Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance Paperback – December 1, 2009

Hats OffHats off to weight off! I have a fairly good library of books on endurance sport and think that this book, Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance, is a good addition to my collection.I have read some comments here that pick-apart theory within the book, but funnily how the correction is one that rests on unresolved research, therefore; the ideas presented are still worth considering. I also think that Fitzgerald cites his resources well, better than most books on endurance sport (quite like Noakes) and offers cases and research case studies as informative bits for readers to ponder. I like to ponder the well written literature from Matt.I would welcome an invitation to read a better book from these critics, honestly so, as the field could use other books on this topic and fur sure, in due time, aspects will be refined. I think that the criticism are also welcome in that if indeed true a future version(s) can address these. So, I also appreciate reading what "issues" people see: but this does not make it a bad book. Not at all.If you are an academic with deep knowledge in nutrition and are able to adequately apply this knowledge into the arena of sport and endurance sport, this book may be a review for you. Any academic also knows that for every research study investigating a hypothesis there are probably other studies that offer variations of levels of significance, and variations of the general hypothesis. Matt presents both sides, I feel, quite well throughout the book and I highly recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about weight and getting into peak performance shape: and you do as you are reading these reviews. I would quickly order this book if this is you.I had hesitated on this book for some time, but after finally ordering it found it quite interesting not only as "racing weight" reference, but as a general book as the reader is exposed to many studies, and short comments on some of the world's leading athletes out there (Tour de France riders to Marathoners).Since owning this book I have made several changes to my daily approach, directly from the book. Small changes that may be "common knowledge", especially for the well read, but the ideas "we know" become conscious and we can act - in sensible ways to try and make change.Bravo to a great book

First a disclaimer: I bought the Kindle edition, which I was disappointed to note was the 1st edition (this one) rather than the 2nd edition released in December. On a book of this nature, relying on current literature for its conclusions, 3 years between editions is significant.2 stars of the 4 stars earned by this book are due to its extensive list of references. References allow the reader to make up his own mind about the conclusions drawn. Indeed Fitzgerald doesn't just list references, but provides critical assessment of them, describing limitations of the experimental designs and the generality of the conclusions drawn.But similar skepticism needs to be applied to this book. There's a number of areas where I found myself shaking my head in disappointment.For example, the assertion body weight doesn't matter to the speed of a boat. Boats displace their weight in water, and more water displaced = more resistance. There's a reason racing boats are trimmed to the minimum possible weight.Later he argues that one should base body fat targets based on population averages for a given age. If population averages are a good guide, were I to move from San Francisco to Houston I should substantially increase my body fat target. He's quite clear the average person over-eats, especially during Christmas season, gaining fat throughout his life. So population averages are clearly not a good guide.He argues muscle is good because it increases metabolic rate. Look at any world-class endurance runner and there's no evidence of excess muscle: metabolic activity squandered on non-propulsive muscles is clearly not beneficial to running.I could go on.... but there are good lessons to be learned here.His dietary scoring system is generally nice: sure, calling nuts "lean protein" is absurd to anyone who's glanced at a nutrition label. But he qualifies that by noting that the fats in nuts is healthy and the fiber increases their satiation (this clearly doesn't apply to nut butters, in my experience, or to nuts mixed with dried fruit, but anyway...) He admits his simple scoring system is imperfect, and just a rough guide, which I appreciate.He provides evidence protein shakes decrease appetite. I hadn't realized this, based on evidence that liquid food sources tend to be less satiating. But I've since experimented with some all-natural protein-rich drink powders.He reviews evidence for a post-exercise metabolic boost, and shows how while it's there, the effect is much smaller than many claim.So I learned stuff, at least in the first half. The second half is a series of food diaries from pro athletes (surely biased: if asked to record a food diary of a "typical" day to be recorded for eternity obviously someone is going to take some care). Then there's a bunch of recipes which seem completely out of place (buttermilk pancakes with nuts have 2 grams of fat per serving????) A discussion of supplements is better, but then there's a series of page-eating exercises which are nice but hardly exceptional: I can find something similar in any copy of Runner's World.So within there's book there's about as much beef as I'd expect in a good magazine article, not a full-length book. But even one solid lesson justifies the investment. So I recommend it, but don't assume everything you read here is to the same standard.

I own a lot of books on training for bicycle races. Those books focus on periodization of training throughout the year and discipline-specific drills. Those are valuable if you are a newcomer to an endurance sport. If you've been racing for a while then re-reading those books has limited utility.Racing Weight addresses the fact that most amateur racers have a few extra pounds and these few extra pounds prevent them from maximizing their results in competition. This book outlines a system for figuring out how much energy is coming in via food and how much is going out via activity and how you can translate that into fat loss. It's simple and the author backs his system up well with lots of peer-reviewed research on diet and exercise physiology. It's a diet and lifestyle book, not a training book.The most important thing I did after reading was start a food journal. It's amazing how easy it is to pass on that late-night snack if you know you have to write it down. It's also really easy to use the web to figure out how many calories you are taking in throughout the day.It's tempting to share data on what 3 weeks following the Racing Weight system has done for me but that's not the point of my review. The point is if you are serious about improving your cycling, running, or triathalon performance and you don't currently have sub-10% body fat, this book will help you get there. Even if you simply want to improve your overall health this book is filled with tons of information on smart diet choices and the recipes rock. My wife is a professional chef and she loved all the recipes.So before you drop $5,000 on a superlight bike, buy this book and take a few pounds off the "engine."