Hi!
I’m a little discouraged to write a feature request here since I’m not a serious cyclist like most of the people here. I do own an indoor bike trainer and the I like the TrainerDay app and would love to use it for weight loss since I’m overweight.
I know I have the option of creating the training plan myself based on my own needs but it would be really nice if Coach Jack could do that for me.
Thank you for such an amazing app!
Best regards, Ali
Hi, don’t worry there are all kinds of people here, many just looking for health and/or weight loss. I am not exactly sure what you are asking for but there is a lot of controversy regarding exercise and weight loss. Many people will tell you weight loss all happens in the kitchen. I myself work to maintain various levels of health/fitness and weight and now at 58 it takes a lot more than it did in my 30s and 40s.
Science and “experts” will give conflicting advice. I believe my advice is not overly controversial. Which is the only thing that matters is consistency. So this means do what is fun and sustainable. The more fun or at least “least un-fun” the easier. The beginning is usually the hardest part but then staying on the path then becomes the hard part. I suggested people do the bare minimum but more often, that could be 7 days a week with a minimum 5-minutes and if it feels ok then do a bit more. If having a plan like a Coach Jack plan inspires you then that is great. Many people do well sticking to a plan and others not so well. I would set a goal for a date for 6 months from now and just follow the plan jack gives you. It will be 3 blocks, base, build and peak.
Either that or just start with a 12-16 week base plan and then we can go from there. Find something to pass then time. Watching netflix and easy pedalling is great. Listening to music, making phone calls to friends… You don’t need to be breathing hard at this time to make gains and each phase just safely prepares you for the next phase. Going too hard in the beginning for fast results is not the solution. We all want fast results but focus on the process not the results. Consistency is all that matters.
I have a lot more advice than this but not even sure that was what you were looking for. You are right we should also add a weight loss plan to Coach Jack. If that is all you are saying you are 100% right.
Yes, that is basically what I would like to see. For me it would be beneficial if someone (in this case Coach Jack) could take the guesswork away from me and just create some sort of a plan that would probably follow what you wrote in your reply and suggest me the most common sense approach to stay active on a trainer and focus on losing weight. For me that would mean that I would not have to think about VO2Max, differences between HIIT, endurance rides, power intervals and if it would make sense to start with base, base+ or base++ and all the other things I don’t understand. You know, like a no-brainer approach. You answer a couple of questions and proof, the plan gets created for you.
I do thank you for the detailed suggestions above - I have created a plan and can’t wait to try it out.
Sorry for my English, it’s not my primary language.
Best regards, Ali
I find cardio to control weight is tough because the more cardio I do the more I’m hungry. I’m not saying it won’t work, but whatever you end up doing it needs to be sustainable.
I would think if weight loss if your goal you may want to consider base or base+ and use this along with your dietary plan to achieve your results, these kind of rides won’t put too much of a load on you compared to the higher intensity training.
I don’t have studies off hand to support, but I recall seeing that people report having success with weight lifting/resistance training to maintain/add muscle. This is a good way to improve body composition and if you’re successful in adding the muscle it will increase your daily energy expenditure.
Classic base or base plus plans: Trainer Day
Dave
Your English is fine, I agree with Dave, Base+ is great, all these other workouts just give variety. After your initial base period you can ask again and I can give you ideas to experiment a little.
I also agree with Dave their is likely more support for adding muscle for weight loss than cardio work. But cardio can boost your motivation and be a good place to start. Once your motivation goes up adding some weight training can help. I personally see I lose weight with higher volume cycling, like cycling outdoors 8-10+ hours a week of easy riding outdoors. Indoors it’s hard for me to be motivated enough to do that kind of volume so use indoor more as a short duration period just trying to hold on to some fitness. So in general, I think exercise and feeling in shape is the critical component to weight loss as it helps drive motivation for a full life embrace of health. Without the exercise I seem to struggle to hold on…
I think strength training can be very minimal, especially in the beginning. 10 minutes a week can actually do a lot for the first 2-3 months until you get into a good pattern and even after that you can have a plan to keep it very short.
So we are looking forward to hearing about your progress. For me I have set myself a goal of a 150km gravel “race” in May. Having a goal like this helps with motivation.
