okay I realize that this is somewhat of a specific/tricky question to answer and probably rather abstract with not that much real world impact. Anyway: the role of weight-management in cycling is rather obvious in the sense that reduced excess weight increases the power/weight ratio. However I was asking myself if there is a secondary benefit because the unneeded tissue rivals the oxygen needs of your working muscles. Unfortunately I was unable to find an answer searching by myself, maybe some knowledgable people are bored?
So:
How big are the oxygen needs of white adipose/depot tissue.
How big are the oxygen needs of muscles,
Do these needs differ if oxygen is in short supply, e.g an athlete working @ his FT/LT
more importantly: If there is a benefit, what magnitude are we talking about here? Given a theoretical highly trained athlete who hits the gym or likes Pizza too much, could this guy have a real benefit in terms of potential max FTP by getting rid of excess tissue?
Maybe someone could shed some light on this since this super-important question is really bothering me cheers!
Muscle: 7umol/g/min at v02max
Adipose tissue: 20nmol/g/min
So fat uses about 35x less 02 than muscle. So 35kg of fat consumes the same as 1kg of muscle. But this ignores that when excersising your body will shunt blood to muscles so the actual effect is probably even less.
thanks man. cant believe you found these numbers.
Well probably the whole idea ignores a whole bunch of peripheral limiting factors for exercise performance at vo2max anyway.
Well dang it…my dreams shattered again. Just when I thought I found what set me as an amateur packfiller apart from dem tdf guys.
When looking at central and peripheral limiters, oxygen delivery is the limiting factor, not the muscle’s ability to utilize it.
One of the definitive studies looked at oxygen uptake in the muscle during single and double leg exercise. In the single leg situation, a larger amount of oxygen was able to be devoted to the working muscle and it was able to utilize it. This isn’t to say there are not peripheral adaptations, but if you can send more to the muscle it will use it. This is why EPO and other hemoglobin enhancement methods are so effective.
When looking at central and peripheral limiters, oxygen delivery is the limiting factor, not the muscle’s ability to utilize it.
One of the definitive studies looked at oxygen uptake in the muscle during single and double leg exercise. In the single leg situation, a larger amount of oxygen was able to be devoted to the working muscle and it was able to utilize it. This isn’t to say there are not peripheral adaptations, but if you can send more to the muscle it will use it. This is why EPO and other hemoglobin enhancement methods are so effective.
Umm…
That’s more than an aside. I’d call it ON POINT. But, from what I understand, much of VO2max is a “pick your parents” (i.e., genetic) situation. Lucky for long(er) distance athletes, VO2max is somewhat less meaningful.
Thanks for your insight.
Big picture… Fat above x% is a detriment to performance. And, yes, I’m above where I should be
cheers!