Why are so many cyclists too skinny?
 

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.

Hmmm, I think I see what you did there.

It means different things coming from different people. Some people think it's a good thing, some are expressing some kind of guilt for somehow not wanting to punish themselves, others think we have physical or mental health issues, and others think we're freaks because cyclists body proportions aren't what you find in the general population.

But as to why, it ain't a mystery. If your burn rate is consistently higher than what you take in, your body will show that.

Normal person skinny = bike racer fat.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CapYnS3UYAIFvsg.jpg

sz. L golf shirt and sz. L cycling jersey

I used to be skinny.... then I discovered Chipotle.

Road biker skinny is mountain biker emaciated.

You're able to absorb calories in the time between consumption and screaming (streaming?) exit?

Obviously the OP hasn't seen Chris Froome...with his pot belly. :roflmao2:

It's not skinny, it's aero.

Dunno, but it's my excuse for being slow. The ideal climbers physique is sickly looking

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

Well that's what processed food does :P Easy to metabolize.

The wife sez I look like I escaped form a concentration camp. I guess that means I have a pound or two more to lose:D

Golf shirt sizing are just ridiculous, they are vanity sizing. A regular fit Adidas golf shirt in size L is YUGE!

It's aero- skinny people have less frontal area. Also, skinny people like cycling because unlike football you are unlikely to end up in the hospital.

Ummmm... many cyclists, including myself, ended up there.

Ok, ok, LESS likely. Also skinny folk don't like being tackled.

I was 6'2'' at 162lbs at highschool wrestling weight. I did not feel great, I did not even look great. I then went through my second puberty where I lifted, ate everything, and turned into a man. Cycling does not like men, they like high school wrestlers.

I envy them. i'm 5'9", weigh 188 lbs, and have to work my butt off to lose 1 lb, which I immediately gain back just by breathing... :mad:

I'm 5'9, athletic, and weight 160...but I'd probably be healthier if I lost 5-10 lbs of fat.

More golfers need to walk the course.

No hand carts either; pack those clubs on yer back!

I played basketball in high school at 5"8-9ish" and around 168lb. My college playing weight was around 173........at less than 10% body fat. Like you, I never felt really bad, but never felt good either. Always tired. Got back to 168 one year during 3 a days. The family thought I was sick and told me to go to the doctor.

I hear some of the weights that wrestlers competed at and I just can't imagine how they got there. Then I hear the horror stories. I have a buddy that wrestled in the Big 8 back in the 80's. He's 5'7" and his current tri racing weight is 150. I asked him one time what his wrestling weight was. He said he wrestled in the 115 & 123 lb divisions. I said, "was that in high school?" "No, it was college" he said. Then he would tell me some horror stories. He finally quit the wrestling team and moved to their cycling team. He said it was a whole lot easier. He could eat what he wanted and not worry about his weight so much.

Need to add that I'm meso-type. Can leg press substantially and can put very decent sprinting numbers. But try as I might my body kinda settles on a certain number under which I tend to lose power quickly and I have to work to maintain that weight, or else it goes back and settles around 190-195. But, at least no potbelly here! :D

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.

double post fail