Stijn Amundsen :: Blog :: Sports and bodyweight

It's so easy for larger athlete like myself to worry too much about body weight esp. when comparing yourself to other lighter athletes. I'm training hard and my body is getting stronger and I'm getting faster and feeling good, that should be the thing I measure more then anything. I'm sure that my weight will drop down eventually to what was my previous fastest weight was. But I'm learning the hard way that you'll drive yourself crazy if you prioritize weight control too much. Instead I need to look at more important factors such as performance etc.

I've been doing lots of hill climbing and fast paced riding and intervals the last month or so and I can tell I'm putting muscle on in my legs and it's making me actually put weight on even though I'm losing fat, all which are exactly what I want, it's just crazy how I could ride so much and not see my weight drop. I have a feeling once my legs are done adding muscle weight on, my body weight will start dropping quickly as the last bit of excess body fat I need to loose will be incinerated by continuing to train hard and having more muscle on my body which will require more calories to maintain which means a faster metabolism.

Now don't get me wrong I'm not obsessed with not having any body fat, actually the opposite I think a little bit of fat on your body is natural, and healthy and supports peak performance, and a healthy immune system. But you have to understand I'm still probably at least 30lbs over weight still. I started training again this year after having sat around and let myself go for the last 4 years, busy with growing my business etc. I started training again this year I could barely ride my bike around the block and I was 60lbs overweight. So I'm totally happy with my quick progress and just need to remind myself I'm coming from a state of being very out of shape and over weight and I need to have patience.