Exactly how the weight is distributed between the rider, bike, and equipment is not important, only total system weight matters. For example, the optimal range for men of 20-29 is 3-10% while the same age range for women is 10-16%. “The Do’s And Don’ts Of Getting Leaner.” Triathlete. The average weight of trail bikes came to 29.7 pounds (13.5 kg). He has 16 years of competitive running experience and 11 years of competitive triathlon experience with a half Iron PR of 3:59 and a full Iron PR of 8:30. It worked for a while, but eventually the price of being too lean reared its ugly head. According to Fitzgerald, “Given the fact that body fat is the primary determinant of ideal racing weight, the best way to estimate it is to calculate how much you will weigh after you’ve reduced your body fat percentage to the optimal level for you.” Of course, he concedes that the optimal percentage is not the same for everyone. 28 pounds Salsa Timberjack SLX 27.5+ The take home being, if you have an average height & bone structure, your optimal Ironman race weight will likely fall within +/- 2.5kg(~5lbs) of the lines above. If someone tried hard to minimize the weight of their bike and equipment t… It?s important to pick a bike that meets your racing needs. They’re not as safe, as comfortable, or as easy to handle as a road bike. In the standard simulated scenario (see the General Methodpage), a total weight of 85 kg is assumed. But for the beginner, calculating an ideal weight based off of the above data can be a good starting point. Losing one or two pounds a month is a good goal, because for true weight loss, you have to be in it for the long haul, especially as an athlete with high daily demands from your body. You can feel it, and you know when you are there. That’s 8 pounds less than her current weight. Gain weight, train heavy, and build strength in the offseason, then add more volume and speed as the weight begins to drop. Please be sure to consult a registered nutritionist or dietician with experience in working with the unique needs of endurance athletes. For the second, the tyres were filled with water, adding 1.8kg of rotational weight. Similar to Macca’s thoughts, finding the optimal triathlon race weight for you may take some doing. Front and rear suspensions are necessary to make them more stable over rugged grounds. What experience have you had by experimenting with your weight? When determining what the ideal weight of a bicycle is for your cycling needs, it's best to consider when a compromise between weight, cost and functionality is appropriate. A widely adjustable and reversible seatpost, allows the Talon to be set up as a standard road bike – or as an aggressive triathlon beast. One way to increase power to weight strength is to ride with a heavier bike during training and a lighter bike during racing. Triathlon. ), and 8 kg worth of equipment (including food and drink). Thanks for posting this info. Take a hypothetical rider and have her ride two bikes up a hill at the same speed. Choosing a Lightweight 10-Speed Bike. For the first attempt, he rode his standard bike, setting a time of 49:40mins. His IRONMAN World Championship goals were not achieved. With this in mind, the best approach to sustainable weight loss is through a “slow burn” process. Accessed 30 Dec 2016. Additional Predictive Fitness trademarks can be found at www.predictivefitness.com/trademark-list. Whether your mountain bike has a hardtail or a suspension, the average weight is at 21 to 29 pounds (9 to 10 kilograms). Triathlon bikes need to make the rider feel comfortable in the saddle for long periods of time in the aero position. The great Mark Allen personally informed him of his error. Need help with adjusting your diet and nutrition for weight loss? Triathlons are your passion. Usually, carbon fiber is an upgrade from a heavier aluminum frame. The saddle height generally dictates the size of the bike, so this is the place to start. The general consensus among endurance athletes, many of which are triathletes, is that “the lighter I am, the faster I will go.” Chris McCormack (affectionately known at Macca) directly challenged this line of thinking in an article for Triathlete from June 2015. Determining Ideal Bike Weight. Learn more about us and how we can help you achieve your endurance goals with our triathlon training plans and other resources. It’s what you do. Ironically, while the ideal body type becomes more impossibly lean for the average person to healthily obtain, the percentage of obese and overweight Americans continues to rise. When you're purchasing a 10-speed bike, choosing whether to invest in a lightweight model depends on your intended use for the bicycle. But in the end, you will feel it. Triathlon bikes have a much steeper seat tube angle than road bikes, typically starting at 74 degrees and extending to over 80 degrees, Cervelo's latest triathlon specific bike, the P5X, has an effective seat tube angle of 81 degrees for example. (Note: Your goal lean body mass percentage is 1.0 minus your goal body fat percentage expressed in decimal form.) In fact, trying to lose those extra few pounds may actually detract from your training, which will negatively impact you on race day. That approach does not win Hawaii or support athletic longevity.”