My Fitness Journey So Far (Ryan Condon)

“Always sprint for a finish line” and “try to hold on even if you have to burn matches to do so” are my two golden rules when it comes to riding and racing on Zwift. They obviously mostly apply to racing, but as I’m coming back from an annoying cycling-related knee injury that kept me off the bike for nearly nine weeks, these rules also apply to most of the group rides I take part in nowadays. too.

Other people’s “Zone 2” seems to be my threshold at the moment, but I’m getting there. My power, endurance, and—most importantly—my ability to recover quickly are all returning to their pre-injury levels, slowly but surely.

However (and this is a big HOWEVER)… getting dropped in Zwift is still light years ahead of where I was only six years ago. Like a toddler in a sweet shop, I still see smashing myself around Watopia as a privilege, not something I have to force myself to do and I have to remind myself of that every time I end up finishing mid-pack in a race or questioning all of life’s choices while trying to hold onto Eric Schlange in one of his weekly “fun” Pizza Burners. But that’s just my competitive side coming out. That childish grin quickly returns whenever I think back to my “pre-fitness” days in 2018.

(Seriously though, someone really needs to report Eric’s weekly “pizza burner” ride description to the Federal Trade Commission—100 km at threshold is more than just a “spin”…)

It’s only now, having just checked when my first ever Zwift-related video was uploaded (1st May 2023), that I’ve realised I’ve been riding and racing on Zwift for almost three years. Wowsers! Time really does fly when you’re having fun.

My name is Ryan Condon, and I’ve been making entertaining YouTube videos about my fitness journey for the past six years. Zwifting on my trusty Zwift Ride in my homemade “pain cave” has been a huge part of that journey.

“He’s not fat, he’s big-boned.”

At the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, I weighed 190 kg. To put that into perspective, the average UK man in his 40s weighs 83 kg. I was 107 kg heavier than the Joe Bloggs you walk past every day on your local high street.

The physical and mental implications of weighing this much were massive. Being tall (6’2”) had helped me “get away” with being “big”—a term my grandma used to describe me.

“He’s not fat, he’s big-boned,” she’d snap whenever anyone dared mention my disproportionate size in front of her when I was a teenager. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t anywhere near as confident as she was when dealing with the snide remarks from my schoolmates.

By the age of 38, my knees ached, my energy was non-existent, and my sleep was a joke—I probably averaged three to four hours a night. Depression and anxiety were taking hold, although I didn’t recognise it at the time.

I grew up in a working-class London family; feelings weren’t discussed, and “depression” was something other people had. I was also likely alcohol-dependent by this point. I made a video about this subject (which you can watch here), but in a nutshell, the mental darkness I lived with was amplified by my drinking. At one point, I was even too heavy to weigh myself on standard bathroom scales. That sense of alienation—of being on my own—was staggering.

Half the Man I Used To Be

Fast forward six years: I no longer drink, I’m teetotal, I’m vegan (a story for another time), and I now weigh anywhere between 87–89 kg, depending on which way the wind is blowing or how many croissants I’ve had that day.

I’m literally half the man I used to be, and I’m in the best shape of my life. That 103kg of body fat I lost (as my partner Tracie likes to joke) is more than the weight of an entire adult male.

When I started uploading videos to YouTube, I realised there were almost no fitness influencers catering to bigger men (or bigger people in general). Most assumed you already had a base level of fitness and of course, I didn’t. I just wanted to know:

• How do I start?
• How do I keep moving?
• What can I eat?
• And most importantly… how do I stay motivated?

Because I couldn’t see anyone who looked like me online—unless they were the experiment or the butt of the joke in a MrBeast-style video—I decided to document my own weight-loss journey, with an emphasis on making the videos entertaining, hoping it might inspire others like me… those who knew enough to know that doing something—anything—is better than doing nothing.

I’m not a nutritionist or fitness expert. I simply share what works for me, hoping to inspire others in the way I once wanted to be inspired.

Leveling Up with Zwift

Indoor cycling on Zwift was the extra string to my bow that I was looking for back in 2023. By then, I had already managed to lose 70 kg through walking and then running, getting down to about 120 kg. But my body adapted and my weight loss plateaued, even though I was still exercising and eating sensibly.

It was then that I discovered indoor cycling—specifically Zwift—purely by chance, and it completely revolutionised my fitness and weight-loss progress, helping me lose another 30 kg of body fat.

I very recently crossed the 10,000 km mark for total lifetime distance covered, with well over 113,000 metres climbed. That’s a big benchmark for me.

