ideal weight

[G3CWI]

its not a rough indication imho, its a guess.

There are plenty of papers discussing where and when BMI is a useful indicator. Suggest you have a look at some of them. As you rightly point out, it is not always a useful indicator but for most people it is a useful indicator. That's why doctors and hospitals use it. Mr Wiggins, along with other athletes, is not typical.

PS if you don't like BMI the waist to hip circumference ratio is a better indicator.

 

[Ningishzidda]

It is impossible to say whether you are overweight just from your height. You might have anything from a very heavy build to a very light one.

So, try an experiment .. (For the sake of modesty, let's assume that you have a pair of boxer shorts on ) ... Jump up in the air while looking at yourself in a full-length mirror and tense all your muscles. When you land, can you see anything wobble?

If the answer is 'no', then you probably don't need to lose much weight, unless you are one of those people who stores a lot of fat internally.

If the answer is 'yes' then you have surplus fat and could definitely lose some weight. Surplus fat doesn't help your performance so losing it wouldn't hurt your performance.

If you don't cycle up a lot of hills then a few pounds here or there isn't going to make that much difference, but if you do a lot of hills then every pound lost will help as long as you don't overdo it and lose power.

The mirror test, can't beat it.

 

[ianwoodi]

I think you will know when you are under weight you will start getiing colds and feeling ill most of the time

 

[G3CWI]

The mirror test, can't beat it.

With you on that one!

http://theskinnymirrors.com/why-the-skinny-mirror/

 

[ianwoodi]

wife and kids think i am a old fool

 

[Rob3rt]

Hi
what would the best weight for a 5ft 7in male at the moment i am 11 stone if lose any more weight will it affect my performance on a road bike. Feeling fit at the moment but do not want to go to far

In performance terms your optimal weight will be dictated by your discipline, which will be dictated mostly by genetics and to a lesser degree by training.

 

[ianwoodi]

so i will not get any better by loosing 1/2 stone if i have not got the right genetics

 

[Rob3rt]

That is not the point I was making.

To clarify. If you are a climbing specialist, loosing 1/2 a stone, even if you lose some power output may increase your power to weight ratio, hence you will be better. If however you are a timetrialist where it is all about raw sustainable power, then loosing half a stone will either cause little to no increase in performance and may indeed make you slower if you end up loosing some raw power. If you are a sprinter, there will be little to no real benefit in the sprint. Likewise the benefits of loosing half a stone to other disciplines will vary.

 

[ianwoodi]

right i am with you thanks just love climbing hills and want to get better at it

 

[LarryDuff]

I'm 13st 4 and 6ft1. I would ideally like to get dowm to 12st 7. That's my goal anyways.

 

[ColinJ]

I'm 13st 4 and 6ft1. I would ideally like to get dowm to 12st 7. That's my goal anyways.

I was just under 13 stone when my avatar photo was taken. I'm a medium build and 6' 1" tall. My face was already starting to look slim but I could easily have lost another stone off my body. The trouble is that I start to look ill below 12 stone. I'll settle for (say) 12 st 2 lbs - 12 st 7 lbs.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

right i am with you thanks just love climbing hills and want to get better at it

''Love climbing hills?'' pervert.

 

[ColinJ]

''Love climbing hills?'' pervert.

It's the kind of perversion that I'm into too! Assuming that my old CV system and legs permit it, I intend to take advantage of my steadily diminishing bulk and ride up the hills somewhat more quickly than I was doing before I got ill ...

 

[C Wood]

I'm 5ft6 and weight just 8st 8, but I've got a very light build.

 

[Typhon]

I'm 6'2" and when I started cycling I was 14 stone 12 and looked slimish in my clothes but significantly overweight with my shirt off. I'm now 12 stone 7 lbs and I still look slim in my clothes and I still look significantly overweight with my shirt off.

Thought I'd be getting close to my ideal weight but I'm really not. I'm a light build I guess, although I do have a fair bit of muscle in my legs and arms. I'm going to need to get down to 11 stone I think.

I'd have thought that losing fat was good in all cases though, as long as you don't go crazy and go below say 3% body fat? I can imagine how starving yourself and losing muscle mass would lose you speed and hill climbing ability but if you maintain the same muscles and lose fat surely that can only be a good thing?