Posts
1399
Joined
9/28/2011
Location
Maybell, CO
US
Edited Date/Time
7/3/2015 1:58pm
I have been riding dirt scooters since I was 5 1/2 years old (1986 Suzuki DS80) and grew up in Oceanside, CA where bikes and tracks are plentiful but never had parents that would let me race and see if there was ever any potential. Like every kid growing up into this sport I wanted to be the next McGrath however injury after injury occured from either MX or football. I started packing on "a pudge" which turned into a full on fat kid by the time I was 15. I have struggled with my weight since I was 15 basically and I always got looked at funny when Id go to a track and start hitting the bigger stuff. Guys would come up and be shocked that a 260-300 lb guy is out there givin it hell. Granted I couldnt race because id be winded after 3-4 laps and have to pull off the track after running that pace.
Anyways Ive babbled enough for you to get a feel for my background, I hate the fact that I ever let myself get overweight. Moto is known for being a MANS sport and one of the top #3 physically demanding sports in the world so I have been thinking...Other than riding myself into shape, what are some of the best excercises to do to lose weight? Last year when I was staying at Barcias I rode his spin bikes and loved them so I bought a spin bike last week and love it so far but dont see me dropping all this weight simply from riding only that. Last year I was 374 lbs and now im 278. Still wanting to lose another 75 lbs or so.
So my question is... Has anyone on Vital been obese and then been able to drop the weight thanks to something moto related? I know Weston Peick and Mike Jones are bigger guys but not fat by any means. All you old timers know of any guys back in the day that were heavy?
How much does being over weight affect guys horsepower wise and suspension wise? Ive always stuggled setting up my suspension. I know Knight was also a bigger rider.
Anyways I like to dedicate workouts on my spin bike to riders. For instance the other night I worked out for 32 minutes and 32 seconds and thought about the great rookie season Malcolm had this year on his TLD 450. Helps keep me motivated.
Any and all critisism/advice is welcome
Anyways Ive babbled enough for you to get a feel for my background, I hate the fact that I ever let myself get overweight. Moto is known for being a MANS sport and one of the top #3 physically demanding sports in the world so I have been thinking...Other than riding myself into shape, what are some of the best excercises to do to lose weight? Last year when I was staying at Barcias I rode his spin bikes and loved them so I bought a spin bike last week and love it so far but dont see me dropping all this weight simply from riding only that. Last year I was 374 lbs and now im 278. Still wanting to lose another 75 lbs or so.
So my question is... Has anyone on Vital been obese and then been able to drop the weight thanks to something moto related? I know Weston Peick and Mike Jones are bigger guys but not fat by any means. All you old timers know of any guys back in the day that were heavy?
How much does being over weight affect guys horsepower wise and suspension wise? Ive always stuggled setting up my suspension. I know Knight was also a bigger rider.
Anyways I like to dedicate workouts on my spin bike to riders. For instance the other night I worked out for 32 minutes and 32 seconds and thought about the great rookie season Malcolm had this year on his TLD 450. Helps keep me motivated.
Any and all critisism/advice is welcome
For me, I get very bored on a spin bike or stationary bike, a treadmill makes me want to just slit my throat to be done with it so I started walking and riding my mountain bike. I changed my eating habits, to every 2 hrs small portions little to no carbs. Quit drinking pop, started drinking 2 gals of water a day. I lost 60lbs in 60 days.
I hadn't raced moto in YEARS, I have ridden a lot of off-road and some desert races here, but one of my goals was to race a moto 1 more time. In the Spring of 2012 I raced a moto in the over 50 class at a race up in Idaho with my stepson in the 25+ class. It was snowing that day, only got 1 race in (they cancelled the 2nd motos), but I did it.
Good luck in your journey, find things you enjoy to do and do them. It has to be something you can do and enjoy, you sound to be quite a bit younger than I am congrats on turning things around before it got way to late.
For the last 6 or 7 years I’ve progressively gotten to be about 30 or 40 lbs over where I want to be. I'm 6'0 at 205 lbs hoping to get back to 175ish. I took a break from riding mountain bike for a couple of months and that endurance leaves you quick!!! I started riding a little more often a couple of weeks ago hoping to start chipping away at the additional weight.
