Why are so many cyclists too skinny?
04-21-16, 02:47 PM
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They say it because it's still politically correct to call someone skinny but if you suggest someone may be overweight the lectures begin.
04-21-16, 02:48 PM
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Um, have you seen the size of most Americans? I just had this convo with my GF the other day. There are people I see that I thought were normal sized, only to realize that they are actually overweight, but compared to how obese most Americans are, sorta fat is now normal, and being fit at all is skinny. I'm 5'9, 153lb and I'm still trying to shed those last 3 lbs (actually to get to 68kg). I don't consider myself skinny at all. If this were Europe, no one would bat an eye at a cyclist's body type.
You're also implying that European body type is the standard benchmark. I think cyclists are very concerned with body image as a general populous.
04-21-16, 02:54 PM
#28
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^^^Yeah, according to some chart my doctor has I should be in the 150's, but I've always been heavier than my ideal weight.
I've changed my diet (no dairy, bread, sugar, pop, pre-processed stuff... more fruits and veggies, fish, nuts). I just reached 188 only after an illness I'm currently recovering from.
My boys are 5-10, 5-11, and they both weight around 125-130 lbs. While not strong riders they levitate over the short overpasses/bridges around here.
I have nothing but respect for those that can attain that level of fitness/leanness. F I could reach 170 by year's end I'd be very happy.
I've changed my diet (no dairy, bread, sugar, pop, pre-processed stuff... more fruits and veggies, fish, nuts). I just reached 188 only after an illness I'm currently recovering from.
My boys are 5-10, 5-11, and they both weight around 125-130 lbs. While not strong riders they levitate over the short overpasses/bridges around here.
I have nothing but respect for those that can attain that level of fitness/leanness. F I could reach 170 by year's end I'd be very happy.
04-21-16, 03:19 PM
#29
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I hear it all the time, from non-cyclists. My friends, family, even my wife... "you're too skinny!" It's not for lack of eating! I pack down 3,000-5,000 kCal/day, but I still hear about how everyone thinks I'm too skinny, along with those same people thinking most cyclists are too skinny. I'm not sure about this phenomenon, and if it's supposed to be taken as a weird sort of compliment, or a sign of jealousy/self-loathing.
My view of the world is...its largely a bunch of fat @sses including from whenever this comment is directed toward me.
You will notice something. You will never hear that comment from fit people. Consider the source.
PS: you want to see skinny? My two favorite GCN riders who btw can drop anybody on this forum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNedIJBZpgM
Last edited by Campag4life; 04-21-16 at 03:26 PM.
04-21-16, 03:22 PM
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04-21-16, 03:50 PM
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I can imagine. At 5'11" and 205, it sure would be nice to cut 70-80 pounds from the load, but before I could exercise my way to 180, I'd be packing more back on as muscle. Definitely not a bad thing, but I'll have to buy all new suits again at this rate.
04-21-16, 04:10 PM
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^^^Yeah, according to some chart my doctor has I should be in the 150's, but I've always been heavier than my ideal weight.
I've changed my diet (no dairy, bread, sugar, pop, pre-processed stuff... more fruits and veggies, fish, nuts). I just reached 188 only after an illness I'm currently recovering from.
My boys are 5-10, 5-11, and they both weight around 125-130 lbs. While not strong riders they levitate over the short overpasses/bridges around here.
I have nothing but respect for those that can attain that level of fitness/leanness. F I could reach 170 by year's end I'd be very happy.
I've changed my diet (no dairy, bread, sugar, pop, pre-processed stuff... more fruits and veggies, fish, nuts). I just reached 188 only after an illness I'm currently recovering from.
My boys are 5-10, 5-11, and they both weight around 125-130 lbs. While not strong riders they levitate over the short overpasses/bridges around here.
I have nothing but respect for those that can attain that level of fitness/leanness. F I could reach 170 by year's end I'd be very happy.
04-21-16, 04:47 PM
#33
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Weighed myself this AM and still hanging at 142lbs. Will be 66 in July and at 5' 8.5" I'm off my comfort weight of 136lbs that I used to be before the prostate cancer drugs started last year. Don't like putting on my cycling shorts with a bit of a squeeze in the abdomen.
