I find the statement "abs are made in the kitchen" to be more and more true the more I learn about it. I've seen studies estimate that diet makes up about 75% of our physique, while, exercise makes up the rest. Can you get skinny just by eating healthy? Yes! Absolutely. Will you have strength or endurance? No, but this is an amazing start. The average body fat percentage in which the ab muscles become visible is about 12%. This means you have to lose the fat covering them first! No number of crunches or lame ab workouts are going to get you there. Start with your diet and clean it up first. It makes the rest a lot easier!

I find a 30-40 minute work works really well for me. I don't mess around when I get to the gym, and I try to incorporate as many supersets as I can though. My workouts are on rotation, so I don't need to wonder what I'm going to do next!

I have a 1980's Nishiki (I think) bike that I got from my dad. I've had it for 10 years, I'm not sure how long he had it. I could ride all day on it, but I didn't get anywhere fast. I was estimating 7.5 hours for 112 mile bike ride. Obviously when you only get 16 hours, that's a huge chunk, not to mention the physical effort. I added clipless pedals, a better seat, aerobars, and new wheels and I was able to cut that time down by 30 minutes. Then I tried out a random triathlon bike and that time was around 6.5 hours. You can literally buy down your time when it comes to gear for bicycles in the IRONMAN! I'm all for cheap and using what you have, but man, that hour makes a massive difference. I'm attempting to avoid the temptations of spending thousands right now to buy time, but I hope to space it out over a few years so that I don't go poor.