator" to see if their estimate was different than the calorie estimate on my heart rate monitor. They have a very long list of activities to choose from (including different intensity levels) and then you enter your exercise time & weight & they calculate an calories burned estimate. I chose the outdoor bicycling; my avg speed would have classified me as "moderate effort", but it certainly was a "vigorous effort" for me! With their "moderate effort", I burned 895 calories; "vigorous effort" was 1118. I will take the 895!!
I find myself confused & frustrated once again...what do I rely on to estimate the calories burned? I really don't want to get too hung on the numbers. After all, ANY EXERCISE IS BETTER THAN NONE!! Even so, I really don't care about beating a certain time or trying for a certain avg mph...all I care about is burning calories & thus burning fat! Once again, any amount of exercise I do prior to Dec/Jan will help...but I will still be beaten to a pulp once I get there! Guess I just need to keep working out for longer amounts of time because once I am there, I will be working out for 6-7 hours/day!
A friend suggested that I go to a website called www.caloriecontrol.org & use their "get moving calculator" to see if their estimate was different than the calorie estimate on my heart rate monitor. They have a very long list of activities to choose from (including different intensity levels) and then you enter your exercise time & weight & they calculate an calories burned estimate. I chose the outdoor bicycling; my avg speed would have classified me as "moderate effort", but it certainly was a "vigorous effort" for me! With their "moderate effort", I burned 895 calories; "vigorous effort" was 1118. I will take the 895!!
I find myself confused & frustrated once again...what do I rely on to estimate the calories burned? I really don't want to get too hung on the numbers. After all, ANY EXERCISE IS BETTER THAN NONE!! Even so, I really don't care about beating a certain time or trying for a certain avg mph...all I care about is burning calories & thus burning fat! Once again, any amount of exercise I do prior to Dec/Jan will help...but I will still be beaten to a pulp once I get there! Guess I just need to keep working out for longer amounts of time because once I am there, I will be working out for 6-7 hours/day!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
I need to learn more about burning calories...
Today I rode my bike for 20 miles in 87 minutes & burned 855 calories! Last week, I rode the same route but my time was 4 minutes slower, yet I burned 971 calories. My average heart rate this week was 131 and last week it was 135. I am confused about the big difference in calories burned between the 2 weeks. Once again I texted SPUF & she explained that my heart is getting conditioned, so now I need to work harder (adding resistance) or go faster to increase the calorie burn. I am still confused because I don't think I could have ridden any faster or any higher gears than I rode today. She also mentioned "muscle memory" which is why she continually changes the strength training exercises around.
I still have a heck of a lot to learn about all of this...
I still have a heck of a lot to learn about all of this...
Intensity does make a difference...
Yesterday I worked out with SPUF & burned 365 calories during our 50 minute session. After leaving her, my hubby looked at the radar & I chose a bike route that would avoid the incoming rain. I started at a different place than usual, one that would increase the number of miles, as well as throw in a few more hills for me. I rode 20 miles & burned 895 calories!
Initially I was disappointed because I didn't understand how I could increase the miles, ride for 11 minutes longer, have a higher avg mph & still burn less calories than last Tuesday!! The only clue was the avg & max heart rate, which were both lower. I texted SPUF to find out the reason for all of this & she explained the ride wasn't as intense as last week's ride. I would have to agree because I know I wasn't pushing as hard as I usually do, because I knew it was longer & more hills. There is one particular killer hill that is of course near the end of the course...I must have been trying to save energy for it...but it sure didn't feel like I had any left by the time I got to the top!
Initially I was disappointed because I didn't understand how I could increase the miles, ride for 11 minutes longer, have a higher avg mph & still burn less calories than last Tuesday!! The only clue was the avg & max heart rate, which were both lower. I texted SPUF to find out the reason for all of this & she explained the ride wasn't as intense as last week's ride. I would have to agree because I know I wasn't pushing as hard as I usually do, because I knew it was longer & more hills. There is one particular killer hill that is of course near the end of the course...I must have been trying to save energy for it...but it sure didn't feel like I had any left by the time I got to the top!
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Another good calorie burning day...
Today I rode 8.6 miles & burned 445 calories. Later on I went to the h.s. football field & climbed the stairs, walked the track for an hour & burned 618 calories!! Interesting because the bike ride & the stair climb were about the same calorie/minute effort...but the stairs seems soooo much harder!
Friday, October 15, 2010
2 More Good Efforts
On Wednesday between SPUF & 14 mile bike ride, I burned 1049 calories! On Thursday I was able to fit in a 45 minute ride which help me burn 429 calories. I am finding myself adjusting my perspective on choosing the bike routes. Instead of thinking, "which course is the flattest?", now I am starting to think "how can I burn the most calories?"...which of course involves more hills...
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
I have officially joined the world of blogging...
I decided to enter to enter this crazy world of blogging...one that I have often wondered who reads these things and why would anyone care what I have to say?? I have a facebook account which I update occasionally, but have never felt the need to waste other people's time with what I am doing every minute of the day. I do not have any current photos of myself on there & have even untagged recent photos submitted by others! I just can't bring myself to show those who knew me 25+ years ago what I look like today! Those who see me on a day-to-day basis or see me when I visit my hometown view the reality, but I will let the others see my children and/or old photos of me from "back-in-the-day".
