Recently i have been watching my weight to keep it around 126lbs, i'm 5'9. yet recently i thought what's the point, and now i eat what i want and have seen some gain in weight- now 130-132 lbs (, very low bf%, clearly defined muscles)and my times have improved dramatically in the 5k. i'm a more fast twitch runner (better at short distances, good sprinter), yet i thought you needed weight loss to run better, so how is it i've seen improvement?
You've seen improvement because you run better when you're not severely underweight.
Lighter is not always better. Every runner has an optimum weight. They will run worse when they are heavier or lighter than this weight. Usually being underweight is worse than being overweight, it's just really hard to be underweight for most people.
Guppy wrote:
Lighter is not always better. Every runner has an optimum weight. They will run worse when they are heavier or lighter than this weight. Usually being underweight is worse than being overweight, it's just really hard to be underweight for most people.
QFT
Guppy wrote:
Lighter is not always better. Every runner has an optimum weight. They will run worse when they are heavier or lighter than this weight. Usually being underweight is worse than being overweight, it's just really hard to be underweight for most people.
I would rather be underweight. It is by no means healthy, but being overweight has the same negative effects with the additional weight slowing you down. This is of course, assuming we're talking about desirable effects pertaining to running.