# Extremely Low BMI worth keeping?



## cperdue

I am 6'1 and 115 LBS My BMI is 15.2 I believe. I really enjoy hill climbing, obviously its not that big of a problem for me. My question is I have started eating 3000-3400 calories a day to conquer my metabolism and put on a little weight, help gain some leg muscle. Doctors say I am healthy its just a genetic thing. Will there be any major benefit for me to gain weight as far as climbing goes? Am I messing with a good thing? I think I am just mad lycra looks baggy on me. :mad2:


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## ZoSoSwiM

Don't try screwing up your metabolism.. You could give yourself problems. Your body is happy how it is. Eat more protein and maybe lift weights a little... don't eat yourself into gaining weight. You could give yourself diabetes.


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## Andrea138

That's highly unlikely.


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## bas

cperdue said:


> I am 6'1 and 115 LBS My BMI is 15.2 I believe. I really enjoy hill climbing, obviously its not that big of a problem for me. My question is I have started eating 3000-3400 calories a day to conquer my metabolism and put on a little weight, help gain some leg muscle. Doctors say I am healthy its just a genetic thing. Will there be any major benefit for me to gain weight as far as climbing goes? Am I messing with a good thing? I think I am just mad lycra looks baggy on me. :mad2:


extra padding?

butt pads? lol


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## Creakyknees

think about your "limiters". flatland / crosswind power? sprinting? how about general overall body health, looking good for the ladies?

some of those could be improved by some smart weight training, and some structured power / threshold work. If you want.


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## gonzaleziam

Just curious: how old are you and how often do you get sick?


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## cperdue

*Health.*

Actually I don't get sick often at all I am 27. I do have low iron in my blood so I have to take supplements but really my grandfathers on both sides were tall and skinny so it's just what I have to work with. As far as gaining wait to impress the ladies that sounds more like a normal roadie concern. I started biking and climbing hills for the little victorys of each hill and that sense of freedom and being alive you get from pushing yourself harder than you think you can go. As far as the ladies are concerned take it or leave it, lifes too short to worry about that ****. I need a shallow girl about like I need a bike pump in my wheel.


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## MarshallH1987

I wouldn't try to force a bunch of weight on by eating a bunch... just try to slowly add muscle mass over time bit hitting the gym and eating a well balanced diet.


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## ericm979

Your grandfathers and father all managed to reproduce, so it can't be that hard for a guy with your build to find women. 

Some more power, possibly involving more leg muscle, would make you faster. Getting fat won't. I am also built thin and I have not been able to bulk by weight lifting. I get stronger, I just don't get any bigger. Which is just fine for cycling.


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## cperdue

Thanks for all your help. A little muscle wouldn't hurt for head and crosswinds. I feel pretty powerless in head winds right now but I don't know anyone who isn't. Ha.


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## TedH

cperdue said:


> I am 6'1 and 115 LBS My BMI is 15.2 I believe. I really enjoy hill climbing, obviously its not that big of a problem for me. My question is I have started eating 3000-3400 calories a day to conquer my metabolism and put on a little weight, help gain some leg muscle. Doctors say I am healthy its just a genetic thing. Will there be any major benefit for me to gain weight as far as climbing goes? Am I messing with a good thing? I think I am just mad lycra looks baggy on me. :mad2:


First the disclaimer than I'm not a doctor or nutritionist and disclosure that I work in healthcare, but I am definitely not trying to sell you anything. 

I worked with an obesity research team and there was always discussion on BMI and whether it has meaning. The general feeling amongst those in the field was only at the high end and low end do you see it as a good proxy for issues; anything between 20-30 was not necessarily an issue. On the high end, visceral fat and other things are more indicative of issues. On the low end, things like eating disorders, metabolic issues and bone mineral density are some things that pop up with BMI below 19. A BMI of 15 is really low. For reference, I'm 6'4" and 180lb and I can see my ribs and collarbones; I can't imagine 115 unless I just got off a feeding tube from a coma. 

What was your caloric intake prior to upping to 3-4000kcal/day? How long have you been consuming 4000kcal/day and what was the resulting weight gain? In all seriousness, what has your physician or nutritionist said about this? Eating 4000kcal per day and weighing as little as you do may indicate an underlying issue. Definitely consider seeing a nutritionist or endocrinologist, something seems very odd about that kind of weight at your size.

Clearly would defer to any of the endos/nutritionists here.


