weight

**hellosunshine** · 08-24-2006, 11:15 AM

this business of weight,how on earth do you know what you are meant to weigh,some of the guys i race with are stick insect thin,im begining to wonder if i need to seriously address he weight issues and shed a bit,im 49.5kg NAKED

and 5'5"......aged 39.......

**Eden** · 08-24-2006, 11:21 AM

that sounds pretty thin already to me
listen to your body - if you starve yourself you certainly won't be helping your racing at all and certainly don't compare yourself to men. Women need more body fat to continue producing all of the nice hormones that we need to stay healthy.

**mimitabby** · 08-24-2006, 11:38 AM

Originally Posted by hellosunshine

this business of weight,how on earth do you know what you are meant to weigh,some of the guys i race with are stick insect thin,im begining to wonder if i need to seriously address he weight issues and shed a bit,im 49.5kg NAKED

and 5'5"......aged 39.......

how many stone is that

??
you sound like you're in great shape. but don't show us a picture of you naked.

**Grog** · 08-24-2006, 01:13 PM

50 kg (about 110 lbs for those who wonder) is really thin for 5'5".

You certainly don't want to loose weight, that would be muscles. Actually you might even benefit from gaining muscle weight (or maybe not).

Don't worry about it.

**chickwhorips** · 08-24-2006, 01:22 PM

Originally Posted by Grog

50 kg (about 110 lbs for those who wonder) is really thin for 5'5".

and sunshine you don't think your thin! sheesh!

how do you feel? do you feel good? powerful? fast? if you feel good and like what you have its a perfect weight. though adding muscle like grog said could be a good thing (or bad), but you will weigh more.

i go by how i feel (thankfully bc i swear the scale lied to me on sunday).

**extra-vert** · 08-26-2006, 08:35 AM

If my conversion is right then you are right around 109lbs?? At 5'5" that's great! You're luckier over there in Europe than us Americans in that not nearly as much of your food is sabotaged like ours with hydrogenated oils and other things that don't need to be there. Our nation is getting FAT FAT FAT - and a huge reason for this is the fact that our packaged foods are so damn fake! Of course I can go on about this, but I know it's only the tip of the iceberg. My good friend from France eats Nutella every morning. She's a size 0. She looks very healthy. She will only eat the nutella friends and family bring her from France, because unlike our nutella (which looks identical on the outside) hers does NOT have hydrogenated oils in it!!! Anyway, that is only one example, and she is a very disciplined person who naturally practices portion control. That said, there is a lot us Americans can learn from others nations and cultures about our diets and our attitudes toward food. Enough from me, I'll shut up now.

**jobob** · 08-26-2006, 08:49 AM

Hee hee. Reminds me of the time a co-worker from Denmark came out here to visit our US site.

I'm driving him back to his hotel and he pipes up, oh so politely, "May I ask you a question?"

and I said "Sure".

"Why are Americans so fat?"

All this time he's puffing on a cigarette ...

**extra-vert** · 08-26-2006, 08:54 AM

I suppose we have to choose our evil. That is pretty funny though.

**hellosunshine** · 08-26-2006, 10:33 AM

fear no!the girl that beat me today was large......so not all bulk is fat,she was a bundle of power!ref the question in the midst of all this!how do i feel?despondant at the moment,last year i was 1 min quicker over 10 miles,there again,my times for 25,50 miles are tthe same,and i did my first 100 this year,slow course,windy day,scraped under 5hrs with a puncture,so maybe my brain is kinda suited to longer than shorter distance,STILL,I WANA BE FASTER!

**RoadRaven** · 08-26-2006, 11:34 AM

Hey there Sunshine
You sound plenty light enough for your height
Women will tend to look heavier than men because we have more fat, and we cannot get down to the same leaness as men without compromising our health.
Thats a physiological fact - so be careful in your consideration of weight loss.

Also, remember that one part of being faster on the bike is the power to weight ration equation.

Yes, losing weight is extremely advantageous to riding faster, however, at some point the 'perfect' power to weight ratio is reached (which is unique for every individual).

If you drop below this weight, your power output begins to decrease.

How long have you been biking for? If its not long - that is - only a year or two, then you have only just established/or begun to establish a good base for improving speeds/times. Perhaps you should consider some specific training such as intervals, or hill reps, or motor-pacing.

Also consider what kind of riding you like - if you like enduro flattish courses, or time trials, then a little extra weight is not as important as if you wanted to be an ace hill-climber.

Specific training may build muscle and you may add a pound or two, but you need muscle to make you stronger and faster. Its a worthwhile compromise.

Good luck

**limewave** · 08-26-2006, 06:12 PM

If you want to be faster, maybe work on your leg strength and build the strength-to-weight ratio. I, on the other hand, need to work on the weight end of the ratio, I have plenty of strength. I weigh WAY more than 109lbs and I'm only an inch taller. I've been working with my doctor and she wants me to shoot for 25 more pounds but no more than that--and that would still be more than 110 lbs.

Oh, and I SAG'd for my husband this weekend in a tri and was shocked that a woman who was my size kicked his butt! I didn't think larger woman could run fast--but she ran 7 minute miles in a rather lengthy tri. She's my new hero. DH is sooo sick of hearing about getting beat by a girl, but she rocked. I want her autograph.

**SAMbike** · 08-27-2006, 03:55 AM

Just for reference, I'm 5'3" and 113 lbs and I've found that to be my ideal racing weight. I do lift weights so have a fair amount of muscle mass. I believe that you can be too this, too light. If I go down to below 110 I do not have the strength that I need to compete on a mtbike... but that's just me.

You might be interested in seeing what the expert responses are to similar questions posted to the cyclingnews.com forum. There are many, you can do a search for the topic, here's an example:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?...4/letters05-17

**hellosunshine** · 08-28-2006, 04:16 AM

again,brilliant thread you posted,ive decided that trying to lose weight has been a daft idea,im now in a state of faintness post riding and generally becoming withdrawn,i thinki maybe im starving myself of the energy that makes me happy!so ive stopped the nonsense and am eating to win again,thanks,its easier somehow to talk to people in a different country on things that really bother me,i dont want to be labelled in britain as getting in a twist with some issues you openly discuss on these forums!

**SAMbike** · 08-30-2006, 05:54 AM

Glad to hear it! There's such a range of weights that work well for different heights. Again, it's all about what works best for you. Check out this chart:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?.../rider_weights

Happy riding!

**7rider** · 08-30-2006, 06:16 AM

Originally Posted by SAMbike

Glad to hear it! There's such a range of weights that work well for different heights. Again, it's all about what works best for you. Check out this chart:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?.../rider_weights

Happy riding!

Wow. Interesting....
Well....I can't make myself any shorter, as I'm a bit taller than all those women's points. But I'd have to drop 20 pounds to be in their range....30 pounds if I want to be a successful climber.
Yikes!
Good think I have no dreams of being a "top pro" on the bike!

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