The Fitness Thread

[Paul]

I was just wondering if anyone on here had done it before and what the benefits were (if any)

I stopped a year or so ago, but I replaced it with diet Coke so any benefits I may have accrued have been nullified .

Am trying to give up cigarettes at the minute, which is hard as I have the willpower of a fat lad in a cake shop (I'm not actually in a cake shop, by the way )

 

[darlowolf64]

Ok, so here I am coming towards the end of my 8th straight night shift, 5 of them 12hr shifts and 8 days without caffeine. (Well I don't think I've had any!)

How did it go? I had a couple of days of headaches, not bad ones but just annoying pain apart from Friday. I had something on with Air Cadets during the day and only had about an hour and a half sleep before going back to work at 17-30 and I forgot to take water with me. I went about 10 hours without a drink and by about ten to five my head was banging. I realised my mistake and drank about a litre and a half of water by about 17-40 and the headache was gone.
I have taken on some of the advice and bought a tin of Decaf coffee and had some tonight. It doesn't taste the same as full fat coffee and I think I will have an odd cup of real coffee once or twice a day or even a cup of tea instead.

The upshot of the reduced caffeine intake is that I have noticed my sleep, even in the hot and sunny days, has been deep and relaxing meaning I go to bed, go to sleep and have a solid minimum of 6 hours heavy sleep. I will continue to drink a lot of water as I'm finding I'm not as hungry all the time and my snacking has cut right down. Overall I think it's been a successful experiment and I would like to thank everyone who took time to give advice and share links. Cheers guys

 

[machin05]

For those of you who aren't friends on Facebook, I completed the 80 mile sportive around Llandudno and Snowdonia on Saturday. It was tough going towards the end, but I made it through unscathed and in pretty good time.

Sexy little video - https://www.relive.cc/view/1073478730

Strava Activity - https://www.strava.com/activities/1073478730

Didn't think I'd be capable of this kind of distance in my first real year of cycling, so I'm pretty chuffed and enthused to carry on and up the ante.

With this in mind, I'm going to sign up for the Velo Birmingham, which is a 100 mile ride round Birmingham, Worcestshire, Staffordshire, Sandwell & Dudley on fully closed roads. Sounds amazing. General entry is now closed, but there are charity places still available so I have enquired about riding for Cure Leukaemia in support of Carl Ikeme.

If successful, would the mods mind if I posted a link to the Just Giving page as I hope to raise £400 by the middle of September in order to secure a place on the ride?

Cheers.

 

[Kenny]

If successful, would the mods mind if I posted a link to the Just Giving page as I hope to raise £400 by the middle of September in order to secure a place on the ride?

Cheers.

No problem. You should smash the £400 easy.

Mucho respect for the bike ride you did at the weekend. I was chuffed with myself for doing 20km on my exercise bike yesterday. I suffer badly with fatigue but going to push myself to do 20k a day for the next month and see if it I don't die trying it.

 

[machin05]

Cheers Kenneth.

20k a day is pretty good going. Do you factor any uphills into that (changing the resistance etc?)?

 

[Kenny]

Cheers Kenneth.

20k a day is pretty good going. Do you factor any uphills into that (changing the resistance etc?)?

Not it is just a straight out cycle for 20k with the bike set on resistance 6 (out of 10). I have to be careful as I push myself to hard and I will end up having a week in bed. This is going to be my first major effort at any exercise since I had to stop playing football nearly 8 years ago

Day 2 of my self-challenge will start in around 2 hours time. If it get through the 30 days I will look at changing the resistance during the cycling.

 

[lemonjelly]

Is there a recommendation as to how frequently cycle helmets should be changed? Mine seems fine, though I have to adjust the strap frequently.

 

[Johnny75]

Is there a recommendation as to how frequently cycle helmets should be changed? Mine seems fine, though I have to adjust the strap frequently.

You should change it every 3 years at a minimum regardless of whether you've had a crack on it or not. This is bacause the expanded foam and the plastic shell both degrade under UV light. This makes them unstable. The foam in particular isn't very good with moisture and salty moisture from your hair is likely to degrade it more.

If you've dropped the helmet from more than 1.5m with nothing in it (I.e. Not your head) then you should replace it. If you have come off your bike and banged your head at anything above 0.5m then replace it as it is cracked and you may not be able to see it.

 

[Pompey Wolf]

Johnny, my current helmet is fairly decent (Kask Mojito) that I got exactly 3 years ago ( got it after smashing my previous one in a pretty bad crash, guess it did the job though!). This one I haven't hit but I wear it all the time. Would you always recommend the 3 year rule regardless of quality?

 

[machin05]

I've had the same one since 2012. Probably should get a new one really!

 

[Johnny75]

Kask are pretty damn good helmets and there aren't many better out there for lightweight protection. Unfortunately the three year advice does still apply as they still use the expanded foam and engineering plastics (high quality stuff though).

I would especially change it if you wear it all the time and it gets battered by the weather.

 

[Johnny75]

I've had the same one since 2012. Probably should get a new one really!

Yes you should, especially the riding you're going to be doing!!

 

[machin05]

So, what's the advantage of, say, a £100+ helmet compared to a more budget friendly ~£40 option?

 

[Johnny75]

So, what's the advantage of, say, a £100+ helmet compared to a more budget friendly ~£40 option?

Weight, fit and performance. Crashing at a decent speed (as you will be doing) requires decent protection which is where your Kask, Uvex, Poc and the like sit.

Your cheap helmets tend to be of denser less aerodynamic foams and plastics. Some have fitments inside the helmet and 4 point straps which enable you to fit the helmet better for longer rides and reduce vibration and wobble.

The best helmets weigh next to nothing with good protection and fit. In terms of cost to the consumer then you probably won't be surprised to hear a £160+ helmet costs barely more than £20 to manufacture.

I buy the mid range stuff (£60-80) as I'm not Chris Froome so weight doesn't bother me. However if you don't care about the latest range then look for a discounted model from last year as it will do exactly the same as the new mid-range one.

 

[machin05]

Just need to find good and affordable one that fits in with my Black & Green colour scheme....

 

[lemonjelly]

Glad I asked. I think mine is approaching 3 years old, so may well look into a new one.

 

[Johnny75]

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kask-rapido...|pcrid|67090793342|pkw||pmt||prd|5360690356uk

and a tenner off too.

 

[machin05]

Nice. I like the look of the Kask stuff.

Keg is better, though...

 

[Johnny75]

:goal:

 

[Pompey Wolf]

Kask stuff definitely looks the coolest which I think we can all agree is the most important thing

Thanks for the advice Johnny, I wear it both commuting and for 'proper' rides so it definitely has been put through the wringer.