Reducing RHR and BP

[OutdoorStud]

Hi, Im a 20 year old student, my RHR is around 70 and my blood pressure fluctuatates around ive seen it 136/86. My BMI is 26 and my body fat is 27%. I mountain bike sometimes, Im not too bad at eating i think, though i am on a budget. My heart rate seems to jump to around 175 whenever i do any moderate physical excercise. I wouldn't class myself as unfit. I want to reduce all of these figures.

Im cycling 720 miles starting next week, probably around 50 - 80 miles a day is this going to help my fitness problems?

What/when should i be eating, on the trip and how often? I dont like eating before excercise.

What should i be doing when i get back?

 

[coach_izzy]

Hi, Im a 20 year old student, my RHR is around 70 and my blood pressure fluctuatates around ive seen it 136/86. My BMI is 26 and my body fat is 27%. I mountain bike sometimes, Im not too bad at eating i think, though i am on a budget. My heart rate seems to jump to around 175 whenever i do any moderate physical excercise. I wouldn't class myself as unfit. I want to reduce all of these figures.

Im cycling 720 miles starting next week, probably around 50 - 80 miles a day is this going to help my fitness problems?

What/when should i be eating, on the trip and how often? I dont like eating before excercise.

What should i be doing when i get back?

When is the last time you had a complete medical check-up with blood work? The bottom number in your blood pressure is approaching borderline, and your heart rate "jumping" to that rate is a normal response in deconditioned individuals. The good news is that individuals with cases similar to yours, have shown a positive response to regular exercise.

It is safer if you consult with your doctor. I"m sure your physician will endorse a physical activity program and check you out thoroughly. I don't know about doctors in your area, but a huge number of doctors in the metro areas have a penchant for prescribing drugs for every little thing. According to what you described, You're not anywhere close to merit any type of prescription, then again your doctor has the last word.

50-80 miles per day over several days is a substantial amount of work for somebody who mentioned going mountain biking "sometimes". Though both take place on a bike, mountain biking and racing/long distance riding are two different animals, so unless you have especifically trained for moderate distance riding, you may be inviting trouble.

This is one of those rare ocassion where I would advise anyone to start physical activity under AHA (guidelines) They're not geared for intermediate to advanced conditioning, but they're good for beginners or those who have not been consitently involved in physical activity.

Your question about nutrition has been covered with good material several times, so you may want to check the archives first. If you do not find the answer you want, then you could ask more specific questions.

You may also want to check out the book "Fitness for Divers" by Cameron Martz. The guidelines are universal and he covers all the topics that you mentioned. His insights might interest you since he is an ultraendurance athlete, so that seems to along with what you just described.

Good luck and good health to you, and happy and safe diving.

 

[CameronMartz]

I'm glad Coach Izzy jumped in here, as I set this one aside until I could think of a good way to answer. To be honest, I thought this was a troll, like something I might write, with all I've done in cycling, to get a rise out of someone. I mean, for someone who knows what "RHR" means, how to calculate BMI, has had his body composition measured, and even knows his blood pressure at 20 years old, it sure seems like you did suspiciously little research into physically preparing for your bike tour.

Since Coach has spent the time to answer, I'll go out on a limb and hope I can talk you out of what only a 20 year old who calls himself "OutdoorStud" would think to do. <g> To sum up everything that will follow, whatever you were smoking when you signed on to pull this stunt, bring along as much as you can pack. You're going to need it.

First off, I second Coach's advice to check with your doctor about your plans. 120/70 is "normal" BP, and being a relatively inactive 20yo with 27% body fat suggests that you should ease into exercise, not freefall from 30,000ft.

Now, having considerable saddle time myself, I can tell you that you will probably be able to somehow pedal your way through the first day. It will be much harder than you are thinking right now, but you will be able to do it. You will be glad when the ride is done, but you probably won't give up before finishing.

You will be hating life when you wake up the second day, and you will be calling for a taxi the second you sit your sore *** back on the saddle. 50-80 miles per day for two weeks is something that most experienced cyclists would probably train especially for, and it sounds like you're doing this more or less with no real training at all.

