[Closed] Bodyfat %'s and proportions of top athletes.

Was that pre or post big c....

For the 1999 TdF Lance Armstrong took his 5'10" frame down to 158lbs.

Amir Khan's 5'10" and weighs in under 140lbs for a fight. He probably puts on a stone between then and the fight but still lighter than Armstrong.

Amir Khan's 5'10" and weighs in under 140lbs for a fight.

That's mental.

I still can't look at those Tour of French pictures of Wiggins or the Schmuck brothers looking emaciated malnourished without thinking it can't be healthy being that lean ...

What I don't get is how they keep thier power outputs so high.....and no I'm not insinuating drugs.

From my preliminary studies I have concluded that I am Lance Armstrong

When I was climbing, I was 125 lbs and 5.9.
Good power to weight ratio though.

Rasmussen 😯

[img] [/img]

ianv - you must've been stick thin... I'm the same build as a relative who was that weight after spending a year in a POW camp.

So... what drugs for keeping power outputs high?

Rasmussen

So... what drugs for keeping power outputs high?

Suddenly I feel obese... 6'5" and about 200lb. I can't be that fat can I?

LOL at Lazy bike

I still can't look at those Tour of French pictures of Wiggins or the Schmuck brothers looking emaciated malnourished without thinking it can't be healthy being that lean ...

It's definitely not healthy, in much the same way those massive bodybuilders aren't healthy. they say that every grand tour a GC contender rides takes a year of his life...

You must have been stick thin

[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6495304587_e47f9f2ec6.jp g" target="_blank">http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7164/6495304587_e47f9f2ec6.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/37621241@N05/6495304587/ ]img024[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/37621241@N05/ ]ianvincent[/url], on Flickr

No legs, only ever trained upper body. I actually used a thing called inosine (precursor of creatine) to train but thinness doesn't always mean no power. Still only about 135 lbs.

If only I wasn't 24% bodyfat! My doctor was shocked when the device told him that as I don't look at all fat at 191cm and 90.5kg, 34" waist.

I was 158lb (at 6'1") once in my 30s.

Won't happen again, just ate 3 kit kats with brekkie 😎

I'm a smidge under 6' and have been as low as 140lbs as an adult. I recommend the stress of being a newly qualified teacher in a shit primary school and not sleeping.

I'm about 156lbs now.

So, how do you work out bodyfat percentage then?

Not that I'm paranoid, but statistics are soemthing I do a lot of, so it might be "fun" to work it out for myself.

Willard - it's pretty hard to get an accurate %. Calipers / Scales etc are all prone to error and based on algorithms.

You're just a big bloke... you could eat some of us on this thread.

just ate 3 kit kats with brekkie

So, how do you work out bodyfat percentage then?

It's definitely not healthy, in much the same way those massive bodybuilders aren't healthy. they say that every grand tour a GC contender rides takes a year of his life...

Really? Didn't Garmin publish the HR's for their riders this year and for 95% of the time they were just cruising with the HR's only really cimbing on the climbs and the last few miles?

And does that account for the drugs? I suspect most dead tour riders were from the times when amphetmines, red wine and a cigaretts were considdered to be the climbers performance enhancers of choice? I'm sure it's not healthy in the short term (lowered imune system etc) but is being stick thin over the summer really that bad for you?

lazybike - Member

So, how do you work out bodyfat percentage then?
I did mine on the Wii fit...lots of laughing when it came up as obese...

Doesn't the Wii fit measure BMI not bodyfat %

The Southern Yeti - Member

You're just a big bloke... you could eat some of us on this thread.

Steady on now... I'm not that hungry!

lazybike - what's your BMI? You might be Lance too... his was 22.5.

lazybike - what's your BMI? You might be Lance too... his was 22.5.

My mate had some body fat scales, they were quite accurate and measured water % of your body as well 😆

Lowest I got to was 9%. No idea now.

I only know my weight in stone. Which is 11.5...So 161 Lbs. I'm 6ft 3"

ifatcat

🙁

[img] [/img]

Lance never looked as emaciated as that bloke does up there ^^.

I'm not far off the same weight as Emma Pooley now. Wonder if I'll have as good a season as her 😆

My mum has some 'bodyfat' scales they give two very different results depending on whether you set them to athlete mode or not

Mine don't have athlete mode... most of the time they just read 'Error'.

