The Unfat Challenge.

[mountaingirl1961]

that IS interesting. maybe its not just the intensity of the workout while MTB/skinning/skiing but the rush of the activity? like your adrenaline is kicking in and just the excitement of being out there as opposed to exercising as part of a routine? which poses the question, does it matter why your heart rate goes up as long as it goes up? i mean, if you keep scaring yourself into your target HR can you lose fat just watching scary movies all day? lol hmmmm

I've worn the HRM several times this winter. I have to admit that a couple of weekends ago was really tough going - deep, super-heavy snow, about 3000' laps. Hard work up AND down.

Other times when the snow's better my HR is still up but not as hard. Generally 145-160... my working max is supposed to be 150. I maxed out at 170 several times on this particular trip, which is just five beats short of 220-my age (yikes). Average was 158.

Don't think it has anything to do with the excitement of the experience, just with what's going on physically. HOWEVER, when you're on the bike or skiing, particularly when you've been doing those things for far longer than you've owned the HRM, you're used to pushing your body at that level on a regular basis. The Stairmaster is pretty damned boring so it's easy to get lazy, esp. when you don't really have an accurate measure of what you're doing.

FWIW I have a Polar model that's about mid-level... can't remember what the options are between models. Mine is programmable with my weight/sex/age, which is helpful for knowing what I should be aiming for with my HR AND for knowing what I'm burning calorie-wise. Other than that, all I really use is the HRM itself and, sometimes, the stopwatch. As long as I keep the chestband sloppy wet it doesn't have any problem working or "broadcasting" through multiple layers of clothing. Never had a problem with it being constrictive.

[fez]

10 min warm up at roughly 32-33 SPM

I usually run very similar 500m splits to yours, but i try to keep SPM at 22 - 24. harder pull, slower return. basically muscle memory still there from college crew days.
Did you ever row competitively?

[The AD]

I maxed out at 170 several times on this particular trip, which is just five beats short of 220-my age (yikes).

Yeah, I think that formula is for couch potatoes. I'm sure I get mine up over 200 max still. I consider 170 to still be in the aerobic range.

[yentna]

Agreed on the max% thing being off - my "max" is supposedly 195, and I'm regularly in the low - mid 180s in an aerobic workout, and higher in a sprint workout. if my max really were 195, then it wouldn't be right to stay in the 170s for 1-2 hours, but I do, so the number must be off. Shrug. I just do what makes me feel like I'm being pushed.

Also, never had a problem with the chest band (HRM). Thought it would bug me, but being a girl, it really just felt like the band of my sports bra. Maybe for a guy it would take more getting used to...

[mountaingirl1961]

Interesting re: heart rate maximum:

http://www.bodyforlife2.com/max_heart_rate.htm

If you know your resting heart rate (go to bed with HR monitor on, resting HR will be the avg from the night's sleep) you can calculate your working/max heartrate more accurately.

Also, from the page:

maximal heart rate generally declines with age from about 220 beats per minute in childhood to about 160 beats per minute at age 60. This fall in heart rate is fairly linear, decreasing by approximately 1 beat per minute per year. There is no strong evidence to suggest that training influences the decline in maximal heart rate. It should be remembered that individuals of the same age may have quite different maximal heart rates-therefore it is more accurate to calculate this value by undergoing a stress-test than by using an age-related formula.

[steve]

fyi,

now that we're in month two, I'm going to be increasing my calories slightly; i'm now aiming for 1300 calories per day (give or take 100).

I'm also going to run ten miles per week.
read my blog for details (link in sig)

-steve

[Nohillsnearby]

Maybe we'll finally have spring here so I can get the bike out. The weather here blows. I'm going to start ramping up. ::crossing fingers:::

Oh, and I've had a whopping 2 pounds lost.

[Tectonically_Neglected]

I've been steadily riding my bike to work (17k). Getting me 30mins a (single) trip of workout time which is good. I feel in better shape. It's just not showing on the scales yet though...

[yentna]

Down a pound, but I know it's 100% water lost 'cause my fat % calculator puts my water at only 45%, and my fat up to 24%. I've fluctuated over the last month, and whenever my weight is down, my water is down and fat up. When I'm a pound heavier, my water is sometimes at 64% and fat at 21%. Funny how that works - importance of hydration!

Didn't really expect any progress though - my workouts have been slacking, and due to a couple parties & barbeques & family in town, my eating has also gone to shit. Oh well, time to make up for that, eh? Next month will show more progress!

Going on my first bike ride of the season tonight as well.....yay!

[AbsolutStoli]

I usually run very similar 500m splits to yours, but i try to keep SPM at 22 - 24. harder pull, slower return. basically muscle memory still there from college crew days.
Did you ever row competitively?

nah, never rowed competitively. nothing like that in HS and i didnt really have the time to do any sports in college. but as a kid i always loved to row whenever my family took a trip to some lake or wherever.

weigh in from this morning...holding steady at 180.4 for almost 2 weeks now. this is kind of odd. i was hoping to break the 180 mark. im feeling a lot more fit, and my pants are definitely fitting better...so i wonder if any fat weight that i might have lost is being negated by returning muscle mass.

