Comments on: Overtraining

By: NDOutdoorsman

NDOutdoorsman — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:17:12 +0000

For three years, from 8th to 10th grade, I had a newspaper route that I walked each day. About 45-60 minutes depending on weather and weight load of the newspapers. Some days I had very heavy loads, especially Wednesday and Sunday newspapers.

My father said that I looked “lean and mean”. I could not gain an ounce of weight while I was doing this. I was not a jock in school, and the jocks in gym could run faster than me, but I easily outlasted them in endurance without much effort.

I started gaining weight after I quit the route. I would really like to achieve this level of fitness again. Thanks for reminding me what it was like.

By: Jacob

Jacob — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 05:18:07 +0000

MPW? In terms of distance, running is about 4 times harder than cycling. Do you do ultras or tris? (given that you do long runs, you should have the weekly mileage)

By: FHR

FHR — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 00:43:00 +0000

I’m glad to see there are other “non-car” commuters. I, myself, am a mostly runner commuter. It’s 5 miles each way to my “job”. If I’ve got to be there all day, then I’ll get the wifey to drop me off (it’s on her way). Run home - 5 miles. This saves me from walking around stinky all day. On days where I’m only there 2-3 hours (3 days a week), I’ll run back and forth (10 miles roundtrip). I’ll sometimes take the mtn bike back/forth if my legs are feeling tired as I’ve found cycling is much easier on me than the running. Anyway, the week looks like this for me.

M/W - Drop off AM, Run home PM - 5 miles
Tu/Th/F - Run AM, Run PM - 10 miles
Sa - Long Run - usually 15-20 miles
Su - Run 5-6 or Cycle or Rest.

I typically get 60-70 MPW running and another 10-20 cycling. I have no health issues, eat pretty much whatever I want, drink beer as my social network allows, and accomplish my exercise time during most other’s commute times.

By: Shanti @ Antishay Ventenne

Shanti @ Antishay Ventenne — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 05:10:39 +0000

Thank you for this! I need all the motivation I can get. I’m always going through *bursts* of health, only to fall away again after a while. I like when posts like these get me revved up again

By: Jacob

Jacob — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 22:30:13 +0000

- I know that calorie restrictions increase longevity for many mammals. I don’t think anything controlled have been done on humans on a human life span. For animals, caloric restriction can be done both by reducing all meals to a bare minimum or simply not eating for a day afterwhich they are allowed to pig out the next day. The warrior diet is similar in that sense only, the cycle is shorter (only one day instead of two). The question is whether that is long enough.

- No, the warrior diet focuses primarily on timing (when to eat) and secondary on which order one eats in: green -> protein -> carb.

- Except for January to March, it rains maybe 10 times a year. I’d rather make DW detour the car for a mile than get another bike. I can always run home. It does not feel great to ride in the rain, period ;OP

By: Steve Austin

Steve Austin — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:31:07 +0000

I think I enjoy the cycling and fitness ERE posts more than the financial minimalism! Keep these coming, please; I aspire! (Could you do a post dedicated to clubbells, etc. soon?)

Questions/comments on this post:
* I like the photo — the chain-link fence kind of like a symbol of the electronic cordon sanitaire between you and the sickly car-club set ;-\

* do you (or any reader here) know of any long-term / longevity detriments due to a high metabolism?

* does the warrior diet have a relationship to the paleolithic / hunter-gatherer / blood type O diet popularized by Peter D’Adamo? (I’m type O and have discovered that I feel much better without dairy in my diet.)

* concur about the illness benefit; donated my car to charity in 2003 and went full-time cycling, and I’ve been sick a total of 3 times since then, and been to a MD only for routine reasons, 2 times I think (once for an updated vision rx)

* I’m disappointed to read that you don’t appear to cycle commute every day — rain cannot be an excuse, especially in California (never lived there, but on my visits to CA it all seemed dryer than the Midwest and the East) — get yoself a beater bike for the inclement wx and take on the elements to-fro work every day! It feels great to punch past lines of cars in the rain.