Australian executives are gearing up for Chain Reaction charity bike ride Property executive Chris Pratt has lost 20 kgs in three months. IN January, property executive Chris Pratt tipped the scales at 120kg. Three months later he's 20kg lighter and at a weight that is more than acceptable for his 1.98 metre frame. Mr Pratt, 37, is one of a growing number of Australians taking part in charity bike rides in order to do a good deed and get fit at the same time. He has been training nine hours a week in the lead up to the 1,100 km Melbourne to Sydney bike ride he will start this Saturday. The week-long event, called Chain Reaction, will see 30 executives from companies such as Westfield, Colonial First State and Westpac ride to raise money for the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute to investigate the causes of congenital heart disease affecting babies and young children. So far they've raised $560,000 - just under their target of $700,000. In true time-pressed executive style the event kills three birds with one stone: it helps the business men and women get fit and lose weight, it provides an opportunity to network and tap into new business opportunities, and of course it raises a lot of money for charity. Mr Pratt, development manager at Cbus Property, has had to use his time wisely in order to juggle his demanding job, family time with his wife and two young children and the nine hours of training he must do each week. "I commute by bike two days a week and use the commuting time I'd be sitting on the bus - I'm able to get a lot of my training done with that," he said. Mr Pratt also does a three-to-four hour ride on weekends. "I've found if you're riding when the rest of the family is asleep they tend to be none the wiser," he said. Mr Pratt says the training is easier to do because he is working towards a goal. "When I commit to a big event I find that's the best way to keep focussed," he said. Going to the gym doesn't really work for me, doing something as a group definitely helps. Mr Pratt added that it was important to him that his training was in aid of a good cause - in this case congenital heart disease which he said is fairly common but doesn't get a lot of attention. Matt Lucas, who has been in charge of training the group, said the fear of failure was a great motivator for executives. "They'd be s**t-scared if they got to the start line this Saturday and hadn't done enough training," Mr Lucas said. And these guys are all competitive guys too, from their careers and their corporate life they're all competitive and they like to be successful and that transfers well into the cycling. Mr Lucas said there was a bit of a "barrier to entry" for Chain Reaction because it was targeted exclusively at senior business people who had the potential to raise a lot of money. But there are a lot of tactics that people use to train for the event that anyone can incorporate into their own lives. There are also a large number of charity bike rides out there you can get involved in. Click here for a list of upcoming rides. How to use a bike ride to get fit: Ride your bike to work "See if you can commute as much as possible, even if it's three out of five days a week," Mr Lucas said. If you're able to use your daily commute as a form of activity rather than being stuck on public transport or car that's a great thing. Get up early "The other thing is getting up early and being out before everyone else is awake, it's a beautiful time," he said. Heading out and seeing other bike riders and hardly any cars around is fantastic. Have a goal that's not about weight loss "Weight loss itself is a really difficult motivational tool, a lot of people get quite dejected when it doesn't occur immediately and because they perhaps haven't found the activity they really enjoy," Mr Lucas said. Wanting to complete a [longer] ride is going to give people the impetus to be consistent with their training but it will help them to achieve their health and fitness goals as well. Click here to donate to Chain Reaction.