Biker's Lung

Is there such a thing? Some random scientist's extensive study of 10 Londoners has come to the conclusion of 'yes'. Apparently those of us who commute on bikes or just cycle the London streets in general are more susceptible to respiratory diseases. I think we already knew that. In fact, I think my assumption that we are more susceptible is just as credible as testing a mere 10 people.


Still, it's a scary thought. We all think we are keeping fit and healthy by cycling to work yet we are exposing ourselves to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. I often find myself holding my breath each time a bus passes me (which is hardly ever 'cause they are like so slow :P)


I tried wearing a Respro mask once and nearly passed out from the restricted airflow. It's just something we have to live with and hope that one day petrol and diesel cars are banned within central London :)


Original article here: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2011/09/bikers-lung/195/

Back and Bi's workout

Lately I haven't been following a strict program and have been sort of freestyling my workouts. Today was Back and Bi's and here's what I did. It was awesome, try it!

Back:

•    V-Bar pullup til failure - 4 sets (90 second rest)
•    Straight arm pushdown 10 reps - 4 sets (90 second rest)
•    Wide grip pullups til failure (I had to use assisted machine so I could get more reps!) - 4 sets (90 second rest)
•    Plate loaded chest supported row (one arm at a time) 10 reps - 4 sets (90 second rest)

Bi's:

•    Preacher curl - 6-10 reps - 4 sets (90 second rest)
•    Alternate incline dumbell curl - 10 reps - 4 sets (30 second rest)

Note that I have a sore back at the moment so all of these exercises are back friendly and put no extra pressure on the spine.

-Lucas

Should I really eat 6-8 small meals a day?

It's still big hype in the health and fitness industry to eat 6-8 small meals a day. The main reason for this is to maintain blood sugar levels and supply nutrients and fuel to a recovering body (assuming you are actively exercising). 


There is a lot of scientific evidence to support that this is irrelevant and a lot of cases that prove that 6-8 meals is unnecessary. If you don't believe me, ask this guy. He's 113 and been eating only 2 meals a day for the last 35 years!



Full article here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-09-24-oldest-man-diet_N.htm

Test riding my new bike

On Sunday I took my new Focus Cayo for a ride to Brighton and back. It proved to be quite the challenge, for my legs and my phone that for 8 hours was simultaneously running, SportyPal, Winamp and Google Navigation. On the way back it restarted itself so I only tracked 150km of my ride. The total ride was 163km which took 8.5 hours with 6.5 hours cycle time. I burnt a whopping 5000 cals which should keep me ravenously hungry for a couple of days.


In the end, it was quite brutal for the last 50km. The ride to Brighton took 3 hours (which apparently is good) and the ride back 3.5 hours (minus breaks).


Hopefully after these two rides my legs are ready to be punished in France this weekend.
I'll be proudly wearing my Australian cycle jersey too in celebrating Cadel Evans victory!
Here is the ride (partial)

Running Again

Having recently given advice to someone who wants to run their first half marathon I have been inspired to get back into running. I have been putting it off thinking my ankle is not ready yet and also because most of my training outside of lifting weights has been dedicated to cycling.


It has been 3 months since I broke my ankle and after 2 small 5-10 min jogs on the treadmill I was determined this morning to have a proper run.


I managed only to do 4km as I was running at a 5min/km pace and pretty much burnt out! After 2km my heart rate was sitting steadily on 174 which is rather high and hasn't been up there for a while. After feeling a small pain in my chest I lowered the speed and sat at about 165bpm until 4km when I couldn't go any further.


In the end;
Time: 20:31
Average HR:162,
Max HR: 175
Calorie expenditure: 343.


As for my ankle? Well, I came to work with a limp today so it was quite a challenge for it. The fact I only ran 4km was a good thing. I'll go back to my original plan (see link) to run 6km in 27 mins by the end of summer.

Claud's Dig Day Out - 114km

Today I did my first big ride in preparation for my 3 day cylce trip in the French Alps which is in 2 weeks time. I was a bit worried as my longest ever ride before today was 50km and that was 5 years ago. Adding to my concerns was that I am still riding my beasty old Claud Butler (see pic) which is heavy, has rigid Armadillo tyres and well, I stupidly forgot to take my mudguards off. Yet another thing going against me was that the ride began 10 miles (16km) from my house and there was no easy way to get there but ride.

In the end, I was pleased. I rode a total of 114km over 6hrs with a cycle time of just under 5 hours. I burnt a whopping 3145 calories! Towards 100km I ran out of glycogen which made the ride very tough. At this stage I had burnt about 2600 cals and only consumed about 600. 

Here is my route:

-Lucas

I'm back!

Hi all,


After a mega hiatus I am back on the blog. After my cast came off I got a bit slack and got very busy at work.


What's new?

• I am now a qualified personal trainer
• My ankle is healing ok but since I am very active it is taking a little longer
• I am training for a 3 day cycle in Barcelonnette (French Alps) in 4 weeks time
• I just purchased a full carbon bike with shimano 105. Pics to come when it arrives
• I got my BF down to 6%
• My BF shot right up after a week of beer and bread whilst sailing around Croatia!

What's to come?

• More posts more often I promise!
• Details of my training for my Barcelonnette ride
• Updates on my ankle
• More articles
• Details of my Personal Training
• A detailed series of posts about how I lost all my weight with loads of tips on getting ripped
• Naked pictures of Bea Arthur (nah just kidding)

-Lucas