[fez]

im feeling a lot more fit, and my pants are definitely fitting better...so i wonder if any fat weight that i might have lost is being negated by returning muscle mass.

i definitely have that going on, but i have been lifting a lot, both upper body and legs. my pants are falling off my ass, probably at least 2" smaller around, but only 8# down. i am feeling much stronger and can see a difference in arm and chest size and leg muscles.

[gh444]

glad to see i'm the only one who gained weight....damnit, misery loves company people!!


-aaron

[steve]

I, too, have been stuck at a weight for a week now.
My clothes continue to get looser, but I can't imagine muscle gain going on. That wouldn't make sense. Maybe I'm retaining water or something; I don't know.

Whatever the physiological reason, I have convinced myself that there is a psychological basis to this - my mind is working against me, keeping me from crossing that elusive 300-lb barrier, something I haven't weighed since High School. It is an enourmous goal for me, the first significant goal of my diet. After losing 7-10 lbs per week, I have been stuck within 5 lbs of 300 for a week. Consciously, it's driving me nuts - but I have a feeling that there is some sort of subconscious factor which is preventing me from getting past 300. It may be manifesting itself with my eating habits; I haven't been as disciplined as I was a month ago - yet I've been careful to log every calorie I eat in fitday, and I'm still well under my BMR - so that shouldn't be it. It may be some sort of psycho-babble mind-body connection that I'm unaware of and unable to control. Who knows? I just wish I could see that scale read 299 so I can get on with this thing. I'm almost ready to fast until that happens; I'm that eager to blow through it.

But no fasting yet; instead, I'm going on a 4-6 mile jog today.

[SkiDork]

I just wish I could see that scale read 299 so I can get on with this thing.

When it does, I'll celebrate with ya. Maybe smoke a cigarette or something as long as it's non-fattening....

[steve]

it's funny - i was driving to the course that I was going to run today, with the intention of running 5 or 6 miles. but on the way, I reflected on:

1. I think I have a psychological barrier to break through, and I'm desperate to weight less than 300 lbs
2. we just had in this thread a nice little conversation about how much more effective intervals are than long & slow distance runs.
3. in order to run the marathon in 3:40, what I really need is some speedwork

so I instead did some speedwork. 3x800 (800 meters (½-mile) of running fast followed by a period of jogging to recover; repeated three times)
my garmin gps does a really shitty job at logging it, but I ran the intervals at 9 minutes/mile, the recovers at 12. http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/2462202

it was my first speedwork of the season..

-steve

[mrryde]

put the scale away for a week, the just do your work out and diet, then weigh yourself next week.

I haven't been on the scale since weigh in, and i feel less stressed about it.

Today i put a shirt on that was way tight on me a few months ago, now it feels almost too big

[JGB]

1. I think I have a psychological barrier to break through, and I'm desperate to weight less than 300 lbs

well, speaking from expirience, (ive lost 100+ in the past year) you will hit 'weight loss plateaus" from time to time. But thats because your body is too smart for its own good. It adjusts to the amount and type of exercise and calories after a while if its relatively consistent. The most effective thing you can do is speed up the metabolism by eating more often. Split your normal 3 meals a day into 6 smaller ones and eat em no more than 4 hours apart. when you go too long in between meals your body goes into 'starvation mode' and when you do it, your metabolism is slowed down because it knows its gonna be awhile before it gets food again and is more likely to store fat that way. When i started doing that I broke the plateau like gangbusters. Try it for a few weeks, you will see

[steve]

yeah, but there's no way my metabolism has slowed down to 1000 calories a day. Even if the body was defending fat stores and eating muscle for energy, I'd still be losing weight on the scale.

-steve

[mrryde]

hows everyone doing? and a bump to the front page

[WWCD]

Parents were in town, so I had a bad weekend.

On the plus side, the weather is finally getting nice, so I will be able to get outside.

[steve]

still stuck at 305. fuck.

-steve

[steve]

what should we do about the following people, who aren't updating the spreadsheet with their new weights?

AKPM
Spdfrk43
Cliff Huckable
schwerty
Skiing-in-Jackson
yodaottis
shmoesmith
Tuckerman
altachic
RaccoonFace
shmerham
fonixmunkee
erica_z
72Twenty

[snow_slider]

Make 'em all drop and give us 20.

[steve]

$20?

5678

[Odin]

Steve, your body is probably gaining muscle to help with the exercise that you are doing. If you stick with your exercise that you will push through the 300 lb barrier no problem.

I would suggest varying the day that you do a specific exercise (Ie Monday I do biking, change it to chest/shoulders at the gym or what have you)

Also, try to focus on making every workout the hardest work out that you have done. This helps as well.

Try not to get attached to the number on the scale and instead get attached to how you are feeling overall.

You feel better at 305 than 330? GREAT!

consistency is the key to gain or loss!