Speaker 1: We all ride bikes for different reasons. Some
like the competitive side of cycling,
others the adventurous spirit, some just to keep fit and healthy or just the sheer joy of it.
Speaker 2: Riding in the winter, it can be a challenge. There's less daylight hours,
there can be bad weather and that can lead to a lack of motivation to go out and ride
our bikes. If you're riding to lose weight or maybe maintain a healthy weight, well, this lack
of motivation, it can have negative effects. Speaker 1: In this video, we're going to give
you some tips and tricks to help maintain or even lose weight during these winter months.
[music] Speaker 1:
Motivation is absolutely key when it comes to losing weight. There are a few tips you
can implement to make it that bit easier. One is to create goals. Don't make these goals too big.
If they're too big they become daunting and you'll actually go the other direction.
Track your progress as well is a top tip. What I would do though is set out a diary,
put it in your phone. That way, you can keep motivated and striving in the right direction.
If you're struggling with motivation, then come back to this point in the video. You can do it,
I believe in you. Anything is possible. Before you know it,
you'll have that summer bod and you'll be absolutely shredded. All right, off I go.
[music] Speaker 2:
Now, if you are looking to lose a bit of weight throughout the winter, then, you're going to need
to maintain a calorie deficit. Now, that's going to involve burning more calories than you consume.
It does sound easy but, well, it's not, especially when you love food as much as I do. One piece of
advice I would give is try to identify those moments throughout the winter because the winter
months, well, we do like to indulge a little bit. It's colder outside and, well, we do end up
eating a bit more than perhaps we need to. Try and identify the moments where you might
indulge in a few biscuits in front of the tv on the sofa, or have that extra portion of pudding
after being up like myself. Try to identify those moments and reduce them if you can. Now,
for some people, it might be easier to track this with a fitness tracker, or maybe make sure you
know how many calories you've actually burned out in your ride by using a power meter or a
heart rate monitor to track those calories burnt. Speaker 1: There are loads of different gadgets
out there that can help monitor the calories you put into your body and the calories you
burn. I tend to use a Whoop to keep track of how many calories I've been burning
throughout the day but there are other like iWatches or Fitbits. That way,
you know exactly how many calories you're burning so you can keep track of it,
and also it might help you stay that little bit more motivated.
[music] Speaker 2:
Try sleeping low. Sleeping low is a technique that I employed when I was riding, normally when I was
doing periods of low-intensity training. What it involves is having a low carbohydrate dinner
that's protein-rich, maybe increasing your protein content or reducing your carbohydrates. Then in
the morning, you don't have any carbs so you'd have something like scrambled eggs or natural
yogurt, maybe a black coffee as well just to give you some extra motivation to get out on the bike.
Then, you do a one or one and a half hour easy ride at a low intensity, come back, and then
resume your normal routine throughout the day. Eat as you usually would but don't gorge either.
Now, sleeping low isn't for everyone. It's something that's worth trying. It's not a
magic bullet though but if it works for you, then great. If it doesn't, then don't fret it.
[music] Speaker 1:
it's not necessarily about how much you eat but what you eat. Us cyclists tend to do regular
exercise meaning we need the carbohydrates to fuel our body throughout the day and then proteins
to rebuild those muscles we have broken down during training. Now, the common thought process
is to go out and do lots of exercise and then not to eat. What happens is we do a long ride and then
we end up bonking, which is a cycling name for hitting the wall, running out of energy. Then,
we get home and eat all the leftovers in sight. The leftover pizza, that pasta you
had the night before, or those chocolates you got from Christmas back in the 1970s.
It's not what we want. What we want to do is drip feed that carb throughout your day, so eat while
on your ride, then when you get home, you can have a normal-sized meal and not just scarf down
everything you can get your hands on. Speaker 2: It can be confusing to work
out how much to eat on a ride depending on the different type of session that you're doing,
be it a high or a low-intensity ride. Generally, a good rule of thumb is to try and eat something
every 30 minutes, be it a banana, an energy bar, maybe a rice cake. Try and keep that routine
throughout the ride, and then you won't end up getting to a point where you feel really hungry.
Another thing to bear in mind is to try not to let ourselves get carried away at the café
ordering lots of cakes, sitting down, going a bit wild, which is something I do sometimes as well.
A good rule to try and live by is moderation. Moderation is key.
[music] Speaker 2:
If you're looking to lose weight, you don't always have to do lots of long hours. Short workouts work
great as well. Now, we have plenty of short hit workouts on the channel, which you can
check out and see if any of them work for you. One of my personal favorite sessions is a short hit
workout, which involves 20 seconds max effort, 40 seconds recovering. Repeat it six times and
have five minutes resting, do it again until you feel the fatigue hitting, and then you can add in
some progressions as the weeks progress. Speaker 1: Now, it's worth mentioning,
you don't have to do max effort everywhere to lose weight. Base miles,
long-endurance hours are actually really beneficial when it comes to shedding a few
pounds because it's burning your fat. Now, if you don't have time to do a long endurance ride,
what you could do is implement two one hour sessions. One in the morning,
one in the evening. That way you're getting the same benefits of the endurance ride without
spending four or five hours on the bike. Speaker 2: Now, if you don't want to do this
alone, or maybe you're struggling to make any progress then we'd really recommend getting a
qualified nutritionist because everyone's bodies are different. We all respond to
things in different ways and getting that experience help can really make a difference.
Speaker 1: We hope you found this video insightful and it's made losing those
pounds that little bit easier. Speaker 2: Yes, winter can be
a tough time to knuckle down and get the training done, but it's worth it
when you get those summer smiles, isn't it? Speaker 1: Don't bring that quote in again,
mate. It's too cheesy. Anyway, give this video a big thumbs up and let us know what you think
in the comment section below. I didn't want to mention mate, but I've got a puncture
so I might have to fix that. Are you up for it? Speaker 2: Yes.
[laughter] [00:07:01] [END OF AUDIO]