Matt Fitzgerald - Ideal race weight
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FitFitzy331
Posts: 308 Member
I was just wondering how much stock to put into the Matt Fitzgerald Ideal Race Weight calculator. I checked it out and it's saying that my ideal race weight is 123lbs and 13.6% BF. Right now I'm maintaining around 133lbs (5'4") and I can't really imagine myself 10lbs lighter. The last time I was 123lbs, I was a sophomore in high school and at the time I felt fine but looking back at pictures, I looked a bit gangly.
I would like my pace to be faster overall but I guess I'm wondering how much of a difference those 10lbs could make. I'm deciding between just continuing to maintain and train as planned or go back to aiming to lose weight for another 5lbs or so and see if that along with my continued training will help me get faster.
So does anyone aim for the "Ideal Race Weight," consider it a guideline within a range or is it just completely ignored and focused solely on training and nutrition?
I'm just looking for other opinions on this, I plan to think about it more before making any decisions on my personal goals.
I would like my pace to be faster overall but I guess I'm wondering how much of a difference those 10lbs could make. I'm deciding between just continuing to maintain and train as planned or go back to aiming to lose weight for another 5lbs or so and see if that along with my continued training will help me get faster.
So does anyone aim for the "Ideal Race Weight," consider it a guideline within a range or is it just completely ignored and focused solely on training and nutrition?
I'm just looking for other opinions on this, I plan to think about it more before making any decisions on my personal goals.
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I think it definitely has merit.
I didn't start running until 2011 at 40 years old and 260 lbs. (5'6"). 2 years later I was at 166-170 lbs. and setting PRs at every distance, every time out culminating with my first marathon in 2013. After a short break I kept the weekly mileage up but got very lax on my eating.
Currently at 182 lbs., 19% body fat (fitbit scale) and haven't hit a PR at any distance since that marathon in 2013. It's a struggle to hit paces I was hitting consistently 2 years ago. I realize age has something to do with that but so do those 12-14 lbs.
The calculator estimates my Ideal Race Weight at 168 lbs & 13.4% body fat. Based on my experience, I was definitely running faster and easier at that suggested weight. It's been a struggle to get back there but I'll keep fighting.0 -
It tells me I should be 110lb and 13.2% bodyfat - I think the weight part is probably plausible (though I feel good at 114-117), but I think that low level of bodyfat sounds very implausible for me as a woman in her 30s, and I hate to think how I would look and feel at that level.0
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I googled it, and this is way too much math for a humanities girl to handle. But I'm 135 now, and 5'3", so mine would probably be very similar to yours. I know I could race better 10 lbs lighter and with a lower BF% (especially around the middle... damn German ancestry!), but I'm looking more to be ~130 with a defined waist line
The last time I was near 120 lbs was in high school, and I'm never going to have that metabolism again, so I think 130 would be far easier to maintain. 0 -
mine says 207 lbs which i'm sure would be 'ideal for racing', but i would not want to be walking around that light.0
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I need to check out the calculator. I run faster at 117 which I am now vs 123-125 which is what I was last year. I mean, I instantly got faster. I dropped 5lbs between when I got home from the Disney marathon is January and march and I finally broke 2 in the HM. Pretty sure it was the weight loss. I'm F 5'6".0
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The BF% it gave me and other women who have posted is very low.
13-14%
That seems pretty unrealistic and difficult to maintain. That's essentially stage ready BF% for female fitness competitors...0 -
I've read his book that discusses it, and my memory is that it's more complicated and individualized, with a focus on your own performance too, but I can't go check now.
My sense is that yes, if running performance were the main thing you cared about, a body fat percentage of 17% or under for women (ideal is a range of 13-17% or some such? with lower generally being better?) would be expected--elite runners have quite low body fat and generally leanness (and even simply being lighter, for long distance running) makes you faster.
However, I don't think 17% or under is realistic for me, so I don't worry much about it.0 -
Thanks for your opinions everyone! I'm reading his 80/20 book now so after that I'll probably pick up Racing Weight and do a bit more research before making any sort of decision to lose more. I also thought 13% would be very difficult for me to maintain in the long term but maybe getting into the 120s wouldn't be a bad idea.
Thanks again!0 -
I'm actually also 5'4'' and weigh under 120 and I am nowhere near 13% bodyfat. Using the highly scientific 'looking in the mirror and estimating' technique, I'd put myself at about 18-20%. It's true that some of the other faster women runners at my club are skinnier than me, but I don't think they're as low as 13% either, and the handful really too-skinny looking local elites tend to perform better when fit but to be much more injury-prone in general.0
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I have not heard about this before so I googled and calculated my numbers. Yikes. According to this I am way off. It says my BMI should be 16%. Yeah I am no where near that and don't know if I could ever reach that or maintain it. I am pretty happy with my current speed. I mean I am never going win a race and that's not really why I run anyway.
It was interesting to see. 0 -
sinister2014 wrote: »mine says 207 lbs which i'm sure would be 'ideal for racing', but i would not want to be walking around that light.
I ran the numbers on his site and it says I should weigh 203 lbs which is pretty much dead on with what I thought was a good weight. I have to say running was much easier at that weight (205ish) and I need to get back there. I was getting comments about being too skinny at that weight so I know what you mean. My mother was worried about me and my girlfriend kept asking me to gain weight. I appreciate all the concern but still, I was over 200 lbs.
I'm in the processor of dropping slowly this entire summer since I have nothing scheduled. We'll see in the fall how this works.
%raceweight
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It seems the online calculator tool is pretty crude and is just designed to tell you that if you can lose weight you should (probably down to a certain point). Perhaps the book is more nuanced? I'd hope so!0
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I checked mine online and it says I need to weigh about 163. That was withing 2 pounds of my goal weight anyway so 15 pounds to go. I haven't weighed that much since high school so it will be a new running experience.0
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Is that an ideal weight for racing? Probably pretty close, although the body fat goal for women sounds low.
But is that the ideal weight for YOUR goals? Aesthetics, ability to adhere, general happiness, strength goals? You have to balance those against your desire to be a faster runner. Adding miles and losing weight made me a better runner, but my strength took a hit. I enjoy running more and progress there comes more easily to me, so that was a trade off I was willing to make.
FWIW, I am pretty much at my racing weight at 5'10.5", 155, and 10% BF. I followed IIFYM and not his DQS method though.0 -
What are you using to calculate your "ideal" racing weight? As I recall you are supposed to locate your current body fat% then move up 2 spots, unless you are in the top area when you only move up one. Are you trying to jump straight to the top section?
Another thing to keep in mind is that the goal of Racing Weight is to get ready for A race or A season; it is not meant to be the weight you maintain day-to-day for the rest of your life.0 -
David - it's just an online calculator where you put in your current details and it tells you what your 'ideal' weight would be - so it was ludicrously telling me to go from 18 to 13... which I'm pretty sure (as you say) is not really how it's meant to work.0
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Roxiegirl2008 wrote: »I have not heard about this before so I googled and calculated my numbers. Yikes. According to this I am way off. It says my BMI should be 16%. Yeah I am no where near that and don't know if I could ever reach that or maintain it. I am pretty happy with my current speed. I mean I am never going win a race and that's not really why I run anyway. It was interesting to see.
BMI and body fat are two completely different things.
The calculator from Matt uses body fat.0 -
Litsy that sounds like something that was generated using his formulas without any of the background considerations. I suggest you read the book, I found it much more useful than 80/20.0
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I think it has merit too. I'm 5'10 and about 142 right now. It says my ideal racing weight is 138 and I know I was much faster at about 135... Even five pounds makes a difference in my ability to hold quick paced for longer distances0