. It can take roughly five years for the body to become accustomed to being at a new body fat percentage. You are probably better off sticking to your training, eating healthily, and enjoying life than stressing out about losing that last five or 10 pounds. Triathletes trying to establish their ideal weight face a conundrum that is inherent in their sport. For seven hours and 12 minutes, Emge battled fellow racers and his own wide tires to finish the 112-mile bike portion of the triathlon. In another article for Triathlete, Matt Fitzgerald, certified sports nutritionist, states that “While some athletes are naturally skinnier than others, each athlete has an ideal racing weight that is attained when he or she has gotten rid of as much excess body fat as possible through healthy nutrition and proper training.” The question is, how do you know what is excess body fat and what is healthy body fat? Do you know what your perfect triathlon racing weight is? He found that taking the approach of how a professional boxer would train was the key to success. However, many triathletes end up taking their weight loss and food counting to an unhealthy, self-detrimental level. If the saddle needs to be right at the top to feel comfortable then … Coaching under the TriDot system since 2011, Jared loves working with aspiring triathletes of all ages and performance levels. Body Fat Percentage For Triathlon It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that the world’s best triathletes are pretty low in body fat. Triathlon Bike Sizing - Saddle Height . This means that it is very difficult for people who have been at 18 percent body fat, for example, to slim down to and stay at 10 percent. Diverge), an average weight rain bike (18.5# Trek 5200) and a lightweight aero race bike (15.5# Spec. Macca goes on to describe his personal experience in being young and racing short distance triathlons to growing older and moving up to the long course events. He clocked an average speed of 15.49mph, putting him at … Be attentive to your training and record things when you’re feeling good. Do not get caught up in the mind-set that lighter is always better.”, Perfect Triathlon Race Weight Happens When You Race Well, TriDot coach John Mayfield offers his thoughts on the subject as well, “Ideal racing weight is the lightest you can race while maintaining top health and performance. Venge)… I can tell the difference in each bike, the difference is HUGE going from the aero bike to the gravel bike. Chris began by noting, “I’d say 99 percent of people I talk to in this sport believe weight’s relationship to performance is as simple as ‘less is better.’ This is a half-truth – the weight puzzle is much more complex. Much like Macca and Mayfield, Fitzgerald claims that ideal body weight and optimal body fat percentages are attained by your functional performance. A road bike will get you to the finish line of the triathlon just fine. They don’t work. After seeing the standard height-weight BMI info available I was really wondering how someone of my height (6’4″) could be a healthy weight between 152 and 198 as advertised in a typical BMI table. The Ideal Weight for a Triathlon. Fasting, skipping lunch, doing “cleanses,” starvation diets, and going on training rides without nutrition are great ways to get sick, injured or so overtrained that you’ll want to quit the sport. And if you’d ever like to bike with a group of cyclists, they’ll probably shun you if all you have is a tri bike. Triathlon is an excellent way for overweight and obese people to lose weight through hard physical training and paying more attention to diet. In this example: 109.2 lbs ÷ 0.83 = 131.5 lbs. Again, race distance and general performance should factor into the end result. As he says, the natural speed, flexibility, and youth fed the lighter body. Take some of Macca’s final words as a reminder that the half-truth is not to be bought: “Skinny does not always mean faster. The rules and regulations for triathlon bikes are much more relaxed than that laid out by the UCI and the result is that riders can adopt more aggressive positions and bike … Interview with the Amazing Sarah Lucero: Former TV News Anchor, Body Builder, Mom of 4 and Now IRONMAN Triathlete, Inspiring Interview with Bob Koenig Who PR’d at IRONMAN…at Age 69, Recover Better: What NOT To Do After Hard Training Sessions, Recover Better: Tips for Recovery After Hard Training Sessions, Athlete Questions: Riding Comfortably in the Aero Position + Sore Quads on the Marathon, Travel Tips For Racing a Triathlon in a Foreign Country: Part Two, Travel Tips For Racing a Triathlon in a Foreign Country: Part One, How to Become a Faster Triathlete…by Doing Less “Training”, How to Write a Useful Triathlon Race Report. I’ve got a heavy gravel bike (23# Spec. Those at more of the 'super duty' or 'light compact' ends of the spectrum, though, may find their best power/weight relationship for Ironman at as far as +/- 5kg from the regression lines above. They do not have rear shocks, no extra tubes or pivots. Yes, power to weight ratio is key. Therefore, there are ranges for optimal body fat percentage based on these two factors. Accessed 30 Dec 2016. Triathlon is an excellent way for overweight and obese people to lose weight through hard physical training and paying more attention to diet. You’ll know the right weight when you get there. There are various ways to add weight for training. The good news is that the longer you keep the body fat off, the easier it becomes to stay there. He had more success in the long course distance at a heavier weight than he ever did at his former ITU racing weight. Hardtail bikes on average are 30 pounds or 13.6kg. Of course, the most important question to ask yourself is whether you even need to lose weight in the first place. As an example of how the more aggressive P5 is lower and longer, the stack and reach are 50.2cm and 41.7cm, respectively, while it’s 52.2cm and 41.2cm for the P-Series here. You’re race-ready all year! Competitor Group, Inc., 17 June 2015. You may benefit from being lighter on the run, but losing weight may negatively impact your bike or swim splits if you lose muscle mass. However, if you haven’t achieved that breakout performance yet, there are guidelines to follow. One such way is to attach a weight like the one from rockbarcycling. Carbon fiber is a lightweight, strong polymer that helps reduce weight from your TT or tri bike, which means that you can ride faster. What i eat and pushing myself on rides they will easily allow you to the finish line the! 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