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

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.

Did i mention grinding out long hours?

My post was in reference to molgrips apparent obesssion with power to weight and need to podium and needing to measure his BF % to know if he's gaining muscle or fat

FWIW I do loads of HIIT have had 2 fitness tests, and did nearly all of my base training at 1 hour at a time last year.

[i]rather do it slowly than end up putting it all on the moment i sneeze in the direction of a slice of bread)[/i]

Yes, I know what you mean, but I hardly ever eat bread now, and really do not miss it.
It just doesn't appear on my food radar these days.
Thats the result of changing my food choices, permanently, rather than just for a limited period of time.

solo

out of interest are you doing idiet stuff for performance (racing), look good or generally health?

i still eat the odd bit of bread (and other such naughtyness) but changed my rules so no processed white carbs, has to be wholegrain. and still eat the odd sugary snack. sharing a diet with mrsconsequence means i need to accept she still wants certain 'normal' foods.

its all good though. slowly slowly catchy molly/yeti 😈

Actuallly Phil. At 6" and 84Kg, you're virtually were I was a year or so ago.

now around 79Kg and its maintained easily.
I still drink beer and wine, even some bourbon now and again.
Not over looking the dark choc too.
So actuallly, my diet includes lots of nice stuff, but I maintain a lower body weight and only gym 2-3 times a week, and usually a 2-3 hour road ride on Sundays.
Thats a tiny amount of exercise compared to the mighty TSY.

Phil - I still eat shit loads of cake and bread.

Ain't nothing mighty Solo. I just like exercising. I do it for the love more than anything. I need to start testing myself performance wise rather than just playing about.

All this talk has got me really interested in working our where I stand on this whole sort of thing.

I have _never_ had a six pack, but have always had a reasonable amount of strength and power, only slacking since I started doing a desk job (although I have been a lot more active these last few years).

But, the only time I have ever really lost a lot of weight (went down to 13 1/2 stone due to poor diet and lack of money) was nearly 20 years ago at Uni. Now, no matter what I do, eat or how I exercise, I remain at about the same sort of weight (14 1/4 - 14 1/2 stone).

I may have to try that USMC thing and see what that says. or go and find some calipers.

what does Lance eat? he goes to bed hungry...

and read [url= http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2012/02/02/race-shape-ready/ ]this (triathlete europe)[/url] and remember what works for one doesn't work for everyone. It is very much a case of trial an improving.

[i]solo

out of interest are you doing idiet stuff for performance (racing), look good or generally health?
[/i]

I started out iDiet, then drifted in the direction of the paleo theme / philosophy, via MDA.

I guess I have a foot in both camps.
However, what really draws me to Mark's suggestions and observations is how he will look at a food source, from the clinical perspective.
Like, how he looks at the nutrients in a food source, then follows them into the body to see what their effect is likely to be.
For example, learning that while Olive oil does contain Omega 3, you can significantly reduce the quality and quantity of omega 3 in your olive oil by over heating it.
I hadn't realized that before, so I believe stuff like that is good to know.

At 43yrs, I aint gonna set the world on fire by winning races.
But I might just be able to ensure I stick around for a very long time and that I'm happy and active while I'm here.

After all, being as fit as a butcher's dog on a race performance basis isn't of much interest to me, if I peg-it at 56 yrs.

But I acknowledge that there are those who would rather [i]burn it up[/i] and take the glory.

[i]Phil - I still eat shit loads of cake and bread.

Ain't nothing mighty Solo. I just like exercising. I do it for the love more than anything. I need to start testing myself performance wise rather than just playing about.
[/i]

TSY, you know I like you and all, but with the greatest respect.
You is exercise addict.
🙂

However, when the wall / mantle piece is creaking under the weight of all your medals and such.
And when the years have rolled by and one day you see that 50 something TSY looking back at you in the mirror.
Will you be able to knock the huge food consumption, on the head ?.
And survive on less [i]fuel[/i].
In other words, will you succeed where many fail.
Will you be able to exercise your discipline and brake your entrenched eating habits.

Course I will Solo... I have discipline. I eat how much I need.

If I don't exercise, I don't need to eat so much.

Calories out and calories in and all that.

[i]Calories out and calories in and all that. [/i]
Cheeky.
😉

Did you watch the Lance video?

Calories out...

