I want to know how you go about finding your race weight, and what your off-season weight should be. I know it depends on a couple of things like frame size, but I would like to know roughly how to figure these things out. Any advice would be great thanks.
No clue, but 3 weeks after my IM, I’ve learned a 3.5kg lesson that you can’t apparently, continue to eat with abandon after stopping IM training . Who knew? 
Your racing weight should be the lightest you can be whilst still being healthy. Training weight doesn’t matter much, other than the fact that if you’re carrying a lot of excess weight it will hinder your training performance and could make you more injury prone. You also don’t want to be carrying so much excess weight that it takes a lot of time/calorie counting to get down to race weight. The most important thing is not to get too low a body fat level, otherwise you will struggle to adapt and recover from training, as well as being more at risk of illness and injury.
The best to way to figure out your ideal body composition is to get yours assessed on a relatively regular basis (eg every 2 - 3 months). You want to start to get a feel for how your training affects your body composition and vice versa. Everyone has their own ideal body composition - what is right for one person might be too high or too low for another. Your ideal body comp/weight is that at which you perform at your best. Hence why regular monitoring is useful to find out what that is.
The best way to have your body composition assessed is by a qualified, experienced sports scientist/nutritionist using skinfold callipers to measure body fat, or with a BodPod or similar machine. Those cheap scales you can buy easily are not the best - the results are affected by your hydration status and so they aren’t a reliable way of getting this info.
I went super low this past year for my racing weight(137). Probably a little too low although at that weight I was getting the “are you sick?” comments from everyone so I was close. I’m a pig post IM so I’m up to 154 and rising…my diet starts again on Jan. 3rd.
At a certain weight, you should start to feel real fast on the bike and especially on the run. It’s hard to tell but I can definitely notice it. For the off-season(the winter), you’ll freeze to death at your race weight most likely so adding a few pounds isn’t such a big deal especially since the workouts are shorter and easier.
I would buy a body fat scale and use the percentage as a guide but not as an absolute.
During the offseason; which this year is only 6 weeks I eat everything. Doritos/burgers/beer…etc at 6’1 on my offseason I am around 190 pounds.
For my A Race I am 180 or less. Like people are saying you want to race as light as you can be without giving up power and speed. Kinda like a wrestler trying to drop weight before a meet.
I’m 6’0 and in race season I get down to 180 lbs, right now I’m floating around 187-190 depending on the day. This is with holiday eating and as of the last few weeks, zero real activity.
I’m 6’4" with a fairly thin frame.
During the offseason while just doing workouts for pure pleasure I fluctuate between 185 and 195, but mostly right around 188-190.
During the season while training, but not worrying about food / alcohol intake I stay steady around 185. This seems to be where my body’s natural equalibrium is when I’m burning more calories.
When watching my nutrition a bit more carefully leading into an A race I’ll drop into the high 170’s with my goal this season of 175. I still feel strong as ever at this weight, but all my joints feel much better during runs.
I think you could gain up to 8-10% of your race weight in the off season and lose it in 2-3 months without much effort. I find that having extra body fat in the winter actually makes aerobic base training a lot easier (riding 3-5 hours sans bonk). When it comes to losing the weight and determining your lowest optimal weight I would do the following:
- Try to lose the bulk of the weight when volume is high and intensity is low. Trying to perform glycolytic based workout on semi-starved muscles is a challenging balancing act.
- Test critical power outputs regularly, especially FTP but also shorter durations if you bike race. If your weight creeps too low or you lose too fast, these measures will nose dive and you can back off accordingly.
- When you think you might be getting too light watch for the following symptoms:
-difficulty sleeping through the night, getting up to eat
-night sweats
-drastically reduced recovery
-frequent bonking in hard workouts, abnormal persistent ravenous hunger after workouts.
The list goes on but watch out for that stuff in particular. Take it from someone who has gone too low for too long, it can ruin a season and your health in general.
Good luck!
At a certain weight, you should start to feel real fast on the bike and especially on the run. It’s hard to tell but I can definitely notice it.
I know when I start to feel super cold in the pool.
I think you could gain up to 8-10% of your race weight in the off season and lose it in 2-3 months without much effort.
An MD friend who is also a low 10hr ironman guy told me once that 10% of your body weight isn’t unreasonable.