Things that I will tell you so you change your mind about this:
1. Your butt is going to really, really, really hurt. No joke. It will hurt so bad that you probably will have to ride standing up by day 3. There is no pair of cycling shorts good enough to let anyone skip the conditioning new cyclists undergo just so they can sit in the saddle for the 4-7 hours of riding you plan to do every day. Most only get one ride in a week that long.

2. You will not be able to sleep because your legs will be cramping constantly. Lack of conditioning, leading to intense muscle fatigue, is the primary contributor to exercise associated muscle cramping. Hell hath no fury like a hamstring scorned.

3. Your butt is going to be so sore that I want to know where you are riding so I can video you getting back on your bike on day 4.

4. By day 5, if you make it that far, you will be ordering the entire second page of the IHOP menu just so you can ride until lunch. This tour will cure you of your aversion to pre-exercise eating. In fact, training your stomach is just as important as training the rest of your body when preparing for events longer than about 3 hours. Yes, your body has plenty of calories stored in fat, but for some reason, your body doesn't like to use too many of them at one time. You need to eat before your ride, during your ride, and after your ride to prepare your muscles for the next day. If you don't eat, you will bonk. Then you will know why Gatorade, Powerbar, and Gu did so well even before they became "healthy" soda and candy replacements for non-athletes. Oh, and, digestion actually *increases* with increased activity up to well beyond the intensity you will be riding, so you just have to get over the initial discomfort. It's all in your head, really.

5. If you will not tell me where you are riding, please have *someone* ready with a video camera when you are trying to sit on your bike on day 5. Please. I have a PayPal account and a healthy limit on my credit card.

6. If you make it to day 6, then it probably won't get any worse the rest of the tour. By then, you will either be too exhausted to care anymore, or you might actually begin to see a conditioning effect, believe it or not.

Dude. In all seriousness, I will never tell someone that they will fail, but I will tell you that this is exactly the kind of trip you will be talking about the rest of your life, one way or another.

Cameron

P.S. Thanks, Izzy, for the plug! <g>

 

[coach_izzy]

...To be honest, I thought this was a troll...

I thought so too, but then again, I thought back about all these people I've met throughout my career, and frankly, I would not be surprised if he was being honest. For instance, I remember one really overweight dude who said his goal was to run the New York Marathon. At first I thought he was talking about a very long term goal. It was May last year. Then as I started going over the Mesocycle for his program he started shaking his head "No, no, no, I'm going to do it this year, that's how I'm going to lose my fat". He wasn't joking. Nothing would change his mind. He did not want to listen, so I dismissed him. He stopped his self-training (I know how to run, I just need you to write me a program to run faster) after developing a stress fracture on the head of his femur.

Your post was very illustrative! Man, I can almost feel the pain! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Steve Egner]

CameronMartz

Ditto.

I can only add this: Stock up on Paceline's Chamois BUTT'r, The Ultimate Skin Lubricant & Chamois Cream. At least two 8 0z. bottles should do the trick. Lube your nether regions liberally.

Your *** is still going to hurt, but this will help, and you'll thank me. You really will.

I ride at least a dozen centuries, multi-day tours, and grueling hill climbs of 150 miles or more every year. I almost always run into someone who trained for the event on a stationary trainer with a big, wide seat.

They always walk funny.

By all means though, give it your best shot. The recovery powers of a 20 year old are phenomenal. Wether you finish or not, you will leave with a profound respect for training. And you'll never pull a stunt like that again.

Cheers,

Steve

 

[LG Diver]

You will be hating life when you wake up the second day, and you will be calling for a taxi the second you sit your sore *** back on the saddle.

