i’ve noticed that elite/pro triathletes are not the emaciated bodytype like marathoners but more like mid-distance runners, but still skinny. most seem to be underweight proportionate to their height. tri performance aside i personally prefer a more muscular physique, but i’m experimenting with dropping another 5-10 lbs.
my current ht/wt: 5’9", 155 lbs.
what’s your optimum height and weight for peak tri performance?
6’6", 195 lbs. < 12%BF, male, 42 yrs old
6’ tall 178 lbs
Currently 190 lbs :((
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I too have noticed many of them are 5’9 150 lbs…but like anything there are exceptions. I am 6’1 178 right now which is optimum for me.
I’m 5’10" and as of this a.m, 169 lbs. Pretty close to where I want to be on November 5…I’m a “bigger boned” kind of guy so it’s hard for me to lose too much more weight without compromising strength. At least that’s my theory!
I’m 5’9 and 137 … I’ve gained 15+ pounds of PURE MUSCLE since I started in this sport. I’m still probably a bit above “race weight”; I’m working out the kinks, let’s say.
Optimum height … hmm not sure how to change that as I have been locked into this 5’11’ shell for a number of years. Weight - somewhere around 152 - 155 is where I find my max long distance fitness.
I’m 5’10" and 150lbs. so I’ll be turning rpo tomorrow. Seriously though, I’m a beginner with only one tri and one duathlon under my belt, so I’m kind of slow, and hopefully have lots of room for improvement. 145lbs. is probably as low as I want to go.
194 cm/72 kilo/5-6% fat/17 years
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Please excuse this quick response. I have no time to edit and I am suffering with a nasty head cold.
Dear triathletes, you know how much I respect all of you and your discussions but you will never be able to answer this question with two numbers (height/weight) and be sure you are correct. Too many factors exist and this is essentially a stupid conversation engaged by myself and fellow triathletes to show how gifted they are without actually producing training to get race results.
What is triathlon? What distances? What courses? What rules?
Still nonetheless, I indeed will engage myself and say I am a pro triathlete who is 6’ and 140lbs. However if you have seen what I have you would never even ask what the ideal body-type is. You would ask instead what the ideal course is for your body-type and your training capacity/life style.
6’ and 158 lbs. 6% bf…been doing this 5 years
I wanna say that I read somewhere (Friel perhaps? I have too many Tri books to remember which one) that there was a survey of the typical avg. measurements of elite Tri pros, and for the fellas I vaguely remember it being 5’11" and 165. (It’d probably be 6’2" and 175 lbs, but they averaged in Francois as a Pro, and as a Male, so there ya go… 
FWIW, I’m 5’10" and 163-165, (8% BF if anybody gives a rat’s patootie) and definitely NOT a pro. I’m sure I could lose a few lbs, but I don’t want to. I like beer and junk food way too much; it’s the only reason I train, so I can eat and drink pretty much whatever I want. Speaking of which, it’s ice cream time!
I looked better (bigger) at 170 lbs, but I race better at sub-165.
Da, 6’1" , 178lb is best
-Vlad
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Well clearly you would want to be be 181cm and 92kgs.
Sheesh, you had to ask?
Right now its 6’0", 145 lbs. Off season-6’0", 149. I never get above 150lbs.
6’4" 205 probably faster at 195 but then I would have to race against the nano weights. Yes, I know I should be doing it for myself Blah blah blah, but I like to win and like to eat
I’ll let you know when I get there.
I’m still trying to get back to where I was in my early 30’s (5-11 3/4, 170). 9 yrs ago I was down to 5-11 1/4 and up to 209–YIKES! Right now I’m 5’11"+ and ~174-5.
If I had to pick a tri body build it would be Peter Reid with Mark Allen’s or Dave Scott’s mitochondria.
6’2" 155lbs. I alternate between feeling too heavy (when I run with my brother) or way too light (when I play basketball with the college guys I mentor).
I don’t think it really matters too much unless your joints are hurting, etc.
to my mind the ironman guys tend to be a little more solid than itu…in general.
5’8", 143lbs. Should probably be either about 3lbs less or have 3lbs more muscles… I’ll try to fix the muscle part over the winter…