Concerned about future growth potential.
- Thread starter dude7691
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
vickster
Legendary Member
Just weigh yourself once a week if monitoring weight loss
Day to day hydration levels vary, stomach and bowel contents vary... in the overall scheme of things for an adult a kilo variation is nothing
We women also have hormone fluctuations muddying the picture further!
Last edited:
I was just curious to know whether manual scales would give such a variation. Agreed it's the trendline that's important though.
Tom B
Guru
- Location
- Lancashire
Don't get hung up on weight or BMI, through my late teens and 20s I was always way under my BMI. I was eating three meals a day, snacks, having a mid afternoon complain shake and several nights a week a second evening meal in the pub. Working 70-80 hours a week I wasn't cycling but was doing a physical job and the odd bit of running. At 5'9 I was rarely near 10st
When I changed job it allowed me time to get back to cycling, both to work, at work and as a hobby. I'm now managing an average of 200 miles a week or so. I eat pretty much what I like when I like but it's proper food meat and veg, pasta, etc only have 1 takeaway a month. I have increased my protein intake through poached eggs, scotch eggs and scribbled eggs.
Okay I'm now older into my mid 30s, but I'm now the heaviest I have ever been, at approaching 11 stone. I am also the fittest and strongest. I think that the weight it's muscule. I'm a 30" waist, but have to buy at least 32" waist trousers and particularly shorts to get the over my thighs and allow any movement. I'm currently wearing some 32" shorts (pictured) and every time I get up they stay stuck to my legs.
All that said, the GP was never particularly concerned about my low BMI as long as my bliss came back good and I was healthy. He said it rather it on the low side than on the high.
Incidentally the low BMI only was an issue after I had a pre op for a minor op (banjo string removal and foreskin widening) and they was concerned about it and sent be back to the GP.
Attachments
vickster
Legendary Member
Yes it’s probably not the scales assuming they are calibrated properly
DCLane
Found in the Yorkshire hills ...
- Location
- Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
My son, who's 15 and built like a twig, has a similar BMI. He races track/road/TT/hillclimbs and has enough power on the flat, dropping people on the hills.
However, he does around 150 miles a week training/racoing. You're not riding frequently enough nor long enough yet for power increases to happen. Increase the distance and vary the intensity. Even better, get a training plan and/or coach.
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
I'm 56kg, 175.5cm 44year old, have the older BTwin 500 for commuting and I've no inclination to get heavier. My commuting round (a relatively flat route of around 30miles), including central Cambridge (where I go slow about 0-14mph), recovery commutes (sub 15mph average the whole way) and occasionally carrying a lap top is 16.1mph. I'm faster on other bikes where terrain is more variable but I'm give more effort to achieve it and it didn't come overnight. You don't need to gain weight (especially on hilly terrain where you can achieve a superior power to weight ratio (w/kg), or Any terrain in fact). W/kg is more critical than watts (someone who puts out 400W but weighs 200kg will be slower than someone who puts out 150W but weighs 57kg). You just need to train and/or cycle more to get faster but remember cycling is ultimately about funHi All
This is not a pessimistic post. I'm just trying to get a picture of what I can expect from my coming year on the bike. A bit of background:
I am 57kg, 175cm, 20. Body fat percentage around 8% (based on measuring waist). I cycled last year for 2 months relatively seriously, putting in at least 100km a week for 2 months. I was fine with the endurance, however my average speed has always remained low.
My bike is a Triban 520, weighing 10kg. I carry 2kg of luggage and 2 water bottles weighing 600g each (with water). So total bike weight is around 13.5kg once you count computers and lights e.t.c.
On a 12 mile ride across hilly terrain (last year) I could average around 14mph, give or take. I started at 10mph, but never got any faster than 14mph in the final month I was training (of my 2 months I was riding). I also did a 60 mile ride, and averaged 13mph on that, when I was in peak shape.
Now that I'm back at it again, weighing 57kg vs the 52 I used to (mostly muscle gains) I am averaging around 12mph which is not too bad considering I've been out for a year. However, the extra weight has made climbing noticeably harder. However I know the only way to gain more power is either acquiring more muscle mass, making those muscles more efficient (training) or by getting more oxygen to fuel them. The roads where I am are fairly rough by road standards, very aged and uncomfortable over long distances.
On flat ground, for around 30 minutes (I rarely get a chance to test this) I'm comfortable at 17-18mph.
I constantly see people talking about 16-20mph averages (I don't have a power or HR monitor so I have very little else to compare with). And I can't even imagine averaging that on my roads. On flat roads sure, but my roads are extremely inconsistent and people seem to think hills don't affect averages. You might be able to go faster downhill sure, but if I pedaled at the same intensity downhill as I do uphill, I'd be in a ditch! Also to add, surely it's easier to cycle at a constant power e.g. 200W for an hour rather than going 200W, 350W, 100W e.t.c depending on gradient and fluctuating all the time. After a year of training, do you think an improvement from 12-14mph (where I'm at now) to 16-18mph is possible?
Just to add as well, I'm stuck on whether I should gain some weight or not. I know weight is objectively bad on a bike, but if I was putting on weight AND increasing my power more, surely that would help. Heavier riders could probably beast me on the flat. I know hills are important but the majority of all rides are done at a gradient of under 5%, where I assume raw power is the most important thing to get a high average speed. Please do correct me if I'm wrong, I'm here to learn.
Reading off the internet, the average pro male rider is 68kg, which I am 10kg or so below. Would I benefit from eating like a pig for the next few months, and getting myself up by 10kg to give myself the ability to increase my power output? I might weigh nearly 20% more, but if I'm putting out 50% more power then who cares right? On the flat I'll be faster, and on the hills I'll have all out power to give me that boost I need.
I appreciate all advice, I research cycling a lot but want to know if anyone started from my position (10-12mph averages) and managed to get up to 16-18mph within a year or so. Thank you.
Last edited:
