Cardio

Of course, losing 40 pounds earlier this year makes a huge difference in how I feel (there is less huffing and puffing, I move faster, etc), but also quantitatively, in my heartbeat, my ride speed and my distance. My heartbeat, given a specific load, has dropped 20 beats! I can't reach my old max heartbeat (165) any more... I seem to be muscle-limited now rather than lung-limited for the same perceived exertion. My ride speed increased 2 mph average on bike commutes, and my long-and-slow Sunday ride miles have doubled.

I do plan to continue this weight loss to drop maybe 10 more pounds... the fat atop my abs... but not at the expense of my hard-earned muscles. I've just now, months later, gotten back to the weights I had been pushing.

So, the plateau being over, it's time to drop more weight... get back to the diet and get serious again on cardio... I am going to add more gym cardio machines to my bike commute, because I can better gauge progress or get a metric with them, since I don't want to overdo it. I am also dangling that new-bike carrot, and my goal is to ride solo a week, credit card ultralight, maybe to the beach.

Hope you're having a great day!

-©2007 by Willy
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