urbanknight

I thought you guys would get a kick out of this. My fiancee is concerned that now that I have gotten back into cycling, I am compulsively exercising. My average ride is currently 16 miles, which I usually complete in a little over an hour and feel nothing more than refreshed afterwards. I do this 3 times a week (if I'm lucky) and would like to increase that to 4. I plan to up my weekend rides to 30+ miles. I figure with these stats, some of you guys are addictive compulsive chain exercisers! Really, though, what do I do to show her that I'm still on the light side?

UmneyDurak

Spent some quality time with her, and show her how much extra energy you have.

Machka 

Show her my website (see signature line).

And especially take a look at the "Links" page.

urbanknight

Believe me, I made that a major selling point. And I have increased my... ummm... drive. Can't believe I stayed a virgin during my prime. What a waste

Machka, I've seen your site. I admire people who do things like that. Even when racing, the most I ever did was 90 miles at a time.

Machka 

Well, do have a look through some of the other sites in my Links page too .... there are lots of stories of lots of people who do a lot of cycling!

This is a particularly good one for information on training, nutrition, and equipment:
https://www.ultracycling.com/

But the others have lots of good information and stories about long distance rides and riding too.

Patriot

Compulsive excersising is when you excersise excessively because you feel guilty after eating a certain amount of food and are concerned about your caloric intake which may put on weight. This is essentially a form of binging and purging.

A cyclist is someone who rides regularly to stay physically fit, but uses a good proper diet to fuel his desire to ride vs. riding to burn off guilty calories from binging.

Big differance.

EdZ

Yeah, thats realy nothing. My training schedule this week has me billed for 14 hours of riding.

urbanknight

Machka, that is neat. I'll take a longer look later. Interested in finding information that says 1-2 hours of exercise isn't bad for you.

Patriot, yeah I was explaining that to her. She read the list of symptoms, and even when I was racing back in high school, I only think I matched one of them, and it was a stretch. I grew 2 inches without gaining a pound because I was burning more calories than I ate. Not an eating disorder, just that I couldn't seem to fit 4000-5000 calories in my stomach in a day!

Snicklefritz

Didn't Greg lemond say that training doesn't make it get easier, you just go faster? and go harder for longer?

Some other dude on BF had a similar issue with his fiancee and someone pointed out that strong legs and good endurance that you get from cycling are good for certain other things...

Machka 

The Surgeon General (or whoever it is who sets the recommended daily exercise amounts) upped the recommended amount to 60 minutes a day in 2002. Then in 2005, it was raised to 90 minutes a day.

1-2 hours of exercise isn't bad for you ...... it's recommended!


https://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/r...9/05_diet.html
https://www2.jsonline.com/alive/fit/sep02/71955.asp
https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6816952/
https://www.mercola.com/2005/feb/5/we...s_exercise.htm

urbanknight

That was the other funny thing. When I mentioned that I went 1 mph faster on my ride today, she thought that meant I would take less time exercising. I was like no, I'll just be doing more miles!

Is the sugeon general a government employee? She doesn't trust anything the government says (I don't blame her). I have heard the AMA also recommends a minimum of 60 min per day, but I can't find a direct link.

Machka 

Yes, the surgeon general is government.

The National Academies' Institute of Medicine is the institute who has made the new recommendation. Right now it appears that the website for the Institute of Medicine is under construction, but here's the 2002 article:

https://www4.nationalacademies.org/ne...3?OpenDocument

urbanknight

Awesome, I'll show her that one. btw, she and I agreed that if we were to move somewhere, it would probably be Canada. So sick of declaring war on every country that has oil in their land

Machka 

I'll also add that the Alberta Government here has introduced a physical activity initiative in the schools:

https://www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/...ldrev/DPA1.pdf

"Daily physical activity refers to the planned and spontaneous physical activity that people do on a daily basis, for example, walking, sports, gardening, running or jogging, household chores, active games and play, and stretching. Being physically active on a daily basis is crucial to the health and wellness of all Canadians, especially children.

Health Canada’s Physical Activity Guides to Healthy Active Living for Children and Youth recommend that over several months, children and youth (aged 6–14 years) should build up at least 90 minutes of daily physical activity per day and reduce sedentary activities like playing video games and watching television by 90 minutes per day.

For healthy growth and development, children and youth need at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity (e.g., brisk walking) and 30 minutes of vigorous physical activity (e.g., running, soccer) each day."

Here's the Daily Physical Activity Initiative:
https://www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/...t.asp#initiate

If it is important enough to start to incorporate regular daily exercise into the lives of children in school, shouldn't it be important to us as adults to incorporate regular daily exercise in our own lives?

zimbo

Let me tell you, by the time I reached age 36 I had gained about 60 pounds from my weight on the day I got married. I got as high as 215 freaking pounds on an extremely thin-boned frame. I weigh 160 now and have a visible 6-pack. My wife might not love the fact that I spend about 14 total hours per week cycling and running (roughly 2 hours per day) but all I have to do is show her the before and after photos and she's all for it.

I guess I should point out that I work from home, intentionally took a job that was flexible enough that I could ride during lunch some days, and my kids are all in school. Some days I ride the trainer after my kids are asleep. So it's not like my exercise compulsion is significantly eating away at family time.

If I had to guess, I'd say your fiancee is jealous of your bike.

--Steve

Doctor Who

I see my girlfriend only two nights a week, due to our work schedules and when my team trains, and we live together. She doesn't give me too much hell, but she knows that the cycling season is long and I'm a bit hardcore.

But she wouldn't think of telling me that I go out riding too much. She knows how much happiness and satisfaction I get from riding my bike and the occasional run, so she's rather willing to put up with it.

strider

Tell her it increases your libido, endurance and stamina.

badhat

i honestly cannot imagine being with someone who had to be convinced that regular cycling wasnt bad for me.

you sure you wanna be with this woman?

zimbo

And if you never get married, she'll put up with it indefinitely.

--Steve

ovoleg

Tell her that you need to fight crime in the valley and the only way you can do it is if you workout really hard everyday

OC is only a disorder or problem when you feel as though it affects your life and the way you function. If you do nothing else differently in the day and excercise does not affect your life(allowing you to do the things you want to do) then it is not considered a disorder or problem. (I learned this in psychology awhile back )

SSP

Sounds like she's a bit jealous of the bike and/or your dedication to fitness.

Is she fit herself? Or, is she something of a couch potato and/or overweight?

If the latter, prepare yourself for a constant struggle...my ex-wife was a dedicated couch potato and never supported my fitness/cycling goals, and resented the time I spent pursuing them (even though they helped me to quit smoking, and got me as fit and as trim as I was in high school).

My new girlfriend is just the opposite...she's a hard body athlete who is completely dedicated to adventure and fitness (last weekend, we attempted to climb a 14,000 foot mountain, and we're both signed up for this year's Death Ride).

I asked my girlfriend if my cycling goals would ever come between us and she replied, "Ride as much as you need to...just save the last mile for me".

Dead Roman

theres a few cats on www.big-dogs.net that will do multiple centuries a WEEK like its nothing. Now THATS compulsive.

cyclezealot

Thing about compulsive exercising and cycling. Take a spin up a hill that is not challenging..It is no longer a challenge. What used to be challenging is now just a fun ride. Fun rides are not compulsive. But, what I need to complete my week and keep me happy.

botto 

cut her loose. you're in la-la land, there's plenty of apsiring actresses out there

EventServices

A 16 mile ride is compulsive exercise?

That's more like a compulsive warm-up. Push yourself. You'll be surprised at what you're capable of.