Body Weight...
SteveR_100Milers
Posts: 5,987
I've just read your blog Colin (Pokerface) and I have exactly the same issue with inclines. I have enjoyed reading it thus far, I hope you keep it up, but am particularly interested in how you will reduce and keep your weight down!
Good luck!
Good luck!
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I'm loving the blog as well, have subscribed in my RSS reader.0
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SteveR_100Milers wrote:I've just read your blog Colin (Pokerface) and I have exactly the same issue with inclines. I have enjoyed reading it thus far, I hope you keep it up, but am particularly interested in how you will reduce and keep your weight down!
Good luck!
Thanks Steve!
I think every cyclist suffers from the dreaded body weight issue. We all want to lose a few more pounds!
Keeping the weight down isn't the hard part - it's losing it in the first place! But it's slowly coming off and as it's still ages to go until racing season, am quietly confident that I will be in tip-top condition next year!
What I'm personally most interested in is if it will actually make it easier to keep up on the hilly races!0 -
Me too.
I have lost about 5kg since my disastrous attempt at RRing last Easter, but whilst I was beating riders in TTs, I was getting dropped like a stone on hilly club rides, even though I was strong on the flat. It's been a small benefit, and not as great as I had hoped, so my target is now to get to around 85Kg (assuming no muscular weight gain). Problem is that I am enjoying the track thing so much, that I have become less focused on weight!0 -
Steve
Even if you weighed the same as a road racer, there is a chance they would still drop you on a climb. I was the same weight as one of our good club racers, and because he was used to attacking hills, he could leave me for dead on the climb, yet because I train to be a good TTer, I could leave him on the flat.
Unless you train to go up hills fast, you will always be behind, unless you weigh very much less.0 -
To get better at climbing you practice them and do hill repeats. The weight definitely helps but not as much as getting out and doing the miles. Technique and correct gear selection can improve your game also so don't focus too much (on the weight) more on the whole aspect of your cycling.0
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Half my turbo sessions are being done in the climbing position as main target is a hilly TT next April.
It does make a difference.
I hope to be 5 kg lighter than I was at the same event this year too..0 -
I used to be a reasonable climber when I rode previously (not great but able to stay in on climbs in races) I've put on about 20kg since then and now climb like a lead balloon. Weight obviously has a lot to do with it although the biggest issue is that my fitness has dropped dramatically since then and I suspect my power output is also lower meaning my power to weight ratio has got hugely worse! Weight must surely make a huge difference but I would also agree that it takes a special ability to go hard uphill no matter what weight you are.0
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I have never been a "climber" even when I was 80Kgs in my 20s and probably more powerful than I am now. At best I could hang in with a pack. Half the "fun" of bike racing is finding a discipline or aspect of it that you are good at (or least bad at as in my case) and then dish out some pain revenge!0
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i weigh around 71/2 kg in the off season, and am about 6"1.
the weight comes down a bit for TTs, but i don't worry about it unduly, i just ride and train like for like; a few intervals, the usual.
in the run up to hillclimb season i focus more clearly on weight; it becomes my main concern. i alter my eating habits over a period of time and tend to get down to around 67kg. i also train specifically for hills, vomit-inducing repeats, lots of base mileage up hilly things in july and august, moving to intensity work in september. i have to add, that all year round i do hilly rides, it's a part of my commute.
it makes a big difference, especially over the longer climbs that i tend to favour, lacking the explosive power of an elite sprinter, for example.
i guess what i'm saying is that significant limiting factors affecting your prowess as a mountain goat are excess weight and hill avoidance, none of which is rocket science. tackling hills and losing weight requires quite a lot of focus and dedication.0 -
How tall are you, Steve?SteveR_100Milers wrote:I have never been a "climber" even when I was 80Kgs.......
Ruth0 -
BeaconRuth wrote:
How tall are you, Steve?SteveR_100Milers wrote:I have never been a "climber" even when I was 80Kgs.......
Ruth
6ft 1
In my 20s I really had little body fat - I had the physical appearance of someone trained, my waist was 30" I have a large build though, wide shoulders and torso; my chest is 44"
I'm hovering around 91-92kgs for last 6 months, waist is 34-36 ish. I suspect that a loss of 10Kg and I would start to look somewhat undernourished, anything below 90Kg and I would be happy. If you use BMI as an indicator then even 85kgs is supposedly significantly overweight which in my case is not correct.0 -
true about the bmi - at my weight I can go down to around 63kg before it even suggests I might be slightly thin.
in reality, that's pretty much emaciated.0 -
SteveR_100Milers wrote:BeaconRuth wrote:
How tall are you, Steve?SteveR_100Milers wrote:I have never been a "climber" even when I was 80Kgs.......
Ruth
6ft 1
In my 20s I really had little body fat - I had the physical appearance of someone trained, my waist was 30" I have a large build though, wide shoulders and torso; my chest is 44"
I'm hovering around 91-92kgs for last 6 months, waist is 34-36 ish. I suspect that a loss of 10Kg and I would start to look somewhat undernourished, anything below 90Kg and I would be happy. If you use BMI as an indicator then even 85kgs is supposedly significantly overweight which in my case is not correct.
