Lose as bit of weight , check your speed ?

JimmyK

I was natterring with guy at LBS as how to best to improve my performance, Ive achieved PB of average of 19.2 mph over a 40 mile trip and I want to get closer to average of 20 mph.

Guy at LBS said the best thing you can do is absolutely free you know, drop some weight and then watch your performance. I am 13 stone 4 lbs and guy at LBS said drop to 12 stone 7 lbs .

What do you make of this suggestion, sure beats spending £250 on a new wheelset LOL !!

JimmyK

Gary D

He's probably right

Think about it this way. It is a bit back to front, but next time you go out, take a rucksack and put 5 bags of sugar in it and then see how much it slows you down or tires you out quicker :shock:

I think the weight loss thing is also double edged. If you are losing weight by a combination of exercise and diet then you are naturally getting fitter as you lose it anyway - therefore performance will improve.

I know this is the case in my circumstances. I've managed to lose 2 stone since starting cycling seriously.

Gary.

andrewgturnbull

JimmyK wrote:

I was natterring with guy at LBS as how to best to improve my performance, Ive achieved PB of average of 19.2 mph over a 40 mile trip and I want to get closer to average of 20 mph.

Guy at LBS said the best thing you can do is absolutely free you know, drop some weight and then watch your performance. I am 13 stone 4 lbs and guy at LBS said drop to 12 stone 7 lbs .

What do you make of this suggestion, sure beats spending £250 on a new wheelset LOL !!

JimmyK

I take it you weren't speaking to the shop owner then!

JimmyK

andrewgturnbull wrote:

JimmyK wrote:

I was natterring with guy at LBS as how to best to improve my performance, Ive achieved PB of average of 19.2 mph over a 40 mile trip and I want to get closer to average of 20 mph.

Guy at LBS said the best thing you can do is absolutely free you know, drop some weight and then watch your performance. I am 13 stone 4 lbs and guy at LBS said drop to 12 stone 7 lbs .

What do you make of this suggestion, sure beats spending £250 on a new wheelset LOL !!

JimmyK

I take it you weren't speaking to the shop owner then!

So thats why he was fired the same day..............Ha Ha

JimmyK

idaviesmoore

JimmyK wrote:

I was natterring with guy at LBS as how to best to improve my performance, Ive achieved PB of average of 19.2 mph over a 40 mile trip and I want to get closer to average of 20 mph.

Guy at LBS said the best thing you can do is absolutely free you know, drop some weight and then watch your performance. I am 13 stone 4 lbs and guy at LBS said drop to 12 stone 7 lbs .

What do you make of this suggestion, sure beats spending £250 on a new wheelset LOL !!

JimmyK

Yeah, poor selling techniques aside, nothing kills speed like weight.

bonk man

Oh dear ........thats what I forgot to do; lose some weight before our hilly time trial tonight......500 ft of hill straight from the start.

Drop some weight if you can healthily do it and you will go faster up hill. Some down hill speed might be lost but you will be able to get more aero and flat without a big belly so evens it out a bit

The health benefits are big [excuse the minor pun] you are less likely to get horrible diseases such as diabetes, certain cancers and all sorts of unpleasant stuff like piles :?

Some recent study came up with the theory that getting down to your lowest safe BMI will keep you very healthy and mean a long life [ but unfortunately one with out beer and cake ]

Look at really old people and they are mostly skinnier than Rasmussen [just as grumpy looking though] so there you go; lose weight, fly up the hills, live to be 110 and be slightly miserable

Oh yeh..... quickest way to lose weight without sawing a leg off or giving up beer.... stop consuming dairy products, no cheese or milk and the weight falls off... soya milk is fairly easy to get used to.......honest..

woodford2barbican

bonk man wrote:

.... stop consuming dairy products, no cheese or milk and the weight falls off... soya milk is fairly easy to get used to.......honest..

Soya milk is surprisingly good - I even prefer it on my cereal. Still use cow's in my tea though.