Yeti, I have no idea if I have a calorie deficit or not. I don't measure how much I eat, for sure, but I've got absolutely no idea of where that food goes when I eat it and I've also got no idea how much energy I burn up. How could I? Any figure of basal metabolic rate or calories/hour when doing an activity will simply be wild guesses.

I Germany when commuting a long way my weight stagnated so I upped my calorie intake by eating chocolate and lost another 2kg. Would've been more but I had to leave 🙂

Mol - have you read 'Racing Weight'?

I'd've thought that you were statistically likely to conform to the norm for your height / weight with regards to basal metabolic rates?

Alternatively you could pay for some expensive testing.

Statistically likely? So what's that if not a guess? 🙂

I am not a typical training road cyclist/MTBer (I don't think) in that I am a sprint athlete and as such my body composition is different to most. That seems to skew things for a start. Probably metabolic profile too.

😆 - sounds like an excuse to keep eating too much!

You're not that different from the norm! None of us are.

Sorry TSY, vids don't do so well at my tube.

I thought you were having a bit of a iDiet community joke.

I'll give it another go now, as lots have gone home.

🙂

Body fat percentages are largely made up. 3% looks like this:

[img] [/img]

No endurance athlete has bodyfat this low. The only people who get close to it are bodybuilders, who diet to the point of collapse.

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.

If Ferriss was British he would certainly be classed as an eccentric. He has a lot of ideas knocking around in his head! Not 100% sure what to make of the book yet but it is interesting reading.

Kudos - that guy will be scarily dehydrated too!

Yeah it is interesting. I wouldn't treat him as a guru and slavishly follow all the advice - the book comes over as self-help but really it's a journal of experiments and anecdotal evidence. Maybe his publishers made it more of a 'diet' book I dunno.

[i]sounds like an excuse to keep eating too much! [/i]
Have to agree with TSY there Mol.
Your idea that you're different, I'm not convinced plays as big a role as you might believe.
But don't flame me for it.

Right, that vid played.
Firstly, how irritating was that backing music ?.

Furthermore, I think its a bit more complicated than a person being just a collection of muscles which all need fueling for the duration of the activity.
Things happen after exercise, processess kick in which also burn fat, after you've stopped moving.
So therefore drawing a direct link between hours in the saddle and BF might not hold water ?.

Food deficit thing. Tricky.
I've read that your body may elect to down size the [i]Motor[/i] (skeletal muscle) by metabolising muscle rather than hitting the fat reserves.
This way, with less muscle, the remaining body fat should last longer.
If you lose muscle, you'll see a reduction in body weight, but not BF perhaps ?.

The USMC thingamy has me at 18% through my clothes, as there's no way I'm stripping off in the office, and I've been eating like a right fat biffer these last couple of weeks as well.

Keep using the muscles then Solo?

Molly - forget weight for a min... what's your waist measurement?

Kudos - that guy will be scarily dehydrated too!

well with that usmc im at 9% im 6ft3 and weight 73kg but i am 19 and im i ride 18hours a week
Bruce

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.

What lots of athletes do is eat more during the power phase and then lose weight prior to comps (That's certainly what climbers do). You then get the benefit of extra power [b]and[/b] the increase in power to weight when you slim down.

Also, without accurate BF measurement I don't know if I am gaining muscle whilst losing fat.

You only really need to look in a mirror to know that.

[i]Keep using the muscles then Solo?[/i]

What ?, sleep climbing ?.

Molly - forget weight for a min... what's your waist measurement?

Bout 35" last time I checked, maybe 34" now. 34" trousers are very loose on the waist of course - I'm tlaking real measurements not trouser lies 🙂

Hmmm... personally I think you're storing more than raw unbridled power.

[i]Hmmm... personally I think you're storing more than raw unbridled power. [/i]

I think you'll find that most of us are, TSY 😉

Like I posted earlier, I've a stubborn piece of [i]insulation[/i] that even given the current time of year, I'd be interested in, losing ?.
Although ultimately, I'll live.

You've seen the pics and you've listened to me go on about how fat I am.. no secrets there! I'm not pretending to be thin!

[i]You've seen the pics and you've listened to me go on about how fat I am.. no secrets there! I'm not pretending to be thin! [/i]

Well, you aint far behind me.

I take 32" trousers and theres slack, so I'm guessing I'm around 31-32" waist.