Sounds pretty much identical to me - difference being you are obviously fitter and putting out much more power as my TT times are way, way slower than yours!0 -
To be honest I suspect most people would call you emaciated at 67kg. That's two stone lighter than Steve when he's claiming to be very thin with a 30" waist - and you're the same height as him.peejay78 wrote:true about the bmi - at my weight I can go down to around 63kg before it even suggests I might be slightly thin.
in reality, that's pretty much emaciated.
I think we've probably been over this territory before, haven't we Steve? Probably best not to go there again.
Ruth0 -
but he said he clearly has a large upper torso - 8 inches wider than me - therefore no point really comparing.
anyway, thin, certainly, emaciated, no, fast uphills, yes. 67kg is a target weight for a short season of races; running from september to the last weekend in october.0 -
BeaconRuth wrote:
To be honest I suspect most people would call you emaciated at 67kg. That's two stone lighter than Steve when he's claiming to be very thin with a 30" waist - and you're the same height as him.peejay78 wrote:true about the bmi - at my weight I can go down to around 63kg before it even suggests I might be slightly thin.
in reality, that's pretty much emaciated.
I think we've probably been over this territory before, haven't we Steve? Probably best not to go there again.
Ruth
If we do I might die of starvation!! I really couldn't imagine losing much more body weight when I was in my 20s, certainly only 2-3lbs at the very most. Mind you, I am basing this on a measured body weight of 13st 5 lbs on a random pair of bathroom scales, whose accuracy may well not be. Maybe it is worth revisiting, as I am sure there is a good few Kgs of surplus body fat on me at the moment....and I'm getting fed up with cutting a huge hole in the air for a whole bunch of riders who simply take advantage wth 2 laps to go!0 -
While everyone is talking size thought i'd chime in.
Age: 23
Height: 6ft1ish
Weight: 66kg
Chest: 35in
Waist: 29in
Hips: 34in
However my power lacks massively, so while I have the build of a climber, I have pretty much no power at all.0 -
Crikey, everyone's 6ft 1 round here! I've just finished writing up a consultation with a rider who is 6ft 1 too.............. spooky........jonmack wrote:While everyone is talking size thought i'd chime in.
Age: 23
Height: 6ft1ish
Weight: 66kg
Chest: 35in
Waist: 29in
Hips: 34in
However my power lacks massively, so while I have the build of a climber, I have pretty much no power at all.
Ruth0 -
I measured height just for you Ruth :P I'm 183cm, so pretty much 6ft on the dot.0
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6ft and only 10st 5lbs. There must be more fat on a butcher's pencil...........
Ruth0 -
six two, 71Kg's.
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i am 194cm and 99kg's0
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OMG 6ft and only just over 10st!
:shock:0 -
When I was racing I was 63kg and 5'4", a bit heavy for a good climber but never had any problems in the pack. Always near the front pushing it. However, I was always amazed at how well some big guys climbed. They must have had something special that had nothing to do with how big they looked. It must have been their engine (heart & lungs) and how hard they trained. I have never trained with big guys like that but would loved to have. Some courses suited the big guys and they gave me a pasting but then there were courses that suited me so I returned the compliment. So, what I am saying is it doesn't matter what you look like ,with in reason, you're not going anywhere if you haven't got the engine....................................................................................................
If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.0 -
Jeez, there are some seriosly light folks here!!
186 cms
92.3 Kgs this am
44" chest
34" inside leg
35" waist
FTP estimate at 280-300 ish watts - no wonder I cant climb for brown stuff!0 -
im 6ft 1 and im JUST above 9 and a half stone!
YEAH, i just can't gain weight!Coveryourcar.co.uk RT Tester
north west of england.0 -
BeaconRuth wrote:6ft and only 10st 5lbs. There must be more fat on a butcher's pencil...........
Ruth
When I was racing in my early 20s I was 6' 1" and 10st 10lbs - yes I was very skinny but still quite broad shouldered and there were plenty of thinner people racing against me!0 -
steady rider wrote:im 6ft 1 and im JUST above 9 and a half stone!
YEAH, i just can't gain weight!
I know how you feel, it's only since I left uni I actually started to put on a bit more weight, and now I seem to stay here!Pross wrote:BeaconRuth wrote:6ft and only 10st 5lbs. There must be more fat on a butcher's pencil...........
Ruth
When I was racing in my early 20s I was 6' 1" and 10st 10lbs - yes I was very skinny but still quite broad shouldered and there were plenty of thinner people racing against me!
Early 20's, 6ft, 10st 5lbs, skinny with broad shoulders!0 -
SteveR_100Milers wrote:I'm hovering around 91-92kgs for last 6 months, waist is 34-36 ish. I suspect that a loss of 10Kg and I would start to look somewhat undernourished, anything below 90Kg and I would be happy. If you use BMI as an indicator then even 85kgs is supposedly significantly overweight which in my case is not correct. Yeah, Fabian Cancellara is a bag of antlers isn't he? 0
