Coach just told me i'm fat, what do I do?

I'm 5'8 and 145 ibs, I can't imagine being almost 6 foot tall and weighing less than what I do now(outside of the running dysmorphic community, you are too skinny) . In my experience, trying to reach some arbitrary weight just results in not being able to train as much and more time on the couch being injured(for example in high school I always maintained a weight of about 115-120 ibs at my current height. Guess what? I was always injured and very fragile. Now weighing extra 20 ibs I am more stronger and almost completely injury free since getting heavier/stronger). Me personally, just follow Sara Hall philosophy. Do not focus on the scale, focus on training and eating right(but don't go overboard and become orthorexia.).

https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a20864045/racing-2-marathons-in-5-weeks-sara-hall-is-not-afraid-to-test-her-limits/

What people forget is everyone has different genetics. While Kenyans and Ethiopians can be 6'0 and 130 ibs, they have different genetics from Europeans(even within Africa certain ethic groups are bigger and more muscular.). Europeans due to evolution usually require to be a bit heavier to be healthy. For many different reasons, such as body fat, muscle, bone structure etc. A few professional runners around your height, a few heavier, and a few lighter.

Rod Dixon 6'1 and 154 ibs

John Walker 6'0 and 160 ibs

Lopez Lomong 5'11 and 155 ibs

Chris Solinsky 6'1 and 165 ibs

Ben True 6'0 and 164 ibs

Paul Tergat 6'0 and 137 ibs

Abdihakem Abdirahman 5'11 and 133 ibs

Alan Culpepper 6'1 and 130 ibs

Galen Rupp 5'11 and 134 ibs

Can't find the article anymore, but there was a good article about Ben True talking about how if he tried to loose any weight it didn't work out well.

Really not enough info. I was 148, 5’11 in college. Many of my teammates were similar in heighth, but usually 10lbs or more less. I have always had a more broad shoulder muscular build as opposed to skinny runner build. If my teammate and roommate who normally weighed 133 went up to 147 it definitely would have been noticeable.

That being said, weight is a touchy subject for coaches. As a coach I have had address weight in two ways. The lazy senior whom I knew very well and knew could take the wake up call to get his butt in gear after not training all summer. And the sophomore boy who decided thinner was better and was starving himself (that was directed to his parents and recieved medical attention.

Otherwise, weight is not really something that should be addressed.

HiSorry wrote:

Hi sorry, I'm a 21 year old guy in College, distance runner - skinny legs tbh - running the 5k in 3 weeks

You said he "shredded" you but it seems like he did it pretty respectfully. Are you really that sensitive that this upset you? You're a college runner, coaches say these things to runners when they need to.

To be honest 147 at 5'11" is not wildly overweight for a college distance runner. But for your height, a number closer to 140 probably would be ideal. I know in college when I dropped 5 lbs it made a huge difference. I dropped 7 or 8 more post college and that really made a difference moving up in distance.

Two guys on the same team, doing the same training will not be the same weight. One may eat very well and get adequate sleep while the other eats junk food and drinks too much and stays up too late. The unhealthier one may weigh 10 pounds less than his healthy team mate but the stupid coach tells the healthier, faster one to lose weight. He then comes here and many people give him bad advice.

dunes runner wrote:

SlowFatMaster wrote:

Say to coach, "Well, you're ugly and stupid" and go from there.

+++

Actually, tell him that's an ignorant thing to say and that he's way out of line to say something like that to someone he's supposed to be coaching. If he continues to give you a hard time, then report the a-hole to your parents and the school board.

This is important. A coach shouldn’t be giving you a hard time about this no matter what. Not ok.

BMI is an especially awful way to motivate aspiring runners. Waist circumference to height might make more sense but even then, wouldn't it best to encourage healthy diet?

BMI also ignores that elite runners tend to be fast at any distance down to 100m. Find 100 men with 19.5 BMI and it will be extremely unlikely any of them can run even 3000m at world record marathon pace.

Makh-Daddy, 5'9", 154lbs

https://youtu.be/CIntDRQqONY

Alan Webb, 5'9", 145 lbs

https://youtu.be/F1M4d5qYoyg

Are people here saying a coach shouldn't get a boy with a chubby gut to trim up? You can't say that to a girl, but if a varsity boy is chubby, coach should tell him so.

nurderwen wrote:

Are people here saying a coach shouldn't get a boy with a chubby gut to trim up? You can't say that to a girl, but if a varsity boy is chubby, coach should tell him so.

No, we're saying he doesn't have a "chubby gut." Fast runners come in different dimensions. As long as kid is eating healthy and running the miles / doing strength work then he is fine.

Some of us - not enough - are also saying it's harmful to say things like the above. Whether is a girl or boy.

Some of the a-holes on here are giving harmful advice and should get a kick in the nuts.

That’s a dumb criterion. Every college runner will tell a coach that he is eating healthy. The coach owes it to the runner to tell him that he will run faster if he loses weight. The coach told my son to gain weight. The coach tells him how much sleep to get. Next, the crybabies won’t allow a coach to tell the athlete what to do at all, just provide some calm advice.

Coach should focus on body composition. If you have very little muscle, then a bit of fat trimming in conjunction with muscle building would be good. Eat more, lift more, and run more. Don't diet.

But in the world outside running, your BMI of 20.5 means you are emaciated and shockingly thin. People normally think of least 200 or 250 pounds for a man of that height to be considered fat.

You don’t want him to have a diet? Should he only drink water? That doesn’t seem sustainable. I think he should eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with some quality protein and whole grain.

No way Jose wrote:

The coach owes it to the runner to tell him that he will run faster if he loses weight..

That might not be true. Look at Makh-Daddy and Webb. Really strong legs on them both, both higher BMI than the OP. Depends on the OPs body, and he's probably not going to post photos for us to judge.

SkinnyFat wrote:

Hey everyone,

so yesterday my coach told me that I need to watch what i'm eating and that I look a few pounds over race weight. I'm currently 5'11 ft, 147lbs - which I thought was okay tbh.

At this point I might just quit after being shredded that hard - what should I do?

Ask them for a second opinion.

(Okay, you're ugly too. -baddabing!

Eat more!

File a Title iX grievance...

SkinnyFat wrote:

Hey everyone,

so yesterday my coach told me that I need to watch what i'm eating and that I look a few pounds over race weight. I'm currently 5'11 ft, 147lbs - which I thought was okay tbh.

At this point I might just quit after being shredded that hard - what should I do?

What should you do?

Stop being such a pu$$y

nurderwen wrote:

Are people here saying a coach shouldn't get a boy with a chubby gut to trim up? You can't say that to a girl, but if a varsity boy is chubby, coach should tell him so.

The OP is not chubby.

Regardless of that, NO, the coach should not say anything.

Other people will say plenty enough, and the person will make their own choice about what they want to do.

This is a troll, and everyone's out here eagerly justifying their weight lol. Never cared about weight, never will. I eat what I want, as much of it as I want, and I run fast.