Recently I've seen a lot of pro triathletes mention "Racing Weight" on their twitter feeds or web sites. Since I haven't stepped on a scale in about a year, I have absolutely no idea how much I weigh right now...let alone on a racing day.
My regular dietary plan consists of (1) eating generally healthy the majority of time, (2) making certain exceptions for my favorite foods or sauces (ex. I eat full fat cheese and I tend to overdo it on full-fat sour cream and Pollo Tropical's "mustard curry" sauce,) and (3) trying not to eat garbage close to a race or a long weekend workout. But, after seeing all the pros talking about "racing weight," I got to thinking...is there more to it? Is weight really all that important?
So, I did a little bit of research.
(1) What is Racing Weight?
Essentially, the term is synonymous with "Weight Management." The consensus seems to be that "racing weight" requires experimentation and the goal to get as light as possible without sacrificing strength. In an article on Chris McCormack, Triathlete Magazine noted that "It is possible to become too light, losing not only extra pounds but also essential pounds that you need to perform your best. It is also possible to reach the “right” weight the wrong way, by under-fueling your body."
(2) How do I reach my ideal Racing Weight?
Unfortunately, it seems that it's not as simple as just having to watch what I eat. According to nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald an athlete might want to start with basic calorie counting as a way to raise their own nutritional awareness. Once an individual gets a better sense of how many calories they consume on a daily basis and what foods they regularly eat, they can stop the annoyance of calorie counting in favor of general dietary management.
Chris McCormack makes another suggestion because getting leaner doesn't necessarily make you faster and ultimately getting faster is the goal. Triathlete Magazine notes that McCormack saw that the best way to get faster through weight loss was to go fast in training. Keeping weight loss goals practical is key, they note. It's important not to go overboard with the weight loss or dietary management.
(3) Is there a specific formula I can use?
In his book "racing weight" Matt Fitzgerald writes "Your optimal performance weight has to be functionally defined. What it means is simply the weight that allows you to perform at your best. One way to determine that is to get in the best shape of your life and when you have the performance of your life, get on the scale."
It seems that, although different dietitians have varying formulas for weight management for endurance athletes, it's still largely a guessing game specific to each individual.
(4) So where do I go from here?
Honestly, I'm still not very sure. I think a lot of it depends on how much free time you have to pay attention to calories, fat intake, protein intake, etc. For those of us that don't have the time (or just don't feel like) calorie counting, I think the solution might just be to buy a scale and keep track of the correlation between weight and how you feel while training. So, I'm personally going to try to get on a scale and see exactly where I'm at for the moment. Because, I guess I can't figure out where I need to get to if I don't know where I am.
I'm also going to do some more research on nutrition for endurance athletes by trying to get in touch with a nutritionist friend of mine and will keep you posted if I find more specific information of how to calculate ideal race weight. And, I'd of course love to hear any of your own thoughts on the issue.
Happy Training,
Silver Jade
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