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## heathb

If we take a look at the top pros in the world of climbing and the top one right now.

Alberto Contador. He's 5'9.5" 140lbs.

We take his weight and divide by his height. 140/69.5"= 2.01lbs per inch.

Michael Rasmussen another really great climber. 130lbs/68.5"= 1.90lbs per inch.

We take a look at your numbers cperdue. 115lbs/73"= 1.58lbs per inch. 

You are extremely skinny. Probably skinner than what would be allowed in the TDF. I think 120lbs is a very small man in that race. They'd probably be afraid that your bone mass would shrivel up to nothing....just kidding.

It's time for you to start a really good diet, workout with weights and start putting some weight on. 

Consider the best climbers/stage racers tend not to get any lighter than 1.8lbs per inch.

We know you can climb, but how about hammering on the flats?

I'm 6'2" I tend to stay inbetween 160-165. My ribs stick out and my waist is really skinny. I can't imagine losing 40lbs.


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## cperdue

You see thats the difference, I am 6'1 and 120 (yes i checked and I have gained 5 lbs since starting this crazy calorie fest) and you can not see my ribs. You can see my color bone. Really its like someone stretched a short skinny person to 6'1. I do have slimmer than normal bones it seems. I drink milk regularly but who knows if that really helps. You might be able to blame it on being in appalachia. Our water is contaminated with coal slurry and our air is filled with fumes from oil refineries. We power half of the US but we get no funding to counter act the health defects. I do go for the regular checkup but endos and nutrionists aren't really an option for "the middle class" here. Minimum wage is so low company health insurance is more like a 5% off coupon. My regular calorie intake before I upped it was about 2000 to 2300 calories a day. I do have a habit of a half a pack a day of cigarettes I am trying to get rid of. Seriously though I would assume this is just genes. I would notice a tape a worm I am pretty sure. I was also a C-section baby because I wrapped my umbilical chord around my neck several times before I was born, that could be it as well. Blood tests come back clean other then low iron. I really think statistics miss out when it comes to something as random as genetics. If you are studying obesity this is the 5th fattest city in the nation. A hard place to live when your tall and skinny. "you need to get some meat on dem bones" says the mouth breather gasping for air as he pats the three feet of belly hanging over his belt. WV is a unique case study. The people affected most by the environment and the coal mining here are too stupid to see what is happening because its their only paycheck. I will refer you to this youtube video of belligerent coal miners trying to start fist fights at a peaceful anti mountain top removal gathering. http://agoraphobicfit.squarespace.c...-thugsabusive-coal-thugs-try-to-break-up.html


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## cperdue

I think I do suck at flats, I went on a 20 mile ride with a friend who was on a windsor fixy the other day and he stayed 40 feet ahead at least the whole time. I sadly only use my big front cog on down hills, he uses his all the time lol.


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## Ventruck

Weight training on top of the eating will be the fastest way up. Of course, do the homework on getting the suitable diet that will be worthwhile. The key is to build, not alter everything about yourself.

BMI is really a statistical thing that is there just to see how you stack up. If I know right, average BMI =/= correct BMI. Averages have gone up overtime due to change in diet, and in this nation, a good number of people are overweight. Still, 15.1 is really low even in past times.

However, I do think that you should find a second doctor's take just to re-assure you're in good health (considering the conditions you mention in WV). To think me _targeting_ 140lb at 5'10.5 was pushing it...Your BMI is surprisingly low and I hope for you that it's healthy. But besides that, imagine the power to weight ratio you could come up with when the muscle's built. Most of you would likely be muscle as opposed to fat despite the gain in weight and you'd still be reasonably light. :thumbsup:


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## cperdue

*Thank you!*



Ventruck said:


> Weight training on top of the eating will be the fastest way up. Of course, do the homework on getting the suitable diet that will be worthwhile. The key is to build, not alter everything about yourself.
> 
> BMI is really a statistical thing that is there just to see how you stack up. If I know right, average BMI =/= correct BMI. Averages have gone up overtime due to change in diet, and in this nation, a good number of people are overweight. Still, 15.1 is really low even in past times.
> 
> However, I do think that you should find a second doctor's take just to re-assure you're in good health (considering the conditions you mention in WV). To think me _targeting_ 140lb at 5'10.5 was pushing it...Your BMI is surprisingly low and I hope for you that it's healthy. But besides that, imagine the power to weight ratio you could come up with when the muscle's built. Most of you would likely be muscle as opposed to fat despite the gain in weight and you'd still be reasonably light. :thumbsup:


THANK YOU! That's the optimism I have needed.