As you know, I've [i]landed[/i] in the high 70s Kg and unless I discover something new, or get greedy, I can't see too much more coming off.
I certainly have no interest in 3 percent BF.
That body builder ^^ looks gross, imo and I would never seek to look like that.
Especially in that shade of orange 😉

32" trousers really measure 34-35" I reckon.

[i]32" trousers really measure 34-35" I reckon.[/i]

Is that straight off the peg, or after they've been, [i]broken in[/i]
😉

Anyway, don't amount to a hill O'beans.
I no longer smuggle the Wok, all brands of my 32" waist jeans or trousers have [i]ample[/i] room, and some.
But if it helps, I'll pretend I'm as heavy as you are.
😉

Current figures:
43 yrs, 79Kg, 6' 1", 30 something waist.
**makes note to buy fully calibrated tape measure for waist measurement**

What are yours ?.

Off the peg. Try it - when I was about 35" waist I tried on some 36" waist trousers and I could take them off without unbuttoning them. And I have a big arse even with respect to my waist. 36 years old, 85kg, 180cm tall or 5'11, 34" waist. Is that interesting to you? 🙂

Well on 27th Nov 2008 I had total body weight of 74Kg, and according to a DEXA scan I had a body fat % of 8.8%. Not sure how accurate that is.

[i]Off the peg. Try it - when I was about 35" waist I tried on some 36" waist trousers and I could take them off without unbuttoning them[/i]

Yeah, I get that with my Levi 501s, half the time I haven't undone all the fly buttons before they come off.
So, being taller and lighter, chances are I'm slimmer than you, although I'm probably still of interest to a Japanese whaler, when compared to TSY.
😆

Anyway, its been a cr4p day and I'm off.
Cheers for chatting.
Good night.
🙂

It doesn´t matter. However, knowing the weight you go best at is useful. When riders rode both classics and tours they were often three or four kilos heavier to win the cold, wet classics than the hot summer tours with longer climbs.

If I try to maintain my Summer weight in Winter I´m soon ill.

^^^ same with me. I don't mind a few kg over in winter.

I just do loads of sprints, one or two long runs, I'm always hungry, and I just ignore it.

160cm 42kg. No idea what my body fat is, but it's low enough to stop periods occassionally, and I've a six pack ish

wimps 😆

I weigh twice as much as emsz!!! I need to loose 0.1emszs and work on my gunz *pew pew*

Not all sports reward silly low weight.

[img] [/img]

That said I used to row with some of the GB lightweights who for a while held an outright world record. One of the guys was 6'3" and 11 stone. He looked like something out of Belsen ...

Stop periods occasionally? Pfffft... my weight is low enough to stop them permanently.

Didn't mean to be too harsh with the tough love Molly, just reckon that iDiet plus slight calorie deficit equals win win.

Oh. and even heavy rowers have an athletic level of bodyfat %

indeed but athletic, not unhealthy...

I can get 32" waist trousers off without unfastening them 🙂

I walked to work yesterday and today instead of riding. After a veg/salad/fruit-heavy couple of days, no chocolate and just one beer last night, I reckon I'll be 70kg tomorrow.

I used to work with a guy who alternated between running and triathlons, depending on season (I think that was the combination. He ate like anything for the tris and lost all the weigth gain for the running. He was a bit lost in the head though, only ate bread and cheese.
I can highly recommend the "I'm Dave" diet, I've cut down from two Big Mac meals to just the one and the weigth is falling off, its great.

6'5" and when I got down to 13.5 stone (worth maybe noting that that included a lot of muscle) I was noticeably less healthy. 14 stone was a much better weight and actually more productive because I was ill less so could train more. That's on top of being someone who rarely gets ill...

Low weight (or even low body fat) as a goal in itself is stupid.

I'm still not getting ill. Weight loss isn't a massive goal on it's own... infact I'm eating loads of crap to sustain my weight at the minute.

Main thing I've done is stop drinking beer and cider.

At the minute I'm getting leaner but no lighter... got to be happy with that really.

Yeah, I get that with my Levi 501s

Lol.. you are indeed skinnier than me then. 501s don't even remotely fit over my thighs and bum, I can hardly get them up - even when the waist is ample.