Utrider , both of you guys seem to be on the same page about finding FUN in excercise. Ill deff check into that as I am new at this working out thing! My issue will be finding a good quality mountain bike that will sustain my 278 lb frame for trail riding like ill want to do.
Im 27 years old 6 foot tall 278 lbs. My goal just like Utrider is to one day RACE the races I was never able to have at a younger age when I should have been racing. I feel like my weight has held me back tremendously and I want to know what could have been. Sure 75 more lbs is alot to go but Ive come this far without excercise so its time to add that in and get after my goals. You only live once...
One of my turning points was 2 years ago when I worked in the industry I was walking the track at Atlanta I think it was and there was a wall jump before sand whoops and I struggled like hell to climb the wall. My mind said easy just run up it Kyle, my body said hey man your 374 lbs get real. It was embarassing and I got mad and started my diet that day. Its funny it took me that long to do somthing about it and I let myself get that bad off but it happened and im at a much better weight now.
Lastly have you ever tried shopping for XXXL gear? Fox was the only company I could find decent looking gear in that size and even then it sucked. My boots had issues snapping the buckles at times etc etc. Its hard having the body of a Chris Farley and having the mindset of a RV wanna be.
The Shop
I tell everyone I know who wants to lose weight to bicycle. Its a fun way to excercise.
I never lost weight doing motocross. I cant sustain a high heart rate like I can by bicycling or even jogging.
I keep hearing bicycle bicycle bicycle so I guess Ill go out and buy a good mountain bike, anyone know of a decent brand that will hold up to my weight on trails? Under $600-$700?
Tomac's seem to have figured out the key to fitness, Ill give it a try! Just hope I dont end up wadding it up and looking like John Tomac (arm).
Ha "onetimepost" It might be awhile before I dedicate any workouts to MA800
At one time, I weighed 215 - which is the heaviest I've ever been. I lost it by eating less and exercising. I've managed to keep most of that off over the following 8 years or so.
I started back riding, after a 20-year layoff, one year ago this month. That has motivated me to get back into shape, and I do that by bicycling, riding my YZ, crunches and other calisthenics, and eating better food, while eating less of it. I'm 52 and had injuries from racing in my first go-round, and over the years those old injuries have nagged at me as I try to get back in better shape, but overall, I've not felt this good (physically & mentally) since I quit riding and racing the first time around.
To my way of thinking, MX is a great spiritual lift. I couldn't believe how much I had missed it when I started back last year. It felt so good to be back out at the track, and to rekindle some old friendships and make some new ones. There's sort of a bond between most guys that ride and race, and it didn't really hit me until I went back to it. Even though I broke three ribs in my second race back, I have no intention of ever quitting again - that's how strongly I feel about it and what it has done for me physically and mentally.
To sum up, good on you! Keep going. Eat less, eat better. Exercise any way you can. Just do it! It's so worth it.
Edit add: I was at 215 and went to 175. I weighed 185 this morning. People thought I had cancer when I was at 175. My goal weight now is 180. Almost there!
I picked up a Trek Mamba last year and it has put up with me more than I could have imagined. I think one of the biggest differences between dept store bikes and real bikes are the wheels, these nicer bikes have wheels that won't look like tacos after a few hits. The cycling guys have a nice name for us bigger guys.........clydesdales embrace the name it really does make you feel good when you do happen to peddle past one of those skinny little bastards on the trail!
As Iwreckalot said, the challenges of mtn biking will help with the bike and having a steep hill in front of you will make you feel great when you get to the top. I road bike a bit too, but am just not super comfy with the cars cruizin by at 50 mph 3 ft away. I see these idiots driving with their phones and kids climbing all over them and don't want to be a statistic. Had a good friend get hit & killed just out of high school, probably just need to ride with groups more.
Weight lifting works great too because unlike cardio...after lifting weights your body will continue to burn calories...plus muscle burns more calories in a steady state.
I always pack on 10-15 over the long cold winter but as spring approaches I get motivated by the upcoming moto season and that keeps me focused to drop the extra weight.
Find a reason to lose weight..besides the obvious health factors...
Moto is my life through and through, one day Ill race
Utrider Ill check into that bike you mentioned, thanks again!
Just pick a route you can ride every day or every other day that takes 45-50 minutes to do. Each day try to better your time. When you get where you can do your ride in under 40 minutes, extend the distance.