No joke here. For another perspective on this, check out this post on a popular triathlon forum. I about spayed water through my nose when I read this post this morning, but it'll give some insight as to how bad it can get, even for an athlete that has many thousands of miles in the saddle and routinely rides 100+ miles a day. Jonas is a pro triathlete. Warning- lots o' profanity in this post, but pretty hilarious. This is what long days on the bike will do to you.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum....view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

 

[countryboy]

No joke here. For another perspective on this, check out this post on a popular triathlon forum. I about spayed water through my nose when I read this post this morning, but it'll give some insight as to how bad it can get, even for an athlete that has many thousands of miles in the saddle and routinely rides 100+ miles a day. Jonas is a pro triathlete. Warning- lots o' profanity in this post, but pretty hilarious. This is what long days on the bike will do to you.

http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum....view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread

Great thread!.. Funny..

I rode for 1,100 miles from Seattle to Lake Tahoe (Group ride for the American Lung Association). The overall was 20 days (18 riding) for an average of ~75 miles per day. I completed all but 50 miles (bike broke down)...

I trained for 3 months (never really "rode" until then).. and everyone kept telling me it was not "conditioning" but saddle time.. I am greatful that I spent the amount of time riding to prepare. My friend who was in much better shape did not get the saddle time in before our trip. He used quite a bit of Desitin.

That trip was one of the major accomplishments of my life..

As far as eating.. I ate everything they offered. Pancakes / oatmeal for breakfast, powerbars and bananas all day, Hamburgers for lunch (yes, this was a running joke, everyone else ate salads / chicken) anything I wanted.. I started the trip at 200 lbs. I ended the trip at 185, eating about 5000 calories a day..

When I returned, my eating habits remained... my biking did not :-(

 

[jk47]

I woudl like to point out, as a side note, that you can eat very healthfully on a very tight budget. I'm talking rice, beans, root evegetables, produce from the local farmer's market, and throw in some high quality protein where you can get it. $1 a day does not have to equal dried-packaged soup or macaroni and cheese. If you really can't get what you need on your budget, look into some local food banks. You will need all the nutrition you can get in order to make yourself feel good enough to move your body to the extent you are intending. Check out the forums on www.drweil.com there was a big one on there a few weeks ago started by someone on a quest to eat as healthfully as possible for something like $1 a day. Lots of good ideas! Good luck

 

[OutdoorStud]

Thanks for your replies. i am being serious.

I measured my rhr and bp in a training for performance in extreme environments lecture on my degree course, im studying for a ba in outdoor studies, hence the name.

Im not too worried about making it, im going to take it slow and steady to start, and although i haven't done too much cycling recently i have previously done weeks of back to back 50 mile off road rides. My ***** was getting sore after the week, i do like my saddle, and im fairly used to it. Im doing it on a converted mountain bike, got semi slicks, so they do have some shock absorption to help save my ***.

Thanks for the info on heart rate jumps being attributed to deconditioned individuals, i guess i fit into that spectrum at the moment.

maybe i was underestimating what i do when i said i mtb sometimes, what i meant was i mtb sometimes for leisure and training. having said that i wasn't including the fact that i have been commuting 8 miles a day, not much but its something, and its pretty steep on the way back,

Im used to using science in sport drinks and plan on eating plenty, just having a smaller breakfast and eating little bits steadily through the day.

Ill video myself on day five getting on my bike and post it when i get back if i can work out how to post mobile phone videos. or im cycling down the coast of france from stmalo, to picos de europa in northern spain, i will be staying near potes.

Thx for you post country boy, that was one of the things i was worried about. we are doing it over three weeks, so we can afford to take it slowly to start with. Im going with someone who has done the appalachian (sp sorry) trail, and a large amount of cycle touring, so im relying on his experience to help with my decision making.

On the other hand im no stranger to expeditions, ive done walking expeditions with lengths up to 400 miles, carrying full camping kit, i plan on transfering my knowledge of that into this new adventure.

Im sorry i havent replied earlier, ive had limeted access to the net.
I will check thursday morning, but thats the last time before im off. i hope you wish me luck, and ill let you know how i get on when/if i get back. around the 23rd of may.

thanks for the information.

David Selby

 

[CameronMartz]

David,

That's definitely much better information about your cycling history. <g> I can't wait to read about how it went when you get back- I'm sure you'll have a blast.

Cameron