It’s still “rookie numbers” compared to others on the platform, but I’ve also made and uploaded over 100 Zwift-related videos to my YouTube channel, so I like to think I have some lived experience on the subject.

I’ve also become quite a capable racer, climbing from Category D into Category B. That just means I went from complete beginner to an above-average, pretty good Zwifter at my peak. However, at the end of last year I suffered a sports-related knee injury that kept me from working out and Zwifting for nearly nine weeks. As any Zwifter knows, without regular training you lose your power and endurance much quicker than it takes to gain them.

I’m now back on the road to recovery. I’ve regained about 80% of my pre-injury Zwifting abilities and have managed to get myself back into the upper end of Category C with my ZRS hovering somewhere around 420; however, at my peak, I reached 570, and I’d like to get back there as soon as possible.

The Process and the Pillars

I love running and cycling outside, and nothing will ever replace that vibe. However, when time is scarce or it’s chucking it down and I don’t fancy a Special Forces selection test just to fit in my cardio for the day… Zwift is the answer.

It fits into my plan easily, no matter the weather. If I’ve got everything set up just the way I like it, there should be no barriers—and no barriers means no excuses and of course, no excuses = consistency.

When I started on Zwift for the first time, I didn’t really know what my real power number was, even after several months of consistent riding. This is because we’re programmed to hold back as humans. No one jumps into a fast group ride or race and completely buries themselves the first time they try. It’s counterintuitive to everything we’ve been told to do. So we end up getting dropped—which is fine. It’s all part of the process and that’s the single best piece of advice I can give any new Zwifter: Trust the process! Just jump in feet first and learn through the baptism of fire.

I now have three “pillars” that I try to stick to every day:

• Eat clean, portion-controlled meals — three per day.
  For context, I used to eat 4,000–5,000 calories daily. Now I focus on the right quantity of quality food, averaging about 2,000 calories per day. Any less than this and I don’t have the energy to keep going.
• Move consistently and do something every day.
  I started with walking, and now I run 5 km or cycle 25 km every day as a minimum. If I’m training for an event, this ramps up.
• Use motivational tactics to maintain discipline.
  I highly recommend reading Atomic Habits by James Clear and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. (There’s a lot I learned from these books, but the two biggest takeaways were how to build strong habits that break bad ones, and the idea that you have a finite number of “f*cks” to give—so choose carefully what you spend them on. Psychological tactics like this massively helped keep me off the sofa and into the pain cave, even when it was hard.)

Obviously, there’s a lot more to this. The nuances are hard to highlight in one article without disappearing down a fitness rabbit hole, but these three pillars are what I think about every day when planning my week ahead.

100 Small Moments

Back in 2019, I started by walking every day for a whole year without a single day off. I even made a video about it:

This might be a risky thing to say—especially on a website dedicated to cyclists—but I still consider walking to be the best exercise for weight loss. However, cycling and Zwifting are catching up quickly in my mind.

People often ask if I had a defining wake-up moment.

Honestly, I didn’t.

There wasn’t one big “eureka” moment—there were hundreds of small moments of realisation.

Buying plus-size clothes.
Making excuses at my daughter’s school sports day.
Not being able to fit on a rollercoaster at a theme park.

Just three of many dominoes that had to fall before I finally pulled the trigger and made the change.

A David Goggins quote resonated with me:

“To achieve greatness, one must be willing to be unbalanced for a period of time.”

Back when I was walking 10 miles every day, I was unbalanced—in the best possible way.

My obsession, once directed at my career, was now fuelling my health, fitness, and eventually my family life. But I had to face “40 days and nights in the desert” before I could reset my factory settings. This combination of dietary discipline, physical movement, and psychological commitment transformed my life.

Mindset, willpower, and behaviour change are more important than fad diets or gimmicky exercises.

My motivation has to be personal—losing weight just to look good for a holiday won’t sustain long-term change.

Find your “happy place”—your reason to move forward even when it’s tough.

Don’t sweat the small stuff. I used to get frustrated when things didn’t go to plan. Now I choose what I care about, and when things go wrong I try to adapt instead of reacting.

Celebrate meaningful achievements. Rewards should reinforce progress—not undo it. There is no secret sauce.

“Change happens when the fear of staying the same outweighs the fear of change.”

Believe in yourself.
Be kind to yourself.
Keep moving forward.

Small steps matter. Consistency matters.

Your journey is yours—nobody else’s.

You can watch all of my videos on my YouTube channel: Ryan Condon.