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Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:14 pm
by HCcD
Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:25 pm
by Jwolf
HCcD wrote:As commented above from others, my ideal performance weight (pre-injury) was about the 132lb threshold .. anything below that I would get colds, feel sick, etc ... and, my best measure would be comments by my mom ... ".. are you sick?" ... " ... have you lost weight ??" etc ... a lot better than a weight / scale ... Ha !!!! And, likewise, last year or so, when I was injured and reduced my running/training, had gained a few months, especially over the winter months, she would comment ... "... hey, you've gained a few pounds .. "
Yeah- if I went by what my mother or other people think I look like, then I would be content at my current 5-10 pounds higher-than-optimal weight.
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:29 pm
by HCcD
Have you seen this little Weight and Peformance Calculator ??
http://www.runningforfitness.org/calc/diet/weighteffect
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 1:33 pm
by purdy65
See! Ridiculous. If I got down to 38 Kilos, I would run my half 4.5 minutes faster... yeah that's makes sense. And that would still be over the 18.5 BMI for me.
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 2:03 pm
by HCcD
purdy65 wrote:See! Ridiculous. If I got down to 38 Kilos, I would run my half 4.5 minutes faster... yeah that's makes sense. And that would still be over the 18.5 BMI for me.
I guess, in your case, as an example, adding height and age as other variables would be required in the equation...
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 2:34 pm
by jonovision_man
Jwolf wrote:Weight loss correlates directly with VO2max (since that's how VO2max is defined) so as your weight goes down, VO2max goes up. Speed doesn't always correlate with VO2max and short distance speed doesn't always correlate with long distance speed because other factors come in. But one thing is clear- all other things equal, extra weight slows you down. I know lots of people who have gotten faster when they lose weight, slower when they gain weight. It's not rocket science.
The question posed by KEW is not whether you get faster- but whether losing TOO much weight in the quest to get faster has led to an eating disorder. Yes, it can lead to serious problems when weight loss becomes an obsession and is excessive. This is pretty rare and isn't nearly the case with anyone in this thread- even those whose wives think they looked "too thin." We are so used to seeing overweight people that overweight looks normal and normal looks underweight. But how you want to look isn't necessarily the same weight as your optimal running weight.
If it were rocket science, it would be far less complicated than human physiology!
We're complicated machines.
Eating disorders are just one aspect, and IMO not the most interesting... there is likely a point where an individual isn't suffering from an eating disorder but finds further weight loss negatively impacts their speed. This has been reported by professional cyclists - they are generally very weight conscious (especially the climbers) but there is a point where they go too far, and they actually start to lose power/strength. That can make them actually slower at a lighter weight, not the desired result.
jono
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 7:25 am
by La
According to the scales, I am only about 5 pounds heavier than my previous weight where I set most of my PBs, but my clothes don't fit the way I'd like, I feel sluggish when I run, and I don't like the way I look in the mirror. What your weight is made up of (muscle mass, bone density, and fat tissue - not to mention water and poo on any given day) is an important factor in performance.
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 9:47 am
by cubancat
In my case i went from a high of 100kg to a low of 78kg and could see a big change on speed and endurance from the mid 80kgs.Suffered a ITBS injury at around 92kg for trying to run faster and further without thinking about my fitness level.Did all that loosing of weight in a period of 2 years,first years was working on base running,then at the end of that year started running long,hills and speedworks and everything came really into place just this year,actually lowered my PR in 5k in 2 minutes,my HM in 8 minutes and still think i could go below those times with more mpw(currently running around 30-40 miles per week) but still afraid of getting injured.BTW,planning to run a full marathon in 3 years to celebrate my 50 years birthday and to get there at around 75kg(the weigh it thinks should be my ideal for running races)...
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Sat May 24, 2014 8:42 pm
by MichaelMc
The interesting thing to me would be WHY people got slower. Losing fat does not make you weaker, losing muscle does. Losing fat doesn't make your immune system weak (at least until extremely low levels), but poor nutrition might.
I've been competitively involved in two sports that had a premium on strength to weight ratio (wrestling and running) and also in powerlifting where no one cares about your fat level. HOW you lose weight matters a lot, and there are many ways to do it poorly.
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Sun May 25, 2014 3:59 pm
by Double Bellybuster
jonovision_man wrote:... there is likely a point where an individual isn't suffering from an eating disorder but finds further weight loss negatively impacts their speed. This has been reported by professional cyclists...
I am hardly skinny but have experienced this.
I spent most of my adult life at 205-210 pounds and am now very happy with my moderate wheels around 175-180, featuring a week of decent eating before races, which is not skinny at all. This seems to be my sweet spot, though with crude high-level calculators it has me just at the low end of the overweight classification, a few pounds abover top-end of the normal range.
I got down to 169 for the 2012 Detroit Marathon, still featuring a bit of a ponch, and it was a nightmare. I was weak. I think I had another less memorable race in the low 170s as well, same feeling.
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 6:46 pm
by RayMan.2
I am in the camp of people who lost weight without meaning to - turns out I was Celiac and didn't know it yet. I was eating 3500 cals/day and losing weight.
I got pretty fast but I think that was just because I was training hard, not because of the weight loss...eventually in Boston 2011 I ran my worst marathon ever and realized something more serious must be going on.
Re: Have you lost too much weight trying to get faster?
Posted: Tue Jul 29, 2014 9:36 pm
by fingerboy
No, if anything running leads you to eat cleaner. This and weight loss are two correlated events but not necessary more related than that. Often since you burn more calories, runners tend to eat more junk. But then you start loosing the taste for high fat things and grease and salt start turning you off.
That has been the case for me. But like everything there are cycles. I'm trending towards healthier/low grease again but not quite there yet.
