4 ms·

Man, how did you survive on 5 hours of sleep ? I rode my bike for 200 km in 11 hours and post that, slept like a log for 9 hours. I mean, I was knocked out. Cou

by deepGem 10y ago

Man, how did you survive on 5 hours of sleep ? I rode my bike for 200 km in 11 hours and post that, slept like a log for 9 hours. I mean, I was knocked out. Couldn't open my eyes despite alarms.

xorcist 10y ago
I can't understand it either, I'm absolutely exhausted from _one_ day of biking. But check out things like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_Am_Bike_Race https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_Am_Bike_Race and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_Race https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_Race for the really extreme stuff. There's a great documentary about Transcontinental race from 2015 at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/transcontinental https://vimeo.com/ondemand/transcontinental which is well worth watching. Seems to be behind a (cheap) paywall now but it's well worth it as an intro to how it's done. It's absolutely mesmerizing to watch for regular crazy people (as opposed to the crazy crazy people who partake) and there is some great behind the scenes footage on youtube. These races are great to watch in real time because you can follow every GPS tracker and since each rider chooses their own directions it can get really exciting.
gaius 10y ago
The US Army's Ranger School is 8 weeks on 2 hours of sleep a night, apart from one night you are allowed 5 hours because there's a parachute jump the next day...
- ryanmarsh 10y ago
  Don't forget the malnutrition and that it takes a year to recover from.
  - gaius 10y ago
    I'm just a civvy and obviously don't know anything, but I've always found what I've heard/read about Ranger School puzzling. Does it really produce something that cannot be produced any other way? Why does no other military have something like it?
- ska 10y ago
  NB: The point of things like that is to explore failure boundaries, not a sustainable activity level.
ska 10y ago
If you are unused to it, this sort of thing is a real shock to the system, but your body is more adaptable than you might think. On the other hand, there are limits. Some of the scenarios discussed int this thread (distance races for time, SF training, etc.) are causing damage to your body that will require recovery time - and the longer you go for the more recovery you will need. Other levels of exertion seem extreme to us from the point of view of a mostly sedentary life, but if you manage the sleep and diet stuff (a bit better than a typical thru hiker does), you can handle medium-high level physical exertion (e.g. 8 hours hiking) basically indefinitely. I've done multiple 1000km bicycle rides (with full gear) at a similar pace that, once you are settled in, feels a bit just like routine. On the other hand I've ridden distances on a single day or weekend that knocked me out for a week afterwards. It's all in the balance.

by deepGem 10y ago

Man, how did you survive on 5 hours of sleep ? I rode my bike for 200 km in 11 hours and post that, slept like a log for 9 hours. I mean, I was knocked out. Couldn't open my eyes despite alarms.

xorcist 10y ago

I can't understand it either, I'm absolutely exhausted from _one_ day of biking. But check out things like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_Am_Bike_Race https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans_Am_Bike_Race and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_Race https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcontinental_Race for the really extreme stuff. There's a great documentary about Transcontinental race from 2015 at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/transcontinental https://vimeo.com/ondemand/transcontinental which is well worth watching. Seems to be behind a (cheap) paywall now but it's well worth it as an intro to how it's done. It's absolutely mesmerizing to watch for regular crazy people (as opposed to the crazy crazy people who partake) and there is some great behind the scenes footage on youtube. These races are great to watch in real time because you can follow every GPS tracker and since each rider chooses their own directions it can get really exciting.

gaius 10y ago

The US Army's Ranger School is 8 weeks on 2 hours of sleep a night, apart from one night you are allowed 5 hours because there's a parachute jump the next day...

ryanmarsh 10y ago
Don't forget the malnutrition and that it takes a year to recover from.
- gaius 10y ago
  I'm just a civvy and obviously don't know anything, but I've always found what I've heard/read about Ranger School puzzling. Does it really produce something that cannot be produced any other way? Why does no other military have something like it?
ska 10y ago
NB: The point of things like that is to explore failure boundaries, not a sustainable activity level.

ska 10y ago

If you are unused to it, this sort of thing is a real shock to the system, but your body is more adaptable than you might think. On the other hand, there are limits. Some of the scenarios discussed int this thread (distance races for time, SF training, etc.) are causing damage to your body that will require recovery time - and the longer you go for the more recovery you will need. Other levels of exertion seem extreme to us from the point of view of a mostly sedentary life, but if you manage the sleep and diet stuff (a bit better than a typical thru hiker does), you can handle medium-high level physical exertion (e.g. 8 hours hiking) basically indefinitely. I've done multiple 1000km bicycle rides (with full gear) at a similar pace that, once you are settled in, feels a bit just like routine. On the other hand I've ridden distances on a single day or weekend that knocked me out for a week afterwards. It's all in the balance.