For the past 2 years, I have worked out with a personal trainer (SPUF) 3 times a week. I am definitely stronger & have lost a few pounds, but I am still have not been able to tackle this overwhelming amount of weight that I need to lose. I realized (& others agree) that I need to get out of my environment & relearn how to take care of myself. If I continue like I have been, my current age of 45 will be well past the half way point of my life! This is why in less than two months, I will be visiting the Biggest Loser Ranch at Fitness Ridge in Utah for a month. Bottom line...I'm leaving my family for 4 weeks in order to extend my life! I want to set a good example for my children & be around to meet my future grandchildren (but not anytime soon!).
The whole idea of sharing nitty gritty details of my life with the world thru a blog quite frankly scares me! Most people who know me now would be quite surprised to learn that I actually went to a Biggest Loser audition for the tv show! Yep, me, a good friend & hundreds of others waited outside for hours just to get a chance at getting help. The thought of jumping on a scale in a sports bra & bike shorts & having America watch me sweat & have emotional meltdowns would be excruciating to me...but that just shows how desperate I have become! I was actually relieved to not receive a callback to be on the show and I worked out a way to go the the resort instead.
On facebook, there is an discussion group that anyone can join called something like "Biggest Loser at Fitness Ridge Alumni". I have read lots of comments & found it quite helpful to learn what to pack & find out more about what I am getting myself into! Once I read the discussion posts, I began to read the blogs of other people as they have gone through their weight loss journey. I found I really enjoyed reading them & found myself being encouraged to hear of others' successes! I have only told a handful of people that I am doing this & a few mentioned they would like to track my progress while I am at Fitness Ridge.
There are people who will criticize me for leaving my family (even though I have a support system to fill in for me) and I really don't want to try to explain it to them. I am a bit paranoid about my privacy, so I decided the only way that I could do this crazy "blog" thing was to come up with a nickname.
As a little girl, I remember reading about a girl named Mitzi & decided then & there that I was going to name my daughter Mitzi! A number of years past & I no longer felt the strong desire to name any girls (female or canine) that name. I did throw out the name when we were discussing names of our most recent pet, but my family just looked at me like I was crazy! Somehow, the name Mitzi popped into my mind and seemed to fit as a good nickname for me...certainly sounds like she would have a lot of energy (which I could really use!), did not take herself too seriously (which I certainly don't want to do!) & she might just wear pigtails in her hair when she works out (I did that recently & brought some smiles & laughter to all who saw me!).
Don't worry, I won't go around referring to myself in the third person...but I just might type some things that I wouldn't have the guts to reveal to many people...let alone the world wide web! I will try to keep my blog posts short & to the point (unlike this first post), but I will try to keep it somewhat interesting as well. I am hoping for success in my weight loss journey & maybe I will inspire someone else...or just bring a smile to their face!
Mitzi
For the past 2 years, I have worked out with a personal trainer (SPUF) 3 times a week. I am definitely stronger & have lost a few pounds, but I am still have not been able to tackle this overwhelming amount of weight that I need to lose. I realized (& others agree) that I need to get out of my environment & relearn how to take care of myself. If I continue like I have been, my current age of 45 will be well past the half way point of my life! This is why in less than two months, I will be visiting the Biggest Loser Ranch at Fitness Ridge in Utah for a month. Bottom line...I'm leaving my family for 4 weeks in order to extend my life! I want to set a good example for my children & be around to meet my future grandchildren (but not anytime soon!).
The whole idea of sharing nitty gritty details of my life with the world thru a blog quite frankly scares me! Most people who know me now would be quite surprised to learn that I actually went to a Biggest Loser audition for the tv show! Yep, me, a good friend & hundreds of others waited outside for hours just to get a chance at getting help. The thought of jumping on a scale in a sports bra & bike shorts & having America watch me sweat & have emotional meltdowns would be excruciating to me...but that just shows how desperate I have become! I was actually relieved to not receive a callback to be on the show and I worked out a way to go the the resort instead.
On facebook, there is an discussion group that anyone can join called something like "Biggest Loser at Fitness Ridge Alumni". I have read lots of comments & found it quite helpful to learn what to pack & find out more about what I am getting myself into! Once I read the discussion posts, I began to read the blogs of other people as they have gone through their weight loss journey. I found I really enjoyed reading them & found myself being encouraged to hear of others' successes! I have only told a handful of people that I am doing this & a few mentioned they would like to track my progress while I am at Fitness Ridge.
There are people who will criticize me for leaving my family (even though I have a support system to fill in for me) and I really don't want to try to explain it to them. I am a bit paranoid about my privacy, so I decided the only way that I could do this crazy "blog" thing was to come up with a nickname.
As a little girl, I remember reading about a girl named Mitzi & decided then & there that I was going to name my daughter Mitzi! A number of years past & I no longer felt the strong desire to name any girls (female or canine) that name. I did throw out the name when we were discussing names of our most recent pet, but my family just looked at me like I was crazy! Somehow, the name Mitzi popped into my mind and seemed to fit as a good nickname for me...certainly sounds like she would have a lot of energy (which I could really use!), did not take herself too seriously (which I certainly don't want to do!) & she might just wear pigtails in her hair when she works out (I did that recently & brought some smiles & laughter to all who saw me!).
Don't worry, I won't go around referring to myself in the third person...but I just might type some things that I wouldn't have the guts to reveal to many people...let alone the world wide web! I will try to keep my blog posts short & to the point (unlike this first post), but I will try to keep it somewhat interesting as well. I am hoping for success in my weight loss journey & maybe I will inspire someone else...or just bring a smile to their face!
Mitzi
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