Emsz - if I ignore the hunger I can't exercise fast or hard - can't do it at all. And to show what I mean, see my running thread that I just started 🙂 my new moderate fast carbs diet has yielded dramatic results in only a few days! But not in weight terms.

tsy sounds like a sensible change then. just beware the temptation to take it too far...

In other news it looks like I am doing (subject to entry being available) the Blenhim Tri as a team - on the bike leg 🙂

In other news it looks like I am doing (subject to entry being available) the Blenhim Tri as a team - on the bike leg

I did the blenheim tri last year, not in a team though, it is a great event. The bike leg is quite up and down. You can overtake a lot of people on one of the downhills if you don't mind a bit of ballsy descending. The ups is obviously fitness dependent.

I don't have a TT bike - I discussed borrowing the swimmer's one but then we thought it might be a little hairy with traffic and speed so I might be better off with my own road bike!

blenheim tri

Molly you wimp. I'm doing the whole thing. I am one of the beautiful people, see.

TT bike is pointless, too up and down, you could use one if you already have one and you will see people with them, but I wouldn't get one specially. Use your own road bike, maybe get some tribars on it, but not unless you practice with them first.

I have some clip-ons but they aren't really any good - too high, and I get a pretty decent tuck on the drops anyway.

What pace are you hoping to do the ride in Mol?

Can't you practise on the TT bike first to get used to it? Was reading an interesting article about training for TTs - basically pick a hr you think you can sustain for 10miles. Warm up, get on a turbo and get up to this hr, note your speed at this hr and keep it at that for 10miles. Do this a max of once a week.

In other news i think i may have my second cold of the winter, having not had a cold for 2-3+ years. I wonder if being lighter is to blame...

I blame not eating meat 😉

Theres not really any point in the TT bike if theres plenty of hills involved, I doubt you'd be going fast enough to feel the benefit. I think the best thing you could do is lay off the carbs and drop a bit of weight to make you quicker up the hills.

It's not mega hilly, but undulating enough that you won't really be hunkered down in TT position for long stretches.

DG - so practice time trials then? 🙂 I use open flat(ish) fast roads for that.

Yeti - I've got no idea what my pace would be, but I reckon I'd be best off just attacking it like an MTB race. So 20km should in theory come up fairly quickly.

i can train you molly, all i need is your credit card details and soon you'll be at TSY levels of awesomeness....

he doesnt like to admit it but i've been training him for a while now

cyclists only look particularly weird

no, for misproportioned you want to find pictures of Zac Efron.

Yup i reckon so Mol. I've entered a mountain TT (25miles) GULP. The article also went on to say how intervals should be done on both flat and hills, not just hills as you can cheat using hills. Intervals on the flat are good for TT'ing, sprints and solo break aways.

I'm currently using sufferfest and the turbo for intervals due to the dark/ice, so its around 4mins of TT effort and 3 mins of climbing effort and then 3 min rest for an hour. Its nasty! I nearly puked at the end of the first one!

I have 4 races in March then i'm racing twice a week for about 8 weeks before settling back into once a week...training will no longer be required from the end of March! 🙂

sufferfest and a cold...thats not a winning combo

I didn't say i did sufferfest when i had a cold

How do you cheat using hills in training?

I have a power meter, so I pick my power and stick to it regardless of hill or flat. The only thing that changes is stuff like cadence and pedaling style.

i think i may have my second cold of the winter

I'm currently using sufferfest and the turbo for intervals due to the dark/ice

How do you cheat using hills in training?

How do you cheat using hills in training?

Turnaround?

I have a power meter, so I pick my power and stick to it regardless of hill or flat

dirtygirlonabike - Member

In other news i think i may have my second cold of the winter, having not had a cold for 2-3+ years. I wonder if [s]being lighter[/s] my diet is to blame...

DirtyG - do you want me to do you a diet plan?

so do you go fast uphill and slow on the flat or vice versa

Riding at constant power involves going surprisingly slowly up hills and having to hammer down them like an idiot. If it's steep then to keep constant power you need to apply the brakes, although this is a training technique not a racing one! However I have been advised that constant power is the best policy for time trials.

Say your threshold power is 330W, going up to 450W on the climbs would save a bit of time on them but the extra fatigue generated could cause you to be limping home at 270W or so by the end which in theory would be more detrimental to your time.

Depends on the hills though - I still think if they are short enough hammering up them is best. But I am not a TT specialist 🙂