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04-21-16, 05:11 PM
#34
Non omnino gravis
My wife tells me I look "too skinny"-- I hear it every day, 6'2" and 185lbs. But this is because she remembers me from about a year ago when I was pushing 240lbs. She's long forgotten that in my HS days, I was 6'2" and 145lbs. There's no way I'll ever see that HS weight again, and I'm okay with that. I've got bones poking out as it is.
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04-21-16, 05:28 PM
#35
Portland Fred
I adjust my habits if I'm off target by more than 2 lbs. 10 lbs is the weight of a gallon of milk plus a large block of cheese. Or a 4 season expedition tent and a sleeping pad. Or a reasonably stout set of telemark skis and bindings. Carry that much extra up the side of a mountain if it's not totally necessary? No thank you...
04-21-16, 05:46 PM
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04-21-16, 05:51 PM
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What's funny is many of the PC police here participated in a recent thread on blonde jokes. I'm sure lots of blonde women are offended. Or not.
What happened to the ability to laugh at yourself?
Last edited by StanSeven; 04-21-16 at 05:55 PM.
04-21-16, 06:20 PM
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My wife tells me I look "too skinny"-- I hear it every day, 6'2" and 185lbs. But this is because she remembers me from about a year ago when I was pushing 240lbs. She's long forgotten that in my HS days, I was 6'2" and 145lbs. There's no way I'll ever see that HS weight again, and I'm okay with that. I've got bones poking out as it is.
04-21-16, 06:38 PM
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Off subject but this PC stuff drives me crazy. It's like no one can say or write anyone that could be considered offensive.
What's funny is many of the PC police here participated in a recent thread on blonde jokes. I'm sure lots of blonde women are offended. Or not.
What happened to the ability to laugh at yourself?
What's funny is many of the PC police here participated in a recent thread on blonde jokes. I'm sure lots of blonde women are offended. Or not.
What happened to the ability to laugh at yourself?
04-21-16, 06:56 PM
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I just don't understand all their rules. Skinny models are unhealthy but "plus size" models are to be celebrated. Even though millions more die of obesity. This site has a sub forum for Clydesdales, they even have their own nice label which is good, but nothing for underweight cyclists. They're just freely called skinny, which I'm sure makes some of them feel bad. I don't think even the PC crowd knows the rules.
04-21-16, 07:08 PM
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I just don't understand all their rules. Skinny models are unhealthy but "plus size" models are to be celebrated. Even though millions more die of obesity. This site has a sub forum for Clydesdales, they even have their own nice label which is good, but nothing for underweight cyclists. They're just freely called skinny, which I'm sure makes some of them feel bad. I don't think even the PC crowd knows the rules.
6 years ago I was an undernourished cyclist. I was uninsured, sustained a very serious injury while cycling, and went bankrupt during the recovery. When I was able to return to work, bills consumed so much of my income, that proper nourishment was impossible. My weight got down to 145lbs (@6'2").
I was called scrawny on a daily basis by casual acquaintances, and most of them didn't understand why I got so pissed off by their comments.
04-21-16, 07:11 PM
#43
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I really think this is a hard one. Truely obese - sure.
In the USA Hispanics live longer says new study. Another study said they had higher BF. Japanese liver a longer time and have higher BF than many in the USA.
We (family and friends) play with weight a lot and composition a lot. I am convinced increasing BF a wee bit 2-3% makes my kid a better bike racer. And increasing 5% in my wife made her much faster (was a veggie - fattened her up to race). The athletes I see in body building and some diets are too lean to race well. I don't know the science behind that but seems below 7% as a male and below 15% as a female - you get slower.
In the USA Hispanics live longer says new study. Another study said they had higher BF. Japanese liver a longer time and have higher BF than many in the USA.
We (family and friends) play with weight a lot and composition a lot. I am convinced increasing BF a wee bit 2-3% makes my kid a better bike racer. And increasing 5% in my wife made her much faster (was a veggie - fattened her up to race). The athletes I see in body building and some diets are too lean to race well. I don't know the science behind that but seems below 7% as a male and below 15% as a female - you get slower.
04-21-16, 10:49 PM
#44
Portland Fred
04-22-16, 01:13 AM
#45
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Top riders on the world tour my height?...guys that can hold 300 watts for 3 hours straight on a bike like Froome? 150lbs
My view of the world is...its largely a bunch of fat @sses including from whenever this comment is directed toward me.
You will never hear that comment from fit people. Consider the source.
My view of the world is...its largely a bunch of fat @sses including from whenever this comment is directed toward me.
