How much does weight affect performance?

1 lb is worth 1-3 seconds per mile

You'll have an optimum weight. below it and you'll get ill, above it and you'll get sluggish. At my peak i'd be within 1-3 pounds. No need for scales, you can work this out by feel.

Jock Strap wrote:

You'll have an optimum weight. below it and you'll get ill, above it and you'll get sluggish. At my peak i'd be within 1-3 pounds. No need for scales, you can work this out by feel.

You know exactly how much you weigh without looking at scale?

pics?

pounds wrote:

You know exactly how much you weigh without looking at scale?

Yes. You can find your optimum without the use of scales. Why limit yourself to a number?

If fit I'd tell you my weight within a pound or two.

I weigh myself every morning because it keeps me accountable to myself so I don't gain back all of the weight I lost. I feel like I need a number. Can I still improve as a runner if I have five extra pounds? Does anyone feel like they are healthiest at a weight where they are starting to look too skinny?

You can improve with putting on weight, for example adding muscle and feeling good & strong with it. Your own personal bodyframe will dictate limitations.

As you're noting your weight every day you'll eventually find a balance that best suits your running.

Personally, I couldn't go skinny as I'd feel drained and ill.

Jock Strap wrote:

You can improve with putting on weight, for example adding muscle and feeling good & strong with it. Your own personal bodyframe will dictate limitations.

As you're noting your weight every day you'll eventually find a balance that best suits your running.

Personally, I couldn't go skinny as I'd feel drained and ill.

This. There are naturally thin runners who eat a ton and run well. If a person who is not built like that tries to get that thin, they can hurt themselves and run slow.

Just focus on your training and let your body adapt to its natural shape.

Typical 2 seconds per pound over optimal race weight, and more likely an exponential reduction. So for the first 10 lbs over is about 20 seconds per mile and the next 10 might be more like 30 seconds per mile. 1 or 2 pounds more than likely will do nothing.

Few things to consider, bio mechanics, internal resistance and heat dissipation. If anyone has any studies done on this please provide a link.

Jock Strap wrote:

pounds wrote:

You know exactly how much you weigh without looking at scale?

Yes. You can find your optimum without the use of scales. Why limit yourself to a number?

If fit I'd tell you my weight within a pound or two.

No you can't. If you didn't have access to a scale for a year, you would not be able to just guess exactly how much you weighed.

slacker_runner wrote:

Can I still improve as a runner if I have five extra pounds? Does anyone feel like they are healthiest at a weight where they are starting to look too skinny?

Male runners weigh significantly more than you and have continued to improve. So can you.

pounds wrote:

No you can't. If you didn't have access to a scale for a year, you would not be able to just guess exactly how much you weighed.

I could tell you with accuracy via training sessions. Try a boxing forum and they will tell you the same.

Runners are lucky they don't have to rely on making weights but there are fixed limits that don't fluctuate too much. Im not talking about a runner that is 5ft 4ins one year and 6ft 1ins the next.

Have some faith in your own ability to read your own body signals, it's more accurate than any scales.

Jock Strap wrote:

pounds wrote:

No you can't. If you didn't have access to a scale for a year, you would not be able to just guess exactly how much you weighed.

I could tell you with accuracy via training sessions. Try a boxing forum and they will tell you the same.

Runners are lucky they don't have to rely on making weights but there are fixed limits that don't fluctuate too much. Im not talking about a runner that is 5ft 4ins one year and 6ft 1ins the next.

Have some faith in your own ability to read your own body signals, it's more accurate than any scales.

Again, no you could not and no they could not. I've done sports with weight classes and not me nor anyone else could guess exactly their weight without looking at the scales for a year. If so, then your training is wrong. Training should provide you with changes in body composition over time like more or less muscle/fat/water weight which means your weight changes. There is no fixed limit.

OK, you win. Whatever I did for 15 years was a myth. I bow to your guess work. I was imagining being a dedicated pro, training around other dedicated pro's who mythically knew what they were doing

Jock Strap wrote:

OK, you win. Whatever I did for 15 years was a myth. I bow to your guess work. I was imagining being a dedicated pro, training around other dedicated pro's who mythically knew what they were doing

But you never did it for more than a year. You and your pro friends never didn't weigh themselves for a year. So what are you talking about?

And you completely ignored my remarks about changes in body composition that come with training that result in weight changes. If your body isn't changing, then you and your friends did not know what they were doing.

Out of season it was better to have a little puppy fat but you would know how long it would take to get back to fighting weight. You would know when you were there or there abouts. (within a pound or two)

I'm assuming you're not talking from experience.

I was running a race I had to weight for a train. That affected my performance by 87 seconds.

Jock Strap wrote:

You'll have an optimum weight. below it and you'll get ill, above it and you'll get sluggish. At my peak i'd be within 1-3 pounds. No need for scales, you can work this out by feel.

IMO, this ^^. Your body will figure it out, no need to weigh yourself on a scale, count calories, etc. As you increase miles and/or intensity, if you're hungrier than before, EAT MORE! If you're not a highly experienced runner, there are so many other physiological variables at play I don't believe you can know and/or measure your optimum weight, other than by how you feel (physically, not mentally!)

Actually, on the "personal body frame" thing, you probably CAN get skinny, you just have to train like it. If you only run 50 mpw but try to diet to drop weight, you'll feel sick. But if you run 100 mpw your body can get to that same lean weight but still feel good. In either case you just have to let the weight follow your training, and not try to force it.