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Ideal weight and times.

I am 6ft (182cm) and 87kgs.

Just wondering what you guys think is an approx good weight for doing triathlons and faster running is something I need to work on so what are good times for 5 and 10 k, also, what time is good for doing each km?



Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    Unfortunately its not quite as simple as that, as ideal weight will depend on muscle mass and fat levels, and can also depend on muscle mass distribution. What I mean by this is if you look at the elites they often have fairly large legs for bike and run power, but very lean upper bodies despite the swimming, have a look at their biceps my nans got bigger arms!

    But I will compare you to myself, I am 6'1 and I weigh 75kg, I have a very low fat percentage, but years of building in the gym has made my upper body slightly bigger than I want, so I am to loose about 2-3kg in mass, by increasing my tri-specific training and decreasing gym time.



    I would say you should principally be aiming for sub 80kg, with a long term goal of around the 75kg mark, but as I mentioned this is highly dependent on your body composition as muscle weighs more than fat.



    In regards to the run times it really kind of depends what you are running now and how competitive in the race you want to be! I personally would be aiming for a approx 16 min 5k as I can run sub 15 on the track. However in my last race i had terrible stomach cramps and came in at about 19 mins!

    I would say a sub 20 min 5k and sub 40min 10k would be good aims to go for whatever level your at!
  • BeanoBeano Posts: 15
    I feel like a tool but here is a pic of my current state, a lot of my backround is in sprint based stuff like gaelic football, so I will ask you guys whop know far more than me, what would i need to do if I am going to give tri's a decent charge?



    actually, tried to put a pic on from my bebo, any suggestions? tried the add image buton, no joy.
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    If you have a background in sports thats a great start, so many people who get into try have had a fairly sedentary up until then and end up doing really well.



    If you've played sports like gaelic football I'm not surprised ure the weight you are as they will have caused you to put on a fair amount of muscle mass over the years. This is not a problem at all.



    What you have to understand is that the human body the way it is now is built on tens of thousands of years of evolutionary development and adaptation. A huge part of this is a drive for efficiency, do a movement over and over again and the body will not only get better at performing it, but also at doing it with less effort, in the form of effort needed and so fuel needed.

    Your body composition also changes as your body needs it to, to reduce the effort needed if you allow it to with the proper nutrition etc. What this means is that take a longer distance runner, they have developed fairly lean upper bodies, as mass is not needed in this area as it doesn't add to the drive, but they may still be built in the legs to provide power.



    So, what this all boils down to is if you continue to run, bike and swim you will begin to develop a more efficient body shape and composition, which will make you faster. This will take a long time! Don't expect miracle results! Thats why I never advise anyone on here to go on diets specifically to loose weight, i.e. low carbs, as training for triathlon long term will cause the body fat to drop and the body to become more lean. At the present it is more important to fuel yourself appropriately for training sessions, otherwise you will do more harm than good.



    In regards to the pic if may be too large the limit on kb is quite small.
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    As above, a well developed upper body may pull you through the water at a good rate of knots but is a hinderance in the bike and run. In running I have been told that every pound of excess weight (including muscle that is not used in running) adds 1 second for every mile, i.e. 3 seconds for Sprint 6 seconds for Olympic. As you will find there are some obsessives about minimising weight on the bike - £25 for a carbon or titanium bottle cage to save a few grams!! So any excess weight equates to a couple of hundred quids woth of titanium bling (with me probably about a grand).



    Again the old balancing act 5lbs of upper body muscle may add a minute or so on an Olympic but if you can pull back 3 minutes on the swim you are ahead. But there again is the upper body development geared towards swimming, as mentioned previously look at developing/maintaining only those muscle groups that are important which is easy for me as I don't have any - well I'm trying but only have a couple of pimple on my arms [:D]
  • BEEFBEEF Posts: 43
    Sorry for butting in but being 6ft 5" and 20st looks like I'm stuffed for taking up Tri's!!!



    Oh well......[:D]
  • TommiTriTommiTri Posts: 879
    not really, if its 20 stone of muscle you could be ace, power on the bike, long strides on the run and you will be the longest boat in the water!
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