You will never hear that comment from fit people. Consider the source.
unless, your mission in life is to compete and perform like an endurance athlete.
luckily, my livelihood does not depend on that.
the same at the other extreme. people who go to the gym and lift weights dont all aspire to look like muscle monsters who likely cant wipe their own butts
im settled now at 155-160# for 5'10"... back when i was 145 and stuffing myself to put on more mass, it wasnt really a good luck any way to slice it
04-22-16, 01:28 AM
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Um, have you seen the size of most Americans? I just had this convo with my GF the other day. There are people I see that I thought were normal sized, only to realize that they are actually overweight, but compared to how obese most Americans are, sorta fat is now normal, and being fit at all is skinny.
04-22-16, 03:47 AM
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"Too skinny" for what?
That's like asking why football players are "too fat."
Perhaps more than in any other activity, in cycling, excess mass is a distinct disadvantage. For the vast majority of the population there's no advantage to being bulky either. Seriously, why should an insurance salesman be as big as a lineman? Most guys that big are nowhere near that strong, so the size is just a liability, but evidently it's just easier to get so fat than to stay trim.
Sure, for some ways of life, some extra mass is important, but most people who are bulkier than your prototypical cyclist are only that much blobbier - "too fat" for just about anything they need to do.
That's like asking why football players are "too fat."
Perhaps more than in any other activity, in cycling, excess mass is a distinct disadvantage. For the vast majority of the population there's no advantage to being bulky either. Seriously, why should an insurance salesman be as big as a lineman? Most guys that big are nowhere near that strong, so the size is just a liability, but evidently it's just easier to get so fat than to stay trim.
Sure, for some ways of life, some extra mass is important, but most people who are bulkier than your prototypical cyclist are only that much blobbier - "too fat" for just about anything they need to do.
04-22-16, 04:02 AM
#48
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I think this reveals more about the "norm" in America. Folks who actually weigh what they should almost appear threatening to many.
My story - I got this "Godshot" if you will when I was a freshman in college. I was partying, drinking beer and exercising little. My weight was above 160. (I used to be 6' 1/2", long arms and legs.) The Godshot? That I was to never weigh more than 160 pounds; that I had a body that could not handle it. If people start telling me I look good, that is as reliable as a scale. I need to lose weight.
As a bike racer, I weighed 145 pounds. I had/have never felt better. I'd walk to lunch having ridden a quick 45 miles before breakfast knowing I was living in a state of fitness only a very small fraction of the population ever see and loving it. I was a full 15 pound under the "you're looking good".
Ben
My story - I got this "Godshot" if you will when I was a freshman in college. I was partying, drinking beer and exercising little. My weight was above 160. (I used to be 6' 1/2", long arms and legs.) The Godshot? That I was to never weigh more than 160 pounds; that I had a body that could not handle it. If people start telling me I look good, that is as reliable as a scale. I need to lose weight.
As a bike racer, I weighed 145 pounds. I had/have never felt better. I'd walk to lunch having ridden a quick 45 miles before breakfast knowing I was living in a state of fitness only a very small fraction of the population ever see and loving it. I was a full 15 pound under the "you're looking good".
Ben
2) You obviously are not the average person and you appear quite fixated about your own weight/appearance
04-22-16, 04:13 AM
#49
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Off subject but this PC stuff drives me crazy. It's like no one can say or write anyone that could be considered offensive.
What's funny is many of the PC police here participated in a recent thread on blonde jokes. I'm sure lots of blonde women are offended. Or not.
What happened to the ability to laugh at yourself?
What's funny is many of the PC police here participated in a recent thread on blonde jokes. I'm sure lots of blonde women are offended. Or not.
What happened to the ability to laugh at yourself?
Normal shots at thin people are generally by fatties who struggle with their weight. They want to be thin but of course they aren't willing to ride a bicycle 2 hours a day to achieve it and eat a balanced diet and lay off the alcohol. There is a reason why models are thin.
Last edited by cb400bill; 04-22-16 at 06:34 AM. Reason: Removed political content.
04-22-16, 04:15 AM
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I just don't understand all their rules. Skinny models are unhealthy but "plus size" models are to be celebrated. Even though millions more die of obesity. This site has a sub forum for Clydesdales, they even have their own nice label which is good, but nothing for underweight cyclists. They're just freely called skinny, which I'm sure makes some of them feel bad. I don't think even the PC crowd knows the rules.