The Law School Transplant - If you don't find me helpful, hopefully you'll find me at least mildly entertaining.

We all know that I have a tendency to forget things, despite taking a daily dose of gingko biloba.  So, needless to say, when I received an unsolicited brown package from Amazon in my mailbox a few weeks ago, I was a bit flummoxed.  I opened it and found a copy of Ride Your Way Lean: The Ultimate Plan for Burning Fat and Getting Fit on a Bike by Bicycling magazine’s Fit Chick, Selene Yeager.  Only then did I remember I had preordered a copy a couple months ago and had then, of course, promptly forgotten about it.

I glanced it over, shrugged and thought to myself, “Why not?  Couldn’t hurt to give it try.”  I’ve been cycling regularly for a couple of years now, but didn’t get really serious about it until this season when something clicked and I became slightly fanatical.  Despite lots of riding this year, though, I still haven’t been able to shed those pesky extra pounds that seem to have quietly accumulated after a combination of having a relatively sedentary job and a metabolism that seemed to plummet precipitously in my mid-twenties.  Clearly, I was missing part of the equation.

So, I cracked it open and, much to my own surprise, tore through Ride Your Way Lean in less than a week.  I even re-read a number of sections that really hooked me, taking notes and trying to assimilate it all in my head.

Though it is often said that you can’t be all things to all people, Yeager comes pretty darn close in her new book.  She provides advice and training plans for people who are significantly overweight and haven’t ridden a bike since they were kids, those who already ride and simply need a maintenance plan, and everyone in between.

The first section of the book covers the basics of weight gain and weight loss, and how both of those things occur.  She also gives tips and advice on selecting the proper gear for riding, even providing pointers about gear that might not support someone who is significantly overweight (thankfully, I do not fall into that category).  My only criticism with her advice on gear selection comes in her bike recommendations – while a seasoned cyclist wouldn’t bat an eye, those who are just starting to ride might be intimidated by her suggestions of pricier mid-level bikes like the Cervelo RS ($1,700 for the frame, sans components).

Yeager then discusses riding basics for the beginners and how to maximize your time in the saddle to burn the most calories possible.  And no, just pushing the pedals won’t do it – she emphasizes the necessity of pedaling outside your comfort “cruising” zone by incorporating intervals, sprints and seated climbs into your riding routine.

The next section of the book provides four specific training routines, varying in length from nine to fifteen weeks, and tailored to your weight loss goals and current fitness level.    Overall, each plan is well-thought out, incorporating interval work, rolling hills and the ability to make your weekly group ride a part of the routine.  She also includes rest days and emphasizes the need for recovery rides as part of the plan.  However, I do question whether it’s realistic to expect someone who is 50-plus pounds overweight and climbing on a bicycle for the first time in 20 years to be able to ride 7 hours in Week 1.

Of course, nutrition is a critical component of the fitness equation, and Yeager provides straightforward, easy plans for nutrition, both on and off the bike.  Having ridden all summer without getting the results I wanted, this chapter provided the reminder I desperately needed: It doesn’t matter how much you ride; it’s not going to make a difference if you’re eating like crap.  Ding ding ding!  Deep down I knew this, but seeing it in black and white drove it home.

Instead of making me feel neurotic and guilty (which exercise and nutrition guides frequently do), Yeager provides simple ways to shore up your dietary shortcomings that don’t leave you starving or craving junk.  Eat real, recognizable food instead of the pre-packaged stuff.  Drink water instead of soda or other caloric beverages.  Put down the Power Bar unless you’re heading out for more than a 90-minute ride.  Not all carbs are bad.  And so on.  Most of all, she provides easy rules of thumb, several nutrition charts and a kind reminder that giving into so-called “couch potato” carbs once in a blue moon doesn’t blow all the progress you’ve made.

And though I entertain delusions of grandeur and would love to consider myself hardcore, the simple fact remains that when it’s too rainy or too cold, I flee the elements, park myself on a spin bike in the gym and listen to my iPod while I pedal to nowhere.  Recognizing that sometimes, the elements or the circumstances don’t work in our favor, Yeager provides several challenging routines that allow you to take it indoors and channel your inner spin instructor.

Finally, Yeager provides four illustrated sets of strength training exercises – again, tailored to your fitness level – that work your upper body and core.  These highly-specific routines not only build fat-burning muscle, but increase your power-to-weight ratio and improve your performance on the bike.

Quite frankly, most of the information in Ride Your Way Lean is not new to me.  The brilliant thing about this book is not necessarily the content, then, but the way that Yeager provides a comprehensive plan, broken down into bite-sized, common sense pieces that are conveyed in a way that makes it feel achievable and well within reach for anyone.  Although she’s an elite athlete herself, she shares stories of her own struggles over the years without sounding patronizing.  For those who might be apprehensive because they have a lot of weight to lose, Yeager also provides feel-good stories from several people who have successfully ridden off 50, 75 or even 100 pounds.  At the same time, she doesn’t shy away from providing the technical biological and physiological explanations and processes for those interested in the “how” and the “why.”  Overall, even though the ideas aren’t earth-shattering, or even new, Ride Your Way Lean is an excellent guide filled with practical advice, solid training plans, manageable nutrition guidelines, inspiring anecdotes and welcome reminders that will motivate you to get up and start riding as soon as you put it down.