Hey there, Coach Kyle here!
Today I want to talk a bit about improving your body composition. Have you ever looked up what a good race weight would be for someone of your gender and height? What about an optimal body fat for running?
Recently my scale put me at my lowest adult weight and body fat, 145 pounds! Now that may seem pretty light, but if we look at my actual body composition, a better picture of what’s going on, I’ve got some fat to lose.
When I use my scale it suggests I’m 19% body fat and if I use my calipers I’m still getting a number around 16%. Don’t get me wrong, both are healthy body fats, but if I’m trying to run to the best of my abilities…putting in the training, investing in past coaches, paying for races, gear, good nutrition, etc…part of what I’m NOT doing is being at optimal race weight.
I feel like there’s a negative vibe around someone who is already light, trying to lose more fat, so let’s see what a very rough estimate would be for my optimal race weight (not year-round weight).
A general way to do it would be to take your height in inches and double it. That number + / – 5 pounds or so is a good range, and for me that’s 130-something pounds. Going through the calculator at racingweight.com suggests an ideal race weight of 137 pounds and/or 11% body fat.
So in the video here, I discuss ways that I’m safely and sustainably losing fat, and some of those methods are:
1) Intermittent Dieting2) More Strength Work3) Walking on the treadmill while I work4) Not lowing my food intake
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You keep running, and I’ll keep coaching.
-Coach Kyle