JimmyK

i dont drink coffee ( yuk !! ) , I hate cheese and only drink BLACK tea, even as a kid i hated the taste of milk and i only put a lil drop in my bran flakes breakfast cereal to moisten it ( oo`err missus ) .

ive hit snacking on biccies on the head ( damn it !! ) and i dont eat crisps . couldnt drink soya milk if i was facing a firing squad and i eat lots of fresh fruit and high fibre food, hoping to trim right down as tight as a lambeg drum , and if not, at least in terms of "movements" , my @rse will be as well tuned as a McLaren F1 car.............LOL !!

JimmyK

gtr mart

If you convert it into power / watts then if it takes say 200 watts to power a 10 stone person up a 20% hill then the same hill and bike but with a 15 stone ride might require 300 watts to get up it at the same pace

I weigh in at nearly 16 stone and when riding with other people who are smaller than me, I generally get killed on the hills but have no probs keeping pace on the flats. That said, I am sure if I was 16 stone of leg muscle and super fit then that wouldnt be true (or it would, but I would be able to produce much higher power levels than I can so it wouldnt matter).

Personally I am keen to get to the 13 / 14 stone mark and think this will make a dramatic difference to my ave speed (currently 17 mph over 34 miles with some good hills on)

passout

Weight can be an issue (notably on climbs) but remember it's the power to weight ratio that really matters. You could work on your strength too.

Holty74

not sure i agree with the whole BMI thing. I'm 5ft 5, (yes a midget i know) a 30inch waist and 12st. according to my BMI i'm 2 stone overweight and bordering on obese.

losing wieight can only be good for your biking if you are dropping fat and not lean muscle tissue. however, if you are dropping lots of lean muscle then i would assume that it would affect your power output as well as stamina.

still its cheaper than getting a set of lightwieghts

bonk man

We all know when we are carrying extra weight....... it is there when you look down

I think the plan should be to get a flat stomach, no man boobs [ if you are a man that is, ladies are allowed boobs :? ] and the right amount of muscle to look in proportion and not like a weight lifter..

Holty74 you can have a 30 inch waist and still be fat, it is the big wobbly bit that is above the actual waist my "waist" is 32 inch but my belly is at least 5 inches bigger. Always gets a laugh when it is spotted at a race :oops:
I don't think you are officially a midget, my missus is 5 foot and claims not to be one :P

TheGreatGatsby

being a good climber is all about weight and power. I am a lil over my optimum climbing weight - currently 10 and a half stone at just over 6ft - but I find the extra 2lbs that I'd really like to lose does help on the windy flats of the fens. When I was in Bath I was 10stone 2 and could climb like a wippet but lacked the Ooompf on the flats.

I guess adjust your body to your riding and environment in as healthy a way as possible, Being a goodpush bike rider isn't ALL about beinga good climber.

Gats

gtr mart

A c hap I work with used to be right into his riding. I think he was a veteran champion - or atleast higly ranked in england. I was asking him about climbing and how to do it well and he simply said lose weight. He said when he used to race, if it was a hilly event then he wouldnt bother entering as he knew there were small guys that were much lighter thatn would just clear up. keep in mind this guy was probably 5,10 with small frame and no body fat!

aarw

what height are you?

bonk man

I used to weigh about 8 stone and am 5'8" and even though my kit was rubbish I could blow other riders away on big climbs for fun .......... Now I am just under 11 stone dancing on the pedals is not an option, occasionally I have got it down to about 10.5 and that makes an enormous difference, it brings back the joy of climbing even if only fleetingly until the next cake binge

Lose weight and get up the hills......................

Holty74

bonk man wrote:

We all know when we are carrying extra weight....... it is there when you look down

I think the plan should be to get a flat stomach, no man boobs [ if you are a man that is, ladies are allowed boobs :? ] and the right amount of muscle to look in proportion and not like a weight lifter..

Holty74 you can have a 30 inch waist and still be fat, it is the big wobbly bit that is above the actual waist my "waist" is 32 inch but my belly is at least 5 inches bigger. Always gets a laugh when it is spotted at a race :oops:
I don't think you are officially a midget, my missus is 5 foot and claims not to be one :P

touche lol... but what i meant was BMI dosnt take into acount muscle density. plus i'm sure its all glandular