Bradley Wiggins on fat loss.

Bhima

That’s a quite dangerous weight to be and you can’t stay at that weight for too long so I aim to hit that two weeks before the race and then stay at that for the best part of a month.

Why not?

I was at 4%-6% bodyfat* for 3 months and was fine. The only reason i'm now at ~10% is because it's a little cold commuting 500m above sea level at night and free cake at work has tempted me.

Why can't I stay at that weight? I could easily drop back down and hold it if I wanted to.

*approximate value, as different measuring methods gave different results.

hopper1

I think that if you were measured scientifically, when you were lighter, you'd have been over 4-6%.
Being under 10% for long periods (more for ladies) is hard on your body.
Nobody, even bodybuilders, etc, stays in that range for long.
You get ill too easily, are suseptable to any virus, etc...
Ask Squil, he'll know more about it than me...

bompington

4%-6%? Congratulations on having less body fat than is recommended for an athlete:

Description

---

Women

---

Men
Essential fat --- 10-13%

---

2-5%
Athletes

---

14–20% ---- 6-13%
Fitness

---

21–24% --- 14–17%
Acceptable

---

25–31% --- 18–24%

Table doesn't lay out well but check it out on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage#Recommendations

Or maybe your different measuring methods were more approximate than you thought?

Bhima

Yes, it was dangerously low. I am 180cm and I was 58kg. :shock:

I'm not going that low again as I now know it's not recommended.

However, the point is, I felt fine and was progressing very well on the bike. I felt I could stay there forever.

It was measured once by a "specialist" at my old gym and twice by two different bodybuilders I know. Possibly inaccurate, but probably not, as I looked like a skeleton.

shockedsoshocked

You weighed less than Michael Rasmussen?

Really?

bompington

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

You weighed less than Michael Rasmussen?

Really?

Yeah, that's why he's faster than Rasmussen

andrewJohnson

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

You weighed less than Michael Rasmussen?

Really?

I weigh less and am taller :shock: 185cm and 55kg. No idea about body fat though. I do get runny noses quiet often.

shockedsoshocked

What are you guys eating? (Or not eating as the case may be!)

amaferanga

He's got a very lightweight brain (Bhima that is).

andrewJohnson

I actually eat alot, I just never put on weight. And when I do put on a few pounds it's gone by the morning.

keef66

You're never alone with a tapeworm.........

andrewJohnson

keef66 wrote:

You're never alone with a tapeworm.........

Well I don't have any of these symptoms:

* Nausea
* Weakness
* Loss of appetite
* Abdominal pain
* Diarrhea
* Weight loss and inadequate absorption of nutrients from food

mrc1

Bhima - If you are serious about learning about fat levels, diet and their effect on performance a good place to start (ie excellent technical detail but approachable to a non-scientist) would be Mike Stroud's (of Arctic Exploration, Global 7 marathons in seven days etc fame) book titled "Understanding peak physical performance".

He and Ranaulph Fiennes put out the highest calorie consumption figures ever recorded during one of their south pole trips and he talks about this and the effects of falling/very low body fat levels in a coupl of the chapters. A highly recommended book written by a highly qualifed doctor with first hand experience.

Dodger747

andrewJohnson wrote:

I weigh less and am taller :shock: 185cm and 55kg. No idea about body fat though. I do get runny noses quiet often.

Wow very simimlar to me, I'm 181cm and 54kg! At least I'm not the only skinny one...

Vino2007

You must have very low body muscle mass as well to be that light at 180cm, surely thats more of an aim than getting to 4% fat? Correct me if i'm wrong, i'd like to find out because I am 189cm, ~7% BF (last week) and i'm 77kg????

acidstrato

lightweight is not everthing

cancellara weighes around 82kilos supposedly

aguillar

keef66 wrote:

You're never alone with a tapeworm.........

An excellent way to keep the excess pounds off if you like eating but dislike training. Consumption of a few cheap, uncooked pork sausages should set you up nicely!

incog24

I'm 75kgs and 194cm. I was 68.4kgs in September after 9 weeks at altitude, but I wasn't going fast. A bit of fat and ~5kgs of muscle onto my legs and I'm going pretty well now! Weight strikes me as a bad thing for an amateur to focus on (unless you're dramatically overweight obviously). I imagine its more sensible to work on increasing your power as there's probably more to be gained there. I've also read an article that found trying to raise power and lose weight at the same time resulted in less change in power/weight ratio than working on power alone because of the stresses weight loss imposes (no reference, sorry...).

shockedsoshocked

Just out of interest did you spend the time at altitude to train for cycling, or something else?