Hi Alison,
Based on my experience with weight loss at 44 years of age, I found that zone 2 training in the morning before eating, cutting sugar from my diet and only drinking water (and one-morning coffee) was very effective. If you train too hard you need to fuel your rides which doesn’t help with weight loss. A calorie deficit is key so keep those rides easy and volume is better than intensity. Good luck and have fun. Remember consistency is key.
Excellent advice!!! So simple and perfect. I have had great success with fasted Zone 2 myself. I need to try this for a while again 
It may be best to keep the fasted rides on the trainer where there’s easy access to food if needed. The last thing anyone needs is to have a hypoglycemic issue if they go out too hard.
Dave
I have done 4 hour runs and 3 hour rides fasted as long as you go easy (zone 2) and are fat adapted it is not problem. I just don’t train in the mornings lately but maybe I should.
In this case I am doing up to 1 hour indoor and easy so no problem.
I agree with Wesley Robert. I believe that the required intensity in Z2 could be the ideal solution for those who want to do physical activity and stay healthy without, however, undergoing high intensity training which, in my opinion, at my age of 66, would be better left alone . According to some coaches, Z2 training trains the body to use fat to produce energy. I don’t know, and I would like to ask Alex if coach Jack is able to prescribe training sessions only and exclusively in Z2 or what parameters to use so that coach Jack is able to build a workout in z2. I wrote some very simple workouts for personal use only of about two hours trying to manage 60/65% of the max heart rate. It’s clear that they are quite boring but they get the idea quite right.
Yes, I am also a big “Zone 2” advocate too and done lots of experimentation with it in the past. I think as we age we should push ourselves at times as well but that can be very small amounts or zone 2 + weight training for example. We have the HR+ feature. Just click on quick start, then HR+ in our app and set your target HR (buttons at the bottom) and it will slowly build to this and then keep your HR in your desired location. This is the ultimate for pure HR based Zone 2. Coach Jack is polarized in nature but pure zone 2 is better with this HR+ feature.
GCN just came out with a video that I think is pretty good.
TLDW: Exercise can help with weight loss, but it needs an appropriate volume and likely can’t overcome a terrible diet.
Dave
I did not watch it yet but I would say if you are 20 a terrible diet and training is likely fine but at 58 it’s not easy… I have to eat well and train like 10+ hours a week to see good results… But if I do weight training too then it’s easier. I will watch it
Intersting discussion. My experience, from the pandemic - winter 2020-2021 – is that an easy daily morning ride/workout really helped me loose a lot of weight.
I did semi-pro sports (Volleyball) in the 1990s, stopped sports essentially altogether in 2006, eventually restarted with some Badminton in 2016 (2–5 h/week) plus strength work (1–2 h/w), and was still significantly overweight in 2020. Buying a gravel bike and using it nearly daily, I lost 20 kg in 1 year. Often rode 45–60 min before work, before or after breakfast, plus longer rides on the weekend. Easy simple riding outside…
I was on only drinking water and 2 coffee a day already before.
from my experince the hardest part about weightloss and cycling is the extra weight on the saddle. 12 months ago i weighed 350 ish pounds and couldnt ride more than 15 minutes without having to get off from pain. I also spent almost as much on saddles as i did my last car probably got 50 of them in the basement.
So I am currently down to 260ish almost 100 pounds in 12 months at 38. I have also not yet dieted. yes i make smarter choices on food home cooked or pizza hut or read whats in the food im ordering.
What worked for me was a Coach jack plan that I didnt follow very well. it would want me to ride 30 minutes Z2 well my bottom would only let me do 13 so I would go for a 17 minute walk for the rest of it. At 260 pounds I can ride an hour with moderate discomfort. I would also stop and delete the coach jack plans after the base period because yeah no way was I going to do 30 minutes of tempo without a heart attack.
So if you find you cant fishish something due to discomfort caused by your weight. I would get the rest of the exercise minutes doing something else. I would agree it would be nice if I could tell Coach Jack i want 12 weeks of Z2 not 4 weeks of base, 4 weeks of build, and 4 weeks of peak so I wouldnt have to either keep redoing the same base workout or constantly creating new plans.