The weight game

I'm not a pro or even an expert so I've never been super hung up on getting down to sub 10% body fat. But last year I lost some weight and got close to the lightest I've been in almost 10 years which still isn't anywhere near 10%BF.

No real super secret to it, just sort of stopped eating as much. But I'm at the low end of the weight range (130-140lbs), and even a few pounds loss/gain is significant. But at my height (5'4.5") a pro would be 125 or less.

Since the season ended in October, my riding time has dropped to 0-5hrs/week and a lot of lifting. My weight has gone up by 7-9 pounds since then. Usually I can tell when I'm putting on fat by my face. It hasn't changed too much so I'm hoping that most of that weight gain is muscle.


Once hypetrophy ends, I move into strength phase (I am doing 2 rounds of 2weeks each of Hypetrophy and strength this off season) which has only two days of lifting, and I am cleared to do more riding. And moving into power there is even less lifting and more riding. And from power I move out of the weight room completely and back onto the bike.

Historically, any weight gain over winter has been lost by the start of the season. With travel to family, lower activity and higher food availability it is easy to put on weight. I'll 'try' to not gorge, but it is so easy.

After seeing some pics of Rasmussen over at Nick Martin's sight
I promptly stopped lifting upper body. I can put on muscle in my upper body by just looking at weights, and just mountain biking around here keeps my upper body muscular, so I figured I didn't need anymore.

I couldn't imagine actually weighing my food or really getting focused on my diet, but if I was a pro I imagine it would be a more serious concern. But weight lifting requires food. And riding in the cold requires food. So I'm not going to 'diet' but I try not to get into the mountain biker's credo of eat as much and of anything you want cause you're riding if I can help it. But 3 for 1$ Reese's don't count.