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Body fat % during training
What is the ideal bodyfat % during Ironman training vs racing?
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What is the ideal bodyfat % during Ironman training vs racing?
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This is a fun topic for me. I went through a big and fast body comp change in 2015. Also, wife is a bariatric doctor who owns a fancy body comp machine just down the street, so all of my athlete/bodybuilder/crossfit friends regularly go there for free analysis.
I would say ELITE athletes and ultra-runner types race where Tim's BF% is, but that is far from average. My guess, based on my wife's data, is the average triathelete races in the 10-15% range and train in the 15-22% range. Those numbers may seem high, but match up with body comp measures done on real people regularly.
Many bodybuilders compete around at or under 4% to put Tim's numbers in perspective. Tim also won IMLP in '15.
Tim's advice is common - dont lose it too fast. I think that is safe advice, but may not apply in every situation. I dropped from 22% to 15% (~13lbs) in approximately 6 weeks between IMSTG and IMCDA, by mixing diet and IM training. Coach R did not approve! But my training held up, no injuries. My IMCDA race was not good, but honestly believe that had more to do with temperatures of 100+ than my body comp. I went on to lose another 7lbs in 4 months before IM austin (the slow way), to a BF of 12%ish. I am unable to appreciate any downside to my rapid weight loss compared to my slow weight loss. To this viewer, they were the same.
DS
This is often a hot topic among the team. Some thoughts for you here on the blog.