http://www.triathlon.competitor.com/2015/02/nutrition/brett-suttons-take-racing-weight-debate_112766

"If you’re an Ironman and look in the mirror without a shirt and can see every muscle my advice is this: Get in the car so you don’t burn too many calories, take yourself to the nearest supermarket and stock up on chocolate and ice cream. If you can see a chiselled six pack when you’re not exercising then a cheesecake is a must as you are already seriously redlining it."

That actually made me laugh a little.

The article was writtin by Sutton in response to an article Macca wrote a while back. They both advise that being heavier is better for ironmans, whereas being close to "fighting weight" is much more important for short course. It makes sense.

I'm interested in how this applies to the general AG population. Do you feel this is true? Do you race better if you follow this advice? Do you run an ironman better if you're a little heavier than short course weight?

I've been thinking about adding a little weight in my buildup to an IM. It may only be a few pounds, and I'll aim to get down to race weight a little closer to the race, but if it helps with recovery and maintaining strength for specific workouts, then that's probably a route I'd like to take.

No! I don't agree. From an experiment of one I know that lower body fat is better for endurance athletes. Look at any successful triathlete long or short course.

When I first started doing marathons if I saw a chubby-ish person in front of me I would say why in the world am I behind them and it would motivate me to pick it up.

And Sutton uses the argument of adding 6lb to a 181lb dude who at that weight was probably less than 6% BF, how similar to 99.9% of most triathletes (and first world people in general) is that BF point? Never have I read a more misguided article.

Jack

Yup. I may be considered skinny by the general population but at 5'10'' and 158lbs I'm fat for the fast endurance folks

The average age group athlete is already too fat.

They should learn to put down the ice cream, stop stopping at starbucks to reward themselves for their workout and learn to eat less before worrying about this article.

This article, imo, applies to maybe 1 in 10 triathletes

Yup. I may be considered skinny by the general population but at 5'10'' and 158lbs I'm fat for the fast endurance folks

That might be the post of the year right there.

I guess the question is, define "worth it".

That being said, if you do a search on the main page for the old Kona run to 10s and 15s they give the height and weight for all of them which might get you a little closer picture for guys closer to your size. Frankly, I cherry picked these guys as close to that poster's size. For example, Crowie was listed on there as 5'11", 147 lbs!

The general AG population will read this as an excuse to race at 190lbs @ 6 feet tall, and that will be wrong.

I'm 6'1, 190 pounds, low body fat and am very competitive at most NC races.

My body weight barely fluctuates. You can be tall and race well

The general AG population will read this as an excuse to race at 190lbs @ 6 feet tall, and that will be wrong.

You rang?

Just think of the 2s per mile per pound rule of thumb!

No idea if that applies to ironman runs at all, but if it is even 1/4 true...

The average age group athlete is already too fat.

They should learn to put down the ice cream, stop stopping at starbucks to reward themselves for their workout and learn to eat less before worrying about this article.

This article, imo, applies to maybe 1 in 10 triathletes