This only adds weight to my theory that I am Lance Armstrong.

Yeah, they change massively just having a pee.
Not that accurate, but can give an indication of change in body fat if you keep other variables the same, particularlly hydration. best used at the same time of day, (say 1st thing) over the course of time

This only adds weight to my theory that I am Lance Armstrong.

I'm not answering questions on that dope.

sorry to break it to you, but you're not lance.

we should organise another ride soon dude, need a reason to play on the uppy downy. oh and jo needs stuff for the frame you sold him i think, can i give him your number?

Ahhh... yes... by all means.

This only adds weight to my theory that I am Lance Armstrong

There's a method that the marines use to determine body fat % that uses neck and waist measurements. Not sure if that's any better or worse than any of the other inaccurate methods of measuring body fat 🙂

http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/body-fat-calculator-usmc

For the 1999 TdF Lance Armstrong took his 5'10" frame down to 158lbs.

that's 71kg? not that light for that height(i thought he was 5'9).. 3% seems unlikely

I'm 149lb and 5'9

There's a method that the marines use to determine body fat % that uses neck and waist measurements.

Tricky - the stats are from a Chris Carmichael book, but they may be wrong.

He doesn't have the super skinny tradtitional cyclist upper body.

5'10" and 140lb here (+/- a couple). Been that way for the last 15 years. Not especially skinny - wiry maybe - work means I have reasonable upper body strength. Bathroom scales reckon between 18 and 20% bodyfat. I reckon with a good training plan and the desire to use it, racing weight would be around 9stone. I do struggle with pure power output. Headwinds kill me.

isn't lance a decent swimmer/triathlete? might account for 'bulkier' upper body

3% is definitely not healthy, which is why they don't stay at that weight. They go through some metabolic trickery or other to get the weight down before big races and then eat up afterwards. Look at Wiggo's face in the interviews he does off-season and just before the TdF - shocking.

isn't lance a decent swimmer/triathlete? might account for 'bulkier' upper body

hmmmm.

Weightwise I'm fine. Just need to be nearer to 7'3" 😳

Skinny vegan at 19.9% on that USMC calculator.
I like to think of it as ballast to help keep me stable over rough ground.

The cyclists only look particularly weird as they have no upper body development. Most athletes will have low body fat in their competition phase (unless they are sumo wrestlers or such like). Everyone's is pretty ripped at the Olympics, whatever their sport.

Apparently body fat for an athlete is in the region of 6-14% and essential body fat is 2-4%. I bet in competition most athletes will be at the lower end (or below) of that scale.

Look at Wiggo's face in the interviews he does off-season and just before the TdF - shocking.

and that is still in the 'clean' category. It might be tougher to achieve that 'naturally' but the damage to the body must be comparable to 'doping' and I thought the main reason against drugs in sport was the damage they inflict.

[/wrong thread]

6'0" 154lbs somewhere between 10-15% bodyfat.

cant access the USMC calc from work.

I'm 37, 5ft 10, 158 lbs - Does that make me better than Armstrong?

TSY.

What are you looking for ?.

Where are you hoping your quest will lead you ?.

** back in 20 **

Solo - I'm not looking for anything.

I'm just interested in all this sort of stuff... physiology I guess.

[i]Solo - I'm not looking for anything.

I'm just interested in all this sort of stuff... physiology I guess
[/i]

Hhmmm. Fair so.
But how do [i]they[/i] get so lean ?.

I mean, since the rise of the internet, knowledge sharing has probably never been so wide spread.
Yet there are snippets of info, which never seem to make it out into the world, cept via a credit card number.

So, I was just wandering.

They have personal nutritionists who monitor the effects of what they eat and do and come up with a specific, targetted and personal approach based on years of experience. They have access to peformance and biological metrics.

Reading on the internet gives you none of that 🙂

Can you buy willpower on the internet? There's a reason these people are better than us, some of that is because they are mentally stronger.

Out of interest, what differences do you folks get with your scales in 'normal' and 'athlete' mode?

But how do they get so lean ?.

Discipline. Top nutiritionists, top trainers etc.

But above all... discipline.

