Maintaining a low body weight is essential for performance in cycling. Extra weight can slow you down, or at the very least cause you to burn more energy than you would if you weighed less. Weighing less can instantly improve your climbing ability, even without additional training.
Body Fat
To perform at peak level, a cyclist needs to be lean. According to Training for Cyclists, your total body fat should be between 6 and 8 percent. One way to determine body fat is to use an online calculator. You will need body measurements for areas such as your waist, wrist, hips and arms, as well as height and weight. There are other more complicated methods used to determine body fat percentage, such as DEXA scanning -- which uses X-rays -- water displacement and bioelectrical impedance analysis. Typically, a body fat percentage of 10 to 20 percent is considered good to excellent for men ages 20 to 40. Having a body fat percentage of 6 to 8 percent means that 92 to 94 percent of your body is lean body mass, which is muscle, tissue and bone.
Optimal Weight
Matt Fitzgerald, endurance nutrition expert and author of the book "Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance," says there is no formula for figuring out your ideal weight to perform at your best. His advice is to get in the best shape of your life, and when you have your best performance, get on a scale -- that is your ideal race weight.
Power-to-Weight Ratio
This is also referred to as watts per kilogram. It's a measure of physical performance and power output based on your body weight, or how many watts of energy you can produce in relation to your body weight. This is especially important for cyclists, because weight can affect their ability to climb hills. The more you weigh, the more power output is necessary to produce the amount of energy needed to climb. So the less you weigh, the less output is needed to achieve a certain amount of power, which equates to more efficient riding. A little extra weight can also affect the time it takes a cyclist to achieve maximum speed on flat rides based on the same principles.
Achieving Ideal Race Weight
There are many strategies to reach your ideal race weight. Many of them include some combination of a healthy diet, exercise and training. For example, Training for Cyclists recommends fewer repetitions when performing strength-training exercises. More reps increase muscle mass over time, but it will also increase your overall body weight, which is not desirable. Fitzgerald recommends balancing your food sources. The body gets energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins, and you should consume a healthy balance of all three.
References
- Running Competitor; Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance; Matt Fitzgerald
- Core Performance; Find Your Ideal Racing Weight; Pete Williams; June 2010
- Training for Cyclists; Need to Reduce Your Fat Percentage?; Jesper Bondo Medhus; March 2010
- American Road Cycling; Cycling Performance Simplified; January 2011
- Training for Cyclists; Why Should Cyclists Train Like Weightlifters?; Jesper Bondo Medhus; October 2009
- Health Status: Body Fat Calculator
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