about what "fitness" look like on bicyclists

[mimitabby]

another NYTIMES article!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/he...tml?ref=health
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/17/he...tml?ref=health

The Bicycling Paradox: Fit Doesn’t Have to Mean Thin
By GINA KOLATA

Andy Hampsten, the former pro cyclist, the only American ever to win the Tour of Italy, the first American ever to win the grueling Alpe d’Huez stage of the Tour de France, does his best to discourage casual riders from signing up for the cycling trips he leads in Tuscany.

“All of our trips are designed to satisfy experienced riders,” Mr. Hampsten writes on his Web site. To train, he suggests, “you should ride at least 100 miles a week for at least 6 to 10 weeks” on routes with “as many hills as you can find.”

So I had an image of what our fellow cyclists would look like when my husband, son and I arrived in Castagneto Carducci for a cycling vacation. They would look like Mr. Hampsten, who at age 45 remains boyishly thin and agile, bouncing with energy.

I was wrong. For the most part, our group consisted of ordinary-looking, mostly middle-age men and a few middle-age women.

These were serious cyclists. One of them was Bob Eastaugh, a 63-year-old justice on the Alaska Supreme Court who said he rode mostly to stay in shape for his true passion, downhill ski racing.

[Trekhawk]

Thanks Mimi for posting the link.

[SadieKate]

It's very easy to carry extra weight on a bicycle as it's a very efficient way to move weight, between the wheels and the gears.

On yellow's and my mtb tour last month, one of the other customer's was 6'5", 270 lbs, and in his mid-50s. Man, he could ride up them thar hills. His pedaling style was very economical.

[DrBee]

Thanks for the link. It's always nice to see articles that reinforce the idea that to be fit does not necessarily mean that you have to be thin as a rail.

[GLC1968]

Ha! This just confirms what I was thinking about my weekend experience.

My DH and I rode all weekend in the mountains of NC with 5 other couples. I was afraid that I wasn't fit enough and this fear was compounded when I met all the other couples (all of them are thin and fit looking - I'm not). I didn't sleep the night before the big ride worring about holding up everyone.

Turns out, I was the strongest female rider by quite a margin.

When we left, every single man (including the innkeeper) and 2 of the women complimented me on my riding and strength when we said good-bye. No one said anything to my husband who rode better than I did. My theory is that they said this because I look like I should be slower/weaker/etc because of my extra weight. I think I shocked a few of them with my climbing abilities.

[emily_in_nc]

When we left, every single man (including the innkeeper) and 2 of the women complimented me on my riding and strength when we said good-bye. No one said anything to my husband who rode better than I did. My theory is that they said this because I look like I should be slower/weaker/etc because of my extra weight. I think I shocked a few of them with my climbing abilities.

Congratulations! When I was doing a lot of club rides a few years back, I found that the women with a bit of extra weight (and super strong quads) were typically the strongest climbers. Not brand new riders, of course, but women who had been riding for quite awhile and put in a good amount of mileage, like you do. I, otoh, am a lightweight and despite looking like I should climb like a moutain goat, I am weak on the hills. I was stronger when I put in more mileage, but hills were still my weak point. I just don't have enough power and have itty-bitty lungs to boot. (Or at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it! )

Good on you!

Emily

[nomummytummy]

I agree - I am actually rather thin - too much so lately and I've realised from another thread that I need to eat more. I started climbing hills with a baby on my MTB in an embrace bike seat. http://www.embrace.co.nz/catalog/ We live at the top of a hill and so up was the only way home! As a result on a road bike by myslef I can climb and keep up with the guys. But.... I always lose them going downhill. Last weekend for example we went down this great hill, lots of twists and curves and had worked rather hard to get up it in the first place. I rode down, touched my brakes maybe once, but still got left behind. I would love to weigh a bit more so that I could benefit from gravity and really get that speed rush from going faster & faster!!

Some of the best cyclists in the group I go out with are not reed thin at all. As a society we have equated thin with fit & fit with healthy. It's the biggest myth. At work I see so many people who look "fit" who are actually not healthy at all and heading in a terrible direction b/c they have bought into the idea that if they are thin there are fewer health consequences.

[atombessy]

I just saw this article myself on another forum and stopped by to make sure someone had posted it here I'm a healthy weight but not skinny, so I really appreciated the fit but not thin report!

[Tri Girl]

Thanks for posting that article!!! Since I started cycling, I've been amazed by that also. There's one guy in a local cycling club (he owns my LBS) and while he's got quite the gut- that man can FLY on his bike (and he's not a bad runner either). Blew me away the first time I saw him race (he averages about 25 mph in the local duathlons).

all of them are thin and fit looking - I'm not

"What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"
I saw your pictures on the thread about the weekend, and you are fit looking. You look shorter than some of the others, but you're definitely fit looking!!! I'm short, and I know that in order to look "thin" I have to be VERY tiny in weight. Not gonna happen again, so now I'm just going for the muscular look. I think it's hard to look thin on a short person unless you weigh next to nothing.
You look strong ladybug- those skinny women obviously couldn't hold a candle to you on the hills- so who'd want to be as thin as them anyway???

[GLC1968]

Thanks, Tri Girl...you are sweet!

I do think I helped all those people rethink their preconcieved notions of 'fit'.

I know I'll never be thin, but I'd still like to be lean. At least, that's the goal.

[Mr. Bloom]

I've wondered about this...particularly seeing cyclists on some of the tours we've done.

It seems to me that cyclists have:

• Awesome legs from pedalling
• Tight shoulders from the isometric effect of clutching the handlebars
• BUT, no intrinsic activity on the 'gut', resulting in a preponderence of the profile noted in the article

I'm really just thinking out loud and don't know this to be true...would you agree with my hypothesis?

The implication to me is that perhaps I should focus my non-cycling exercise on core body exercises.

[GLC1968]

I've wondered about this...particularly seeing cyclists on some of the tours we've done.

It seems to me that cyclists have:

• Awesome legs from pedalling
• Tight shoulders from the isometric effect of clutching the handlebars
• BUT, no intrinsic activity on the 'gut', resulting in a preponderence of the profile noted in the article

I'm really just thinking out loud and don't know this to be true...would you agree with my hypothesis?

The implication to me is that perhaps I should focus my non-cycling exercise on core body exercises.

Ah...perhaps you've just revealled why I look different so different from other cyclists. My legs are where my weight lives and I have no gut. I will concur that I've seen a lot of the body type you've described though...particularly on the men.

And in all cases, I agree that off bike work should cover exercise for the core. If nothing else, it'll help with total functional fitness and that, in turn, helps with bike performance!