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## bikeguy0

cperdue said:


> I am 6'1 and 115 LBS My BMI is 15.2 I believe.


Show us a picture man. I am having a hard time picturing what 6'1" and 120 lbs looks like.


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## cperdue

bikeguy0 said:


> Show us a picture man. I am having a hard time picturing what 6'1" and 120 lbs looks like.


Nah. I already fight for the self esteem I have. Maybe you'll get lucky and see me pass you someday


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## heathb

Well if your fair boned then I can see how your weight is so low. 

You've got the classic really hard gainers body. 

One thing I'd start doing though is getting rid of those cigarettes. They supress your appetite and all those other things they do for you that is counter productive to your health. 

Anyone can gain muscle mass and increase bone density. It's going to take a lot of work however. 99 out of 100 times people that state they can't gain weight is usually due to not eating enough calories. There's a good reason guys that go off to a two week football camp come back with more beef on their bones, they shovel the food in and workout all day long. Not saying that this is a good approach in your case, but if you up your calories you will gain weight. Just make sure you're doing some weight lifting, mostly compound lifts like squats, dead lifts, bench press, don't waste your time with isolation lifts with light dumbells, you're better off after a few months of developing proper form sticking to the barbell to maximize your strength.


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## mondayC

bikeguy0 said:


> Show us a picture man. I am having a hard time picturing what 6'1" and 120 lbs looks like.


FWIW, Christian Bale was 122 in The Machinist and he's 6' almost exactly.








I would definitely get some bulk on, but try avoiding fat pounds.


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## heathb

mondayC said:


> FWIW, Christian Bale was 122 in The Machinist and he's 6' almost exactly.



The info on that movie has it that Bale ate 1 apple and coffee each day for four months to prepare for that role.

Next came his first Batman and he had 6 months in which he went up to 230 with the help of a trainer and then back down to 190.

Bale mentioned that when he had to gain weight back he had lost so much muscle that he couldn't even do one push up. 

I'll say one thing for Bale he's dedicated to his craft.


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## ttug

*unfair and you know it*



cperdue said:


> You see thats the difference, I am 6'1 and 120 (yes i checked and I have gained 5 lbs since starting this crazy calorie fest) and you can not see my ribs. You can see my color bone. Really its like someone stretched a short skinny person to 6'1. I do have slimmer than normal bones it seems. I drink milk regularly but who knows if that really helps. You might be able to blame it on being in appalachia. Our water is contaminated with coal slurry and our air is filled with fumes from oil refineries. We power half of the US but we get no funding to counter act the health defects. I do go for the regular checkup but endos and nutrionists aren't really an option for "the middle class" here. Minimum wage is so low company health insurance is more like a 5% off coupon. My regular calorie intake before I upped it was about 2000 to 2300 calories a day. I do have a habit of a half a pack a day of cigarettes I am trying to get rid of. Seriously though I would assume this is just genes. I would notice a tape a worm I am pretty sure. I was also a C-section baby because I wrapped my umbilical chord around my neck several times before I was born, that could be it as well. Blood tests come back clean other then low iron. I really think statistics miss out when it comes to something as random as genetics. If you are studying obesity this is the 5th fattest city in the nation. A hard place to live when your tall and skinny. "you need to get some meat on dem bones" says the mouth breather gasping for air as he pats the three feet of belly hanging over his belt. WV is a unique case study. The people affected most by the environment and the coal mining here are too stupid to see what is happening because its their only paycheck. I will refer you to this youtube video of belligerent coal miners trying to start fist fights at a peaceful anti mountain top removal gathering. http://agoraphobicfit.squarespace.c...-thugsabusive-coal-thugs-try-to-break-up.html


Your low BMI and a industrial dynamic that has been boiling for over 100 years are in no way related. Want to talk? PM me. A little hint, you have no idea what a thug is


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## Nubster

Just curious where in WV you live? I am in WV too in Romney up in the eastern panhandle. I would guess your down around the Logan or Boone area the way you talk about the coal mining.


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## cperdue

Nubster said:


> Just curious where in WV you live? I am in WV too in Romney up in the eastern panhandle. I would guess your down around the Logan or Boone area the way you talk about the coal mining.


