deadly downtube

i'm almost 6'3", weighing 180lbs... can i lose 5 or 10lbs and be more competitive? curious what my ideal weight might be...

transplant

can vs should are two different things. i'm 6'4" 182-179ish... i really don't think i want to get more lean at this point as i feel i'd risk losing more power than i'd be gaining in the w/kg category. right now it's much easier for me to increase my w/kg on the watts side than it is to worry about my weight and see incremental gains by losing a pound or two on the kg side of the equation. make sense? also, i naturally have a large chest/bone structure so that limits me as well a little.

so would you be more competitive 5 to 10lbs lighter, or what is your ideal weight? it all depends on you. there is no "ideal weight" for every rider.

deadly downtube

better to train for going faster than worry about lbs at this point... i see what yer sayin, makes sense, thx.

Portis

Did you grow after you posted the title?

Snuffleupagus

To correctly answer the question we need to know your body fat percentage, and racing goals.

If your body fat is below say 8% then I'd say don't go lower.

If you are anything but a climber or MTB racer I'd say no. For crits, RRs, and TTs you'll be fine at 180.

ericgu

Depends on your body type and how much muscle you carry. I'm 6'2" and I weigh 165-170 in season, and while I could get a little lighter, I'm not really trying to.

NomadVW 

Also 6'2" and I'm dropping weight to 165 from 172. I raced well enough last year at 165. Sprinter I am not, though.

aham23

6'3'' with a winter weight of 175ish and season weight of 170ish. i am lean and mean.

later.

sfcrossrider

6'1" 170. If I drop much lower I drop power with pounds.

Cjzoller

I read somewhere the ideal weight is your height in inches times two.

I'm not sure how true it is, and it all depends on body type and structure.

Im sure the "ideal weight" is person specific.

Nikephoros

I'm inclined to think thats wrong, as a guy who is 6'6" would probably be dead at 156 pounds.

fuzzthebee

I'm a little under 6' 3" and I weigh around 170 lbs in the winter, 165 lbs in the summer. I got as low as 162 lbs last spring and saw no drop in power output.

revolator

Food for thought:

Just read in Outside Jan 2008 magazine on George Hincapie, who is 6-3 and his racing weight is ~162. He allows him one month a year to "let go" and eat whatever he wants, and he normally raises his weight ~15 lbs.

Pat

Really, height and weight tells us very little. We would have to know your lean body mass, what you eat and how you train. Even then, it would be a crap shoot. Unless you are in serious competition, losing tghe last 5 to 10 lbs is pretty problematic.

Competitive body builders have to get down to about 5% body fat. A thin layer of fat obscures the definition of muscles. So in order to look "ripped", they have to be very lean. But it is very hard to eat just right and train just right to get to that level. I have heard a body builder say that at that level, he was so healthy, he was almost dead. Body builders really can not maintain that state very long. I know that wrestlers (amateur not pro) have great difficulty making their weight and eating disorders are rife in that sport. Do you really need to live like that?

I don't know about you, but it did not take me long to figure out that no one was ever going to pay me significant dollars to ride my bicycle. Sure I go out and ride till it hurts at times because it is fun. But the main thing is being happy and I don't plan to make myself miserable in the pursuit of it. Of course, if you enjoy it, go right ahead.

ldesfor1@ithaca

just to chime in:

i'm 6' 3.5" and 190 (1st thing in the AM). 8% BF. I have a weight lifting history and consider myself a strong sprinter. I've been dropping weight over the winter from 210 and my power has been going up, weight going down. I cant see getting below 180, for my particular body type, but who knows. As long as i feel good on the bike and my power numbers stay strong, I'm going to keep dropping weight, slowly.

BUT, my teammate is 6"5" and 176 or so. His body type allows this.

Experience, good record keeping and listening to your body will give you a strong sense of "how low is too low" with your ideal cycling weight.

TheAnalogKid

I'm 6'2" and 200 pounds now. I was 185-190 when I was playing hockey in college, but now I am just a rec road rider. Hopefully as riding increases as the sunlight and heat increases I could get down to 185-190. I think I have too much muscle to get any lower though.

My ideal is to keep myself at under 200# and keep my waist/inseam size on my pants the same (current 34/34). These are good for me.

slim_77

Robert Cheruiyot -- World Marathon Majors champ -- 6'2" & 143 lbs

Mike Shea -- Cat 5 noob -- 6'2" & ~173lbs and happy.
As the build period continues I may drop a few here or there, but I'm not trying to drop 'em.

Snuffleupagus

My 12 year old neighbor kid can probably produce better sprint power than Cheruiyot. Cycling =/= running.

Thank god, or I'd have to find a new sport Sucky CAT3, 6'2ish and 188ish and probably around 10lbs above where I want to be in July.

hillcranker

I'm at 6'1" and 150 very lean pounds and fairly powerful for my musculature-- ~ 280watts (and growing) for 40 minute "hill effort" on trainer two days ago. The beauty of my body is that if i didn't cycle, I would probably be like 135 or something like that, and I have great genetics for the sport-- pipecleaner arms no matter what and bulkier quads if i just look at them.
In order for me to maintain power at my weight I have to make sure i am getting the fuel i need for the hours I put in. So my suggestion is to eat smart, lots of good fats and steady carbs (don't forget, the brain consumes almost 25% of your daily glucose intake so don't skim too many GOOD carbohydrate sources) and ride the hell out of your bike and you should lose "healthy" weight, or just stay the same and replace fat with muscle which will still make pants fit differently. If you don't have fat to lose, then just train like a bad ass and natural weight lose should come-- the key is to keep eating.