Thats what I did.
I tried to ride like twice during those years and it was awful. My skills were still on it to some degree, I just was not fit enough to go as fast as I wanted or put the bike where I knew I could and it just pissed me off. I had about 3 turns of full speed and I'd pull off after 2 laps. At a certain point i realized I'd probly never ride again if things continued like this because it was miserable. The idea of never riding again, and living like a fat lazy dick, made me feel awful. I started to eat right, which I never had before. I juice vegetables and shit which I'd never though I'd wind up doing. I bought a yz125 because it was the thing I figured I'd have the most fun riding, which would keep me doing it. It also forced me to cut down the weight a bit more. After a year and a half of riding and eating good, I'm down to 140lbs again, riding is fun as shit, and I can't believe I lived like that for so long.
Once you see a hint of success it become kind of an addiction. Moto is a great source of inspiration to get fit. Cycling, lifting, and all that shit I'd have no reason to do unless I rode, I do every goddamn day now just because it makes riding much more fun.
Pit Row
Learning to push away from the table and leave that last spoonful of lasagna in the caserole dish and saying "I'm full, I'm done eating" was important to my weight loss. And having a wife who is on-board with healthy eating habits is reallly key. If I'm eating healthy and shes knocking back pizza in front of me, my will power goes to poop and pretty soon I'm eating pizza too.
When i was a young guy and had to quit full time racing i gained 30-40 lbs. And like you when I did ride I could go fast for maybe 2 laps when I was fat. It was depressing to go riding. I felt like crap. After losing the weight at age 30 and learning to excercise and eat better, I think i was maybe faster at 30 then i was at 20 at the same weight due entirely to excercise.
Also, I can relate to anybody that says getting a good cardio workout in is addictive. Breathing hard, making your heart beat fast is such a good feeling. It just clears your head up.
If you mountain bike, drink water, and only eat healthy shit, 2 years later you'll be a different person.
I have broken a lot of bones
I ended up bending the scales at 420 pounds when I said something has to give as my knees were killing me all the time and I just did not have much energy. After switching up my diet to mostly protein an very few carbs the weight started to shed off when i got to 325 i bought a new mountain bike and put close to 1500 miles on it last summer I am down to 280 still mountain biking it in the summer I have close to 2200 miles in this summer riding the KX as often as possible and in the winter working out at the gym and skiing and snowboarding nearly every weekend.
Currently i am adding on a few pounds as i have an injured ankle that is limiting my mountain bike time but that is a fact of life getting old as i will hit the big 50 in 2 weeks.
I currently weigh 235 with my lowest being 215. Earlier this week I said enough is enough and I'm working my way back down to 215-225 range. I am a daily lifting gym rat, but over the last 2 or 3 years I let the cardio and some of my eating habits slide. Without being very strict 230-235 seems to be my steady weight. Like someone above said, the small meals every 2hrs is a big key in keeping that metabolism going. I hate to say it, but there really is no way to make a good cardio session fun. Sometimes you have to hop on that elliptical or stationary bike. I recently got into road/mountain biking but I still don't feel the sweat like I do with a good hour session on an elliptical. The problem with a real bike can be that you don't always have to push. The exercise bike or elliptical will keep you steady pushing to keep the machine going, no coast rest. Just keep at it and you will be successful! Here are some pics for comparison. Don't judge, I still have that quad stored away lol
have a 1.5year old boy and was up to 215lbs by not having time to exercise or eat right with a little baby..
ive done almost 100,000 verticle feet of climbing since May...down to 185lbs and I can now ride solid 20min motos with consistent laptimes..i stopped drinking soda too
if you have an iphone or android get this app:http://www.strava.com/ it tracks all your rides and gives you a count of how many calories you burned...then just eat less than you burned (including what you burn during day to day activities)
i found that app has really kept me motivated..you can also 'race' other peoples times so it keeps it fun and you can track your progress...
if you want a decent bike you will need at least 1400$ for a good used one...dont waste your money on a cheap bike...having a good bike will make you want to ride..you cant buy anything decent thats new for under 1500..you can buy something that was 5gs a few years ago for 16-1700$..
Post a reply to: Any EX Fatties owe MX for their health? Updated