Actually I am in Huntington wv. I was raised in Wayne until my teens. Huntington isn't so bad but we have a lot of crackheads.


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## Svooterz

Ventruck said:


> To think me _targeting_ 140lb at 5'10.5 was pushing it...


Hey, that's exactly my height and pretty damn close to my weight, and I never thought I was pushing it! 'Sure, it depends on your body build - your bones may be larger than mine and truth be told, my shoulders are slim - but it seems like a nice weight target to me 

I'm at 142lbs at the moment and my weight has been damn stable for a few years. Starting to race and paying more attention to my diet hasn't got me any lighter or heavier, but I know I did lose a bit of fat - not that I had much to start with, anyway.

I'm perfectly satisfied with my weight and if you are too, why would you try to change that?

To the OP : Training wisely and eating well may or may not make you gain weight, but it'll make you a stronger cyclist anyway. Isn't that the most important?


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## Argentius

*That is little.*

I suppose I would say "It depends upon what your goals are."

If the doctors say you are "healthy," then I would not worry about it too much, but, I stopped really reading in too much detail when I found you were a regular daily smoker.

Before you spend too much energy thinking about or fixing whether your height and weight are an issue to health or performance, I'd take care of the thing that you know is a problem for both.

There is a fairly narrow height / weight range that almost all top professional cyclists are in. You are well below it, if that matters to you.


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## stevesbike

bottom line: you won't be able to gain muscle mass while doing significant endurance training. As a 'hardgainer' you'll have a hard enough time gaining muscle mass with little to no aerobic work (bodybuilders do not do much aerobic work except when cutting weight for a show - endurance training is antagonistic to muscle development).

If you just want to add some bodyfat and continue riding you should buy some good sources of dense calories (cheap ones are like Kraft dinner; more expensive ones like hardgainer supplements). When I was in my 20s and racing a lot (at 6'3" and barely 150lbs) I had to eat 10,000 calories a day just to maintain body weight and not get sick (needed to have 2 servings a day of a 900 calorie hardgainer), so it's not easy. 

Have you had your thyroid and/or testosterone checked? Honestly the only way you'll put on any significant muscle is if a doctor prescribes something (either to tweak your metabolism or boost your testosterone).


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## Ventruck

Svooterz said:


> I'm perfectly satisfied with my weight and if you are too, why would you try to change that?


I'm at 146-7lb at the moment. Want to push to about 140lbs (in the healthiest manner of course) simply to 'optimize' my form. If I end up settling for 142-143lbs, I really wouldn't mind because odds are I've cut enough fat and made some muscle with the training as you mention. In no way do I feel fat at all. There's just a bit more I'd like to make out of it.


Considering AC is shorter by an inch and 140lbs, I thought my target was pushing it.


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## heathb

I think we can all agree that if you do one thing for yourself whether you gain a pound or not you must stop smoking.


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## Nubster

cperdue said:


> Actually I am in Huntington wv. I was raised in Wayne until my teens. Huntington isn't so bad but we have a lot of crackheads.


Trust me, no shortage of them up here...lol...I was in Huntington a couple months ago for with a co-worker for work related training. Buddy of mine (works for Huntington PD) took us on a tour of the city, all the good parts of course (projects). Pretty interesting stuff. We did catch the 3 Doors Down concert. Got in for free too. I was going to come down for a bike patrol class at HPD last weekend but missed the sign up date.


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## cperdue

I just quit so I'll update you in a week or two. I had a nice little 27 mile ride tonight. I want to do anything that makes me better.


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## heathb

You doing it cold turkey or with the help of a nicotine replacement. 

Good luck to you. Stay away from other smokers so you don't get tempted. In your case you could eat to comfort your withdrawl.


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## UrbanPrimitive

Full disclosure: I'm not affiliated with any medical profession, supplement producer, nor representing any commercial interest.

I'm 6' and weigh in between 133 lbs and 140 lbs depending on what time of year you catch me, and just quit smoking myself (Cheers for the tough work done and for the tough work ahead). It sounds like our consumption patterns are pretty similar. When I'm not on a seasonal lay off (hurray for working in Michigan) I generally eat about four or five meals a day, and all of them are pretty substantial. At most I gain and keep about two or three pounds a year. The only suggestions I could give that would make any difference is looking at a protein supplement that also carries mineral content (magnesium, potassium, and an assortment of B's) so you can actually USE the protein! A lot of people taking protein supplements like