When listening to a few coverages of Ironman events I have heard the commentators discuss a pro athletes weight as either being too “thin” or a little “heavy”. I am curious if there is any research or evidence suggesting the ideal BF% for male and female pro triathletes?
somewhere around “not much”
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No matter how skinny you get, you’ll still have plenty of body fat to supply any calories you need for an Ironman. So, barring extreme cases (like anorexia), less fat is better.
Half of mine
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That which gets you to the finish the fastest.
0% Iron doesn’t have any fat
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But some suggest a little higher body fat during the base training periodmakes it easier to recover and reduces your risk for infections. I might not be the right person to talk though, with a fat percentage <5. But the less fat you carry around, the higher your VO2max as measured in ml/kg and the easier your burden.
Anyway, the fat which you use for energy during an ironman is not derived from fat around your waist, because it´s too slowly convertible to energy. Rather, it is derived from fat deposits within the muscles.
Don’t try to lose weight during IM-specific training. Your body already has all the stress it needs, and adding a significant caloric deficit will hurt you, bad. If you do the work, the weight will come off, slowly and steadily, the way it should.
“Don’t try to lose weight during IM-specific training. Your body already has all the stress it needs, and adding a significant caloric deficit will hurt you, bad. If you do the work, the weight will come off, slowly and steadily, the way it should.”
I think that’s probably the best response so far. Your body fat levels are really not worth stressing about (unless they’re extremely high or extremely low). If you just eat healthy and continue with quality training, your body will naturally adapt to its ideal composition for IM racing.
i think somewhere in the negatives is ideal…
ah another crazy ST question
answer=14.23452345894…that ought to be enough detail
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When I was a HS athlete at 18, and running 5 minute miles in practice, my body fat % was in the 4-4.5 range. They say anything under that is unhealthy. That being said, the average male in decent shape is about 8%. My guess is be somewhere between 4-6%.
I read the usual piece of string answers. For an actual answer from experience, I got into the 6s and was weak, sick and tired. I got into the 8s and was strong as an Ox on the bike. 7s, I ran well. For me, the answer is 7.5%. Do with that what you will.
I got this advice from torbjorn syndballe- he says male pros should target around 10%, maybe a bit under.
I think some of the above posters are totally tripping- most men are not 5% bodyfat- most people find hanging out under 10% to be pretty uncomfortable. In high school, yes, but later in life, it take most people a lot of owrk to get to 10 and under
While I agree that most are not 5%, I think you’re taking a narrow view saying that most can’t hang under 10%. I’ve been well under 10% my whole life and while I do watch what I eat and train a ton, I don’t find it uncomfortable at all. In fact the reverse, if I let myself fatten up a bit I find it uncomfortable. Right now I’m heavier than I normally am during the season and I can feel it on every run.
Body fat percentage is really variable among people so I’d say having a hard and fast rule doesn’t work, with that said the closest answer I can come up with to the OP is that the lowest body fat that is still above your required minimum is the best from my experience. I’ve found you’ll find a floor where if you go below that your performance tapers off. Treat it just like aerodynamics, changing your position to keep getting more aerodynamic makes sense just until you reach the point where you loss of power output is greater than the power you’re saving from your more extreme position (disregarding nutrition intake ability, ability to hold the position for a long time, etc). Back off a bit and then you have the perfect blend. Same with body fat. Get too low and your performance will drop, even though you have less weight to move around, creep back up a bit from there and you’re probably at your best position.
That being said, the average male in decent shape is about 8%.
What is your definition of “average” and “decent”?
Brad
given that all of the measurement methods have a +/- of 3% debating the merits of 7% vs 10% is madness, you could be talking about the same thing.
=)
Are you smoking crack? Average in shape male at 8%? Shit I was down to 13% last year and looked sickly. At 210lbs my 17% body fat allows me to qualify for Boston, break 2:20 in Oly’s, and go under 12 in IM’s.
Bob
Are you smoking crack? Average in shape male at 8%? Shit I was down to 13% last year and looked sickly. At 210lbs my 17% body fat allows me to qualify for Boston, break 2:20 in Oly’s, and go under 12 in IM’s.
Bob
pics?
See them in the membership section of my website. $29.95 a month with video.
Bob