Burn the FAT it's holding you back!
Burn the FAT it's holding you back!
I honestly believe that there is so much truth to this statement. Gather a group of male triathletes and just wait a few minutes and the conversation will inevitably turn to "body weight". It is almost guaranteed.
So, why our constant obsession with getting our body weight down?
What is a healthy sustainable body weight for your given height and build type and is it maintainable year round?
What further reduction to this sustainable figure do you aim for when your big race is fast approaching?
Well, I guess it depends if you suffer from an eating disorder(I'll save this topic for a later time)! I probably do as I am constantly interrogating every nutritional label before throwing anything down my MAW! In all seriousness, I guess if our weight is low, we:
(a) look good without a shirt on
(b) decrease the chances of injury when running
(c) get to the top of those hill repeats quicker
(d) do not have to starve ourselves when trying to get to that fighting weight for the race.
I think our bodies have a happy weight medium where for minimal to no effort, our body weight tends to gravitate towards that figure and on any given day, it is +- 1kg of that mark. That is the way it works with me anyway.
I for one do not believe that the race weight is sustainable over the course of the year. For starters, I think it would make us more susceptible to the dreaded lurgy. I find it hard enough maintaining my fighting weight for 4 weeks let alone months on end. I try to hit my race weight 3 weeks out from the "A" race, that race I want to SMASH to pieces. For example, I went in to IM Port Macq 07 close to 76.5kg 1 week out (I'm 6' and a solid build so my BF % is sub 10% at that weight). So, with the carb load and all, I figure 77.5 - 78kg come race day given the extra water retention. Now, within one week of that race, I'd be closer to 80kg again given the relaxed eating for recovery and minimal training post IM. So hard to lose, so easy to gain!
So, be keeping my weight under control and close to 80kg, I only have to lose 3-4kg or thereabouts when preparing for that race, which is a far easier task than say 8kg if I let myself blow out to 84kg by stuffing crap down my MAW.
How much to lose and what is that magical race weight for you is very specific for each individual and I do not believe that if you're 6', then it is 77kg for you. It would all depend on your muscle mass, frame size, etc so you really need to search for that magical number yourself. I figure the "wobble test" is a reasonable test, remove the top, jump up and down in front of the mirror, if it wobbles, lose it! (above waist only) :)
To add one extra element into the mix, there must be a point of diminishing return where losing too much weight has an adverse affect on your performance due to losses in lean muscle mass, NOT GOOD! It is that fine line that we need to tread!
That said, I'd be interested to know if anyone else has similar experiences with their body weight.
Cheers
Komo
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4 Responses to Burn the FAT it's holding you back!
Komo - I like your thoughtws about NOT being at your race weight all year round.
Q: At what stage prior to a race (HIM or IM) should you start to hit "race weight" keeping in mind that the body doesnt like surprises and with the increased intensity of training and come race day when we SMASH ourselves our body will be alot lighter than when we have been crunching out the miles!
In thinking about this my theory is that your achievable race weigh is roughly 5% below you "fit" weight, i.e. your weight during an average load period (which depends on the athlete!) I agree that if you were to go below 75 I’m not sure of the benefits but the only was to test this is to diet down, if you were going to do this I think you would have to aim to hit race weight at least six weeks before the big race as I agree with the comments the body does not like surprises. And taking into account the training levels at the 12 – 6 weeks out mark this may have a negative impact on the quality of your training at this critical stage. This is a great consideration for me for next year, I’m doing the Canberra to Melbourne charity ride and I would like to aim to be 74-75 kgs to get up the big hills as fast as possible…
Maybe 6 weeks out is a long way out, perhaps 4 a little better. In saying all this, I listened to a podcast with Chris McCormack and he was told by Mark Allen that he would continue lose at Kona until he was 10% heavier in July. The gist of the podcast said that he needed to be overweight in July when Kona is in October. Still fit, but not supremely fit. Having said that, next year he races Roth Germany in July 10% heavier than the previous year and wins it sub 8h, go figure! Then has the race of his life in Kona and misses out by 1m to stormin' Norman!
"Super Accelerated Weight Gain" ** as when approaching race date and race weight you are 2,3 or 5 kgs below a healthy weight and thus when your body does go into calorie surplus, it holds those calories like a bear about to hibernate.
** TRADE MARKED by the Captain
Over and out
(Posted on Captains Behalf from an email I dug out way back when we were discussing this exact topic)
Something to say?