Troul 

If driving 20 miles to do exercise is what it takes, so be it.
it takes more of other skills to deal with the outdoor environment.

CAT7RDR

Have not belonged to a gym for a decade. came to the realization that outdoors was the way to go even in rain and heat. Treadmills and other motorized cardio equipment is pyritic. Thought I was in good shape jogging on a treadmill until I started hiking in the hills and riding in the mountains.

livedarklions

The machines are derived from pyrite?

wolfchild

I hate cardio machines and all other gym machines...There are much better ways to do cardio and strength training then go to a gym and waste time on some machine.

CaptMike

https://bodylastics.com

Have had these for many years. Just retired from being an International cargo pilot, so spend more time on the road than off. Used these off and on over the years. Also, did P90X a number of years ago, and still do some of those workouts. Combining those two, with the bike, you can get about as fit and toned as you want. A hot tub and beer fridge complete the circle of life.

terrymorse 

Guessing pyrrhric -

1. (of a victory) won at too great a cost to have been worthwhile for the victor.

Nobody knows how to spell it.

Troul 

granited, the spelling was off, but ya successfully autocorrected it!

fredlord

Pyretic? Pyrotic?

livedarklions

Pyrrhic makes about as much sense in that context as pyritic.

Maybe they meant "Patrick" ?

CAT7RDR

Pyrite or Fool's Gold.
Pyritic the adjective for Pyrite aka Fool's Gold.

In my context, the analogy is motorized equipment gave a false idea of fitness.
Thus, when I quit the gym and started hiking and road climbing, I recognized my folly.

I made a poor investment in time and sweat equity on the treadmill.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/foolsgold.asp

smashndash

I was gonna comment saying it probably has something to do with fool's gold. Thanks for clarifying that. But you seem to be the only person in the world who's ever used that word that way on the internet.

Not knocking it - I'm a big fan of people being creative with the English language. I might start using that word too

seypat

If a person plays/played the run and run sports such as basketball/baseball/football/etc. in a organized capacity, they've probably been to a gym. Weight training programs are usually part of those sports at the high school and higher levels.

ofajen

There are indoor training machines that give a very thorough workout. I don’t really use my rear wheel indoor cycling trainer much. It just seems lame to pedal and not move. So I spend a lot of the winter riding in cold weather on frozen/muddy trails. I rather developed a taste for the really messy stuff this winter.

OTOH, we have a very solid and versatile elliptical from True that is a great complement to my style of cycling. I can dial it up to a high effort level and work arms, core and legs, which is the same thing I do on single speed. Actually it requires more work for arms, which really helps on standing climbs.

Otto

terrymorse 

Do you find arm strength is important when climbing out of the saddle?

I have arms that make Olive Oyl look buff, but I haven’t noticed that I need arm strength when climbing. I just rest my palms on the hoods and rock the bike gently from side to side on each pedal stroke. Very low effort.

ofajen

On intermediate grades it’s not so critical. But 70 gear inches up a 10% or 12% grade (or more) takes core and arm strength for it to be easy and enjoyable. Or if I’m leaning out over the bars to get a bit of a sprint and supporting my body weight with my arms. I’ve also done complete rides out of the saddle, which definitely requires at least some arm strength. YMMV.

Otto

livedarklions

Call it "fool's gold" then. Since the form of the word you're using means "made of"and you hide the name of the mineral, your metaphor gets obscure, and it's pretentious.
​​​​​​

livedarklions

I'm not a person whose body is well-suited for climbing, so I suspect that people more like me than you probably have to use our muscles a bit differently. I use my arms a bit, and if there's enough climb in a ride, my arms feel like I've worked them.

I do find that elliptical time makes my climbing better.

terrymorse 

I guess it's easier when your upper body is slight.

I've seen a few people on these indoor-outdoor ellipticals around town. It does look like they're getting a decent workout.

ofajen

Except when you are pushing so hard that you have to pull up hard on the bars. At that point the upper body has to work hard, too.

It’s probably a bit of a single speed thing. Climbing the steepest grades, I stand up and use the grips on the swept touring bars. Peak pedal force is just about straight down, arms are extended down and I’m pulling straight up. It works really well.

Otto

livedarklions

I grew up riding mostly single and 3 speeds. I think I carried over a lot of the techniques when I changed to multi-gear bikes.

But no one has ever accused me of having a "slight" upper body.

Cakonopka

I believe I've got fitter cycling than I ever did at the gym. But I also was able to tone different muscles at a gym which are very different to cycling. It's almost hard to compare the 2. If that makes sense. But I'd say cycling coupled with countryside air if you can is better! And not to mention mentally too.

damacau

I am glad that in recent years many people have begun to take care of their health.

downhillmaster

Uhhh, yeah.
About the same amount of arm strength needed to push open a door 🙄

JohnDThompson 

Perhaps referring to "fool's gold?"

Daniel4

I forgot what program I saw on tv but it showed that bone density of cyclists are lower than joggers and swimmers. I lift weights at the gym for that purpose. It's especially important now that I'm 60 years old.