|
Have you coveted the lean, wiry body of an elite-level runner or cyclist? Most
of us, stuck with a pickup-truck chassis, want to look like our heroes and
heroines. And elite endurance athletes are almost uniformly lithe. Body fat
percentages for top male runners average 5 to 6%; women, because of child-bearing
demands, about 5% higher. Pro cyclists are a bit more muscular, due to the
power demands of the sport, but male riders average a lean 8% fat. Again, top
women cyclists’ fat levels are about 5% higher. In addition to low body fat,
these athletes are typically quite small. It’s a truism that male marathoners
can’t be successful if they weigh more than two pounds for every inch of
height. Quite a few top women marathoners are 100 pounds or under.
Striving for the Endurance Waif Look
Because elite endurance athletes have the lean builds that society currently
lionizes, it’s tempting to think that if we could just train as much as they
do, we’d get equally thin. Many recreational runners and cyclists put in massive
training miles while on restrictive diets in the mistaken belief that they can
get that greyhound look.
Tell you what: It ain’t gonna happen. While a sensible training regimen coupled
with a moderate and nutritious diet is the path to good health and in most
cases will cause body fat percent to decline, it won’t change your body type
significantly.
- They chose their parents carefully.
Young athletes naturally gravitate to
sports where they’re successful. Muscular, fast people become football players
while those gifted with outstanding vertical jumps and eye-hand coordination
become basketball players. In the same way, small, wiry athletes with a high
level of endurance capacity tend to become runners or cyclists. The sport
doesn’t mold the body in its image; rather the athlete chooses, often unconsciously,
the sport for which he or she is most suited. According to experts, “it’s
natural selection rather than training,” that decided elite runners would
be small and offensive tackles large. So if you started life with a football
body, no amount of training will miraculously convert you to
a string bean.
- Running and cycling are mass-dependent sports.
Successful cyclists have to
climb well because it’s on climbs that most selections in races take place. And
because light cyclists generally have a better power-to-weight ratio than
heavier ones, they are almost always better climbers. The old adage, “you
can’t race if you can’t climb,” is demonstrated in local events as well as
the Tour de France.
Runners, have to lift their mass with every step they take,”
even on a flat track or road. The ideal endurance athlete has the least amount
of body fat he or she can tolerate and still retain general health along with
only appropriate muscle. Generally that means their legs are lean but muscular,
because the legs power the body along while their upper bodies, which do little
to contribute to running or cycling, are extremely light. If you naturally
carry substantial muscle in your upper body, training only the legs with running
or cycling will cause the arm and chest muscles to get smaller, but only
proportionately.
- Heavy runners are culled by injury, heavy cyclists by hills.
Some relatively
hefty people are quite talented runners and cyclists. Even if they have the performance ability,
their careers are often derailed by injury. And heavy cyclists generally can’t
climb well enough to challenge in mountainous races.
Is there any hope that a recreational athlete can get lean? Of course. Work with
what you have, accept the body type you were given and enjoy riding and running.
You may never reach the extreme leanness of elite athletes, just as you probably
can’t equal their performance achievements. But you can increase your health,
reduce excess body fat, enjoy the sport and socialize with other people who share
your interest in fitness.
The bottom line? As you train, you’ll maximize the
endurance capacities of your own unique body. But you probably won’t change it
a lot because the basic shape was determined at conception.
|
