So, I was looking around to see how much time I could take off of my races by losing a few pounds. I found one study that said each kilogram of extra weight increased oxygen needs by .625 percent. This may seem small, but that'd mean a 4 minute miler could take off 1.5 seconds just by losing about 2 pounds (assuming it's fat). Does anyone know of any other studies? This one was by Curton, Sparling et al. done in 1978.
Also, a pound or two could also just be the difference of running on a full or somewhat empty stomach.
I could stand to drop a few.
I think the rule of thumb is you gain 2 sec/mile per pound lost. So a 10 lb reduction in weight can shave 10sec per mile off race times. I.E. 10 lbs lost can improve your 5km time by about 1min and 10km time by 2min. In my experience with yo-ypo weight loss and gain I stand by this theory. However the opposite is also true, gain 10 lbs and watch your times slow down by 1min per 5km.
Time to lose weight.
Keep in mind that study mentions nothing about race time...only "oxygen needs".
Alan
And so...
For a 70kg runner who uses 70 ml/kg O2 to run a 15:00 5k losing 1 kg would mean a reduction in oxygen cost of .625%...70 ml/kg - (70 ml/kg x .625%) = 69.5625 ml/kg to run a 15:00 5k. Got it?
Run longer, run faster, the weight will take care of itself.
Alan
Should I try to lose weight because I'm 15 years old, male, 5'7" and 138 pounds but i don't look over weight but I eat 4 meals a day. What should I do?
only eat 3 meals and run your ass off
oh yeah wrote:
only eat 3 meals and run your ass off
This is not a good idea.
Better idea is to keep eating 4-6 meals per day but count your calories and cut out junk calories like soda.
If you start counting yout calories, you may be surprised how much calories you are actually taking in per day.
counting calories leads to eating disorders i think because you become a little obsessed. just eat 3 meals, and don't eat after supper. switch to diet pop if you must drink that kinda stuff. eat healthy foods. the way i figure, a banana is alot easier to burn off than a candy bar.
richard dorlan wrote:
counting calories leads to eating disorders
The idea behind counting calories is to eat EXACTLY what you need to compete at your best. Just like training, eating too much or too little will both be detrimental.