Not just referring to sportsmen and women, Grips.

[i]They have personal nutritionists who monitor the effects of what they eat and do and come up with a specific, targetted and personal approach based on years of experience. They have access to peformance and biological metrics.[/i]

I'm not convinced you need Gurus and Meds to lean you out.
Indeed, it would appear that there are those who soundly believe in the existance of a template, applicable to all.
Apply said generic instructions, and you may not reach 3 percent body fat.
But you could realisitcally aspire to achieve 10-12 percent BF.
Or, so it is claimed.

[i]Reading on the internet gives you none of that[/i]

Aye, so it would seem.
But its easy enough to read about 19th Century, English sailors songs, from tinterweb.
So its not all for nothing, is it ?.

[i]Out of interest, what differences do you folks get with your scales in 'normal' and 'athlete' mode?[/i]

Sorry, although I recently purchased the best John Lewis had to offer at the time and not withstanding that my scales have all sorts of modes with accompanying hyroglifics.

I haven't switched modes.
I just keep my scales in mustn't lie mode.
I've even abandonded old Church of England for new fangled metric malarkey.
Something known as [i]Kgs'[/i]

I'm not convinced you need Gurus and Meds to lean you out.

Snot what I am saying at all.

I am saying that years of experience and constant monitoring from a personal nutritionist helps a great deal.

You can of course learn a lot on the internet, but you need to experiment on yourself. A very detailed knowledge of physiology and some measuring devices would help (like Tim Ferris has tried) - and I am talking about going from normal down to 3% here.

cept via a credit card number.

I think the information is out there. How to tailor it to your specific physiology and training is not. That's why you pay.

Ah yes, Mr Ferris.

You did recommend I read it, and I have failed to do so.

Just out of interest, within the context of BF.
Do you have any goals ?, or are you more focused on performance of which low BF has its place, but more as a means to an end rather that the end itself ?.

I recall you posting that you wish to climb the podium at some level/point.

Performance is my main aim. Don't care about abstract numbers.

Which leaves me with a choice. Since power to weight ratio is critical, I could either get lighter OR get more powerful. There certainly seems to be SOME exclusivity there. If I diet hard I don't have the energy to do intense training and hence build power, but if I have more simple carbs I can ride a lot better but losing weight can be harder. Also, without accurate BF measurement I don't know if I am gaining muscle whilst losing fat.

I am currently experimenting with more simple carbs at the right times of day. I must say I am feeling way way better than I have been lately with the introduction of a few bread and cake items!

[i]I think the information is out there. How to tailor it to your specific physiology and training is not. That's why you pay. [/i]

Well, perhaps, but on that basis.

"[i]Eat less, move more[/i]" holds true for free info, no ?, along with "[i]everything in moderation[/i]" to [b]half quote Mr Twain[/b].

Yet I get the feeling that something is missing.

[i]I am currently experimenting with more simple carbs at the right times of day. I must say I am feeling way way better than I have been lately with the introduction of a few bread and cake items! [/i]

Care to elaborate ?, I'm interested.

Im 5'6" and at 10% body fat am 12 stone. Its been a while since i was that mind as am 14 13 now!!

At least its going the right way.

p.s. i consider 10% body fat more than lean enough. Even at that my face starts to get a bit gaunt.

Molly do you regularly clock a calorie deficit?

Armstrong got down to 3% through clever diet... along the lines of the iDiet but with a calorie defecit of 500 per day.

I don't think that however much you want to trick your insulin you'll really lose weight without a calorie deficit.

Athletes all train for hours each day.

I am saying that years of experience and constant monitoring from a personal nutritionist helps a great deal.

You can of course learn a lot on the internet, but you need to experiment on yourself. A very detailed knowledge of physiology and some measuring devices would help (like Tim Ferris has tried) - and I am talking about going from normal down to 3% here.

I agree with this. If i had someone telling me exactly what/when i should eat and how i should train for optimal performace, my results would be far better than experimenting with different strategies myself - it takes a long time to see what works/doesn't.

I want to podium one day fwiw and if i get onto the race squad, i'll have access to training schedules/full support etc that would get me to the podium far quicker than i could if i was relying on my trial and error methods.