I’m 6’ 2" with a small frame. For the past 5 years, my normal race weight is 160lbs. Over the winter, I usually put on 3-4 lbs and by the end of November, I’m flirting with breaking 160 again.
Last November/December, just to see if I could, I put on 8 lbs. It took me until April to take it back off and I felt like I’d lost a step all year, only starting to come around in October. I’m currently sub-160 and that’s where I’m staying. My experimenting with “winter weight” is over…
Brad
I think the general trend is stay within 8% of your race weight, which is the weight at which you perform optimally.
It’s not necessarily your lightest, it’s your fastest.
IBWx 0.90= ideal tri racing weight
males= 0.9(50kg + 2.3(every inch over 5ft)
females= 0.9(45.5kg +2.3(every inch over 5ft)
I found the above in the following thread:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=3407654;
I have worked my ass off but have only been able to get to within a few pounds of that equation in the past. For me, I stay pretty near the IBW for the whole off season, maybe a few lbs over and then taper that down when I get ready to get back at it. I find it is way easier to lose weight when NOT training, so the last few weeks before cranking it back up, I get serious about getting down closer to the 90% number above.
I would love to hit that 90% number, but I have always been kind of large framed, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that at such a low BF, I still can’t hit that number.
I’m 6’2" and race in the upper 160’s and other times I sit around 173-176.
I’m 6’0" and average to muscular build. I weighed around 185 lbs before I got into tris.
My IM race weight is around 165 lbs. My HIM race weight is around 170 lbs. My offseason weight is around 175 lbs.
I am 5-10 165 currently. My last 3 IM i was 156. The problem is that I am still famished even though the last race 8 weeks ago - I like to eat. So try to watch what I eat most of the time. I am still running and biking (no real swimming - hate the cold water). 1st week of the year I will start training for targeted races. My weight comes off when I start swimming for some reason but I will stay at 165ish with just run and bike only
I’m 6’ and try and race just at or under 160… Right now I’m 170-172
Last November/December, just to see if I could, I put on 8 lbs. It took me until April to take it back off and I felt like I’d lost a step all year, only starting to come around in October.
Was it difficult for you to gain that much? Just curious.
Last November/December, just to see if I could, I put on 8 lbs. It took me until April to take it back off and I felt like I’d lost a step all year, only starting to come around in October.
Was it difficult for you to gain that much? Just curious.
not sure about him, but with a sweet tooth, i can easily do that and go from 68.5kg to 72kg, in, say, 3-4 weeks. Losing it is a PITA though, back down to 68.5kg
IBWx 0.90= ideal tri racing weight
males= 0.9(50kg + 2.3(every inch over 5ft)
females= 0.9(45.5kg +2.3(every inch over 5ft)
I found the above in the following thread:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=3407654;
I have worked my ass off but have only been able to get to within a few pounds of that equation in the past. For me, I stay pretty near the IBW for the whole off season, maybe a few lbs over and then taper that down when I get ready to get back at it. I find it is way easier to lose weight when NOT training, so the last few weeks before cranking it back up, I get serious about getting down closer to the 90% number above.
I would love to hit that 90% number, but I have always been kind of large framed, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that at such a low BF, I still can’t hit that number.
thank God i’m not a triathlete. Would have to be at 62.5kg at my height. Instead, i’m shooting for 66.5kg. I actually think that number may be more suited for long distance runners, but in a sport where W/CdA matters so much for at least 4 hours, I think it’s shooting for the low end.
Most classic specialist in cycling would fail to achieve the weight suggested by that equation. The two most successful riders last year, Philippe Gilbert and Cadel Evans, would be 2kg and 3.5kg heavier, respectively.
FWIW, Wellington and Macca are listed as 5’7" 60kg and 5’11" 68kg, respectively. Those may not be race weights, but i doubt Wellington can afford to lose 4.5kg without sacrificing performance.
I think the general trend is stay within 8% of your race weight, which is the weight at which you perform optimally.
It’s not necessarily your lightest, it’s your fastest.
There is wisdom here.
It isn’t complicated. Keep a log of your weight for key workouts and races. See where your best performance lies.
I know that I am the fastest around 155@5’11" but it’s a bear staying that low. I am typically around 170 off season.
155 does feel fast though. It’s like all my workouts get easier. But I freeze to death and after about 2 weeks, all I can think about is food. It is definitely a peak race weight with troughs before and after the A-race.