Hi all, My name is Dan and im new to this forum. Gotta quick question. I’m fairly new to triathlons, done a few sprints and an olym. with a decent amount of sucess and was wondering if you guys believe that certain body types are predisposed to race better at certain distances. I read something that most of the best ironmen are around 5’11 and 155-160 pounds, which discribes me as well. At the moment my coach wants me to concentrate on olym dis I think in part cause I’m 20 and have many years ahead of me. Im enjoying my current plan but was wondering if there is any truth to the rumors bout body types. Thanks all Dan
Well, yes, but also no. Look at the world’s best swimmers, marathoners, 5-km runners, 100-meter runners, etc. and, yes, it appears that the body type for the cream of the crop in these sports is quite specific.
The same is true for triathlon, generally. But major exceptions: first, the combination of 3 different sports seems to ‘tug’ at the ideal body type in opposite directions. Second, since there are 3 sports, it appears that there is a wider range of ideal body types for triathlon than there would be for only one sport. Third, there is the factor of the vast variety in triathlon lengths, from 1-hour sprints to 9-hour killers. The different lengths would probably favor different ideal body types, but many of the same athletes do various lengths of races.
In any case, your body type appears to be well within the wide range of norms. And there is a lot to be said to doing the longer distances later in life. For one, younger folks have a lot more raw speed and this is the time to capitalize on it. Also, long distance races can take quite a physical toll on one and young people’s bodies are not fully formed. For example, bones typically do not fully form until 23-26 years of age.
The lighter the better as far as I’m concerned. I can’t make my body any taller so I have to run with what I’ve got. 5’11 and 155 sounds like it would be just about perfect for any distance.
Welcome to our cult. Please don’t get put off by anyone’s warped sense of humor around here.
jaretj
If you are already 5’11" and about 155-160…don’t expect to stay that ratio…particularly as you hit your late 20s, early 30s, and especially if you move up to Irondistance. At 20, you still carry a bit of childhood bodyfat which will melt away almost magically in your later 20s, as long as you don’t become a couch potato. Bottom line…a body can stack 5’11" and 155-160 many ways… Your endurance potential depends on how yours is stacked. You’ll figure out over the next few years how your body responds to training…and what your ideal racing composition is.
Ultimately, the best thing you can do now is to forget about body composition for the most part, paying attention just to keep yourself from ballooning up in bodyfat percentage. Focus on developing a deeper and deeper base every year. Develop the skills necessary…particularly swimming, if you aren’t already a great swimmer. But train your butt off and the body comp will take care of itself. If you were to stack the last 26 years of IM champions next to each other, you’d find a pretty good mixture of body types. The real deciding factors are the genetic factors affecting endurance potential, and the training.
Trust me and the other “old timers” around here…the best thing you can do is take the long view toward your triathlete “career” no matter what level. Simon Lessing has been around the sport for nearly 20 years now, but judging from this last weekend…still has a thing or two to learn and work out at the IM distance. I, for one, have no doubt that he will succeed… You can too, just don’t try to do it all in one day. And don’t try to figure out your ultimate potential based on your perception of yourself today. The thing that triathlon, particularly IM, will teach you is that you really have no idea what you are capable of…until you try. The last thing you want to do is pigeon-hole yourself based on somebody’s half-guess.