Does weight loss improve athleticism?

Maurice Greene was 160 pounds at 5"9, before he went to train with John Smith. At the height of his career, he was 185 pounds in his prime, when he was the greatest sprinter in the world, the prolific 100m sprinter of all-time, and greatest championship sprinter of all time.

Usain Bolt..? afew years back he was a very tall and skinny kid.

Its not weight loss that improves athleticism, its power to weight ratio.

David Haye has a great power to weight ratio.

 

If you're fat, yes.

 

what do you mean by power to weight ratio for a human, how can this be measured?

 

Fat is usually seen as an indicator for poor conditioning.

For its own sake i think it affects athleticism, fat people tend to get tired a lot quicker, its probably a combination of a heavier body and a less productive metabolism, theres also less range of movement and agility. Fat people sweat a lot more so becoming dehydrated quicker and heavy people can have strain over joints, muscles and ligaments.

 

Labs measure that ****

I would think power to weight ratio is pretty self explanatory, it is power relative to your weight, not power overall.

ie. heavyweights hit harder than welterweights generally, but for their weight a welterweight may hit harder.

The same is especially relevant in powerlifting

 

Coordination: Having excess fat will impair your agility.
Energy: A heavy body requires more energy to do certain tasks.
Strength: Not really affected by a little extra fat, but what good is strength if you are unable to use it because you're out of gas or unable to get to someone.
Balance: A lean body is easier to balance than one with extra lumps of weight.

And so on. I'd say it improves athleticism greatly.

 

just a heads up.. extra muscle mass built via sarcoplasmic hypertrophy will result in a smaller gas tank than extra fat via decreased capilliary density

 

?? Any advice on ways to avoid this as primarily endurance athletes (boxers)? :good

 

don't go for quick muscle mass gains.

low volume strength training doesn't tire you out so much, and therefore fits in well with all the usual fitness training.

At this point I would recommend Ross Enemait's 'Infinite intensity' book. I don't follow the strength program part exactly but he has the best compromise between strength and fitness for boxing imo.

 

Thanks mate, just ordered- can I ask your qualifications and if you work in the industry?

 

Also, you should definitely get on the rosstraining.com forums. There's a lot more intelligence going on over there compared to here.

 

Cheers bud- you got a link?