I'm interested to see my results this year - 5kgs lighter than last year and a good % of body fat gone too (17% - but bear in mind, women's body fat is naturally higher than mens). My current thinking is i'm far faster on the bike when i'm heavier and have more stores to burn. 🙄

MTFU and race is what I say. Ride and ride some more.

6'3" and just under 220lb thanks to Dave of the i and 17.43% according to the USMC thingy, thought it would be much worse than that.

[i]Im 5'6" and at 10% body fat am 12 stone. Its been a while since i was that mind as am 14 13 now!!

At least its going the right way.

p.s. i consider 10% body fat more than lean enough. Even at that my face starts to get a bit gaunt.
[/i]

Yes, but was a low BF your main goal or were you servicing goals of competition glory ?.

[i]Armstrong got down to 3% through clever diet... [b]along the lines of the iDiet but with a calorie defecit of 500 per day.[/b][/i]
Can it really be that simple ?.
**I know, I should try it for myself**

[i]I don't think that however much you want to trick your insulin you'll really lose weight without a calorie deficit.[/i]
I think you have a point there.
My current out look is not to feak-out over calories, but certainly to [i]respect[/i] them.

[i]Athletes all train for hours each day. [/i]
Yet I seem to increasingly find people asking if training for just an hour a day isn't sufficient.
Prolonged and repeated exercising can result in a negative result, no ?.
Suppressed imune system, etc.

the only important thing is how sexy your abz, peckz and gunz are. i'm taller than yeti so i'm already several percent sexier. just need to shift about 7kg of fat and work on my abz, pekz and gunz now 😳

[i]MTFU and race is what I say. Ride and ride some more. [/i]
I think that once upon a time, that was a mindset that prevailed in places such as Belgium.
But then some riders started HIIT training and found it improved their performance.
Go figure.

I'm 5'10" and 215 lbs, so could do with shedding some timber 🙁

Most of my diet is fairly good, I struggle with portion sizes, and if I get bored or hacked off at work I go to the garage and get a packet of biscuits and polish them off with a couple of cups of coffee.

I normally do 6 training sessions a week, 3 bike (about 8hrs) 2 weights sessions and a RPM spinning thingy.

So wouldn't like to think how many calories I'm getting through 😯

MTFU and race is what I say. Ride and ride some more

I like this Trickydisco...its going to be my mantra from now on 🙂 Except after Saturday's wtfu, i'll maybe wear a waterproof next time!

if racing and riding more were the answer people would be doing 1000 miles a week in training

[i]just need to shift about 7kg of fat and work on my abz, pekz and gunz now[/i]

You'll have to go some to get that thin but visible band off the midrif.
Thats where I am.
Every where else is, well, ok-ish.
But theres a thin band of fat between the lowest rib and the hip.
It will not budge / disappear !.
Nature, it would seem, is worried something might happen and that I should really keep that small bit of [i]insurance[/i].

I think that once upon a time, that was a mindset that prevailed in places such as Belgium.
But then some riders started HIIT training and found it improved their performance.

I mean in the context of power to weight, BF%, FTP, V02MAx, wattages. It all gets a bit too much.

I find too many people obsessing over numbers (I include myself in this). Once i staretd racing more and riding with experienced riders in the club i'm less concerned with all of these figures.

[i]I mean in the context of power to weight, BF%, FTP, V02MAx, wattages. It all gets a bit too much.

I find too many people obsessing over numbers (I include myself in this). Once i staretd racing more and riding with experienced riders in the club i'm less concerned with all of these figures.
[/i]

May be, but as iDave has put it.
Grinding out the hours on stupid long rides won't make the difference one might expect it to.
Edit: imho.

i figure if i work on my gunz enough, nobody will notice my spare tyre 😀

i'm at 84kg, 6ft tall on the dot. there's a general layer of fat from my knees up to my lower ribs that i want to shift... figure healthy food and gym weekday mornings (some spinning, some basic weights and stretching) will do the trick... slowly slowly catchy monkey (rather do it slowly than end up putting it all on the moment i sneeze in the direction of a slice of bread)

better weather will also mean 2 night rides and a weekend ride each week on top of that to accelerate things in the summer a bit.

i'm not in a rush, already seeing some changes in body shape... in a much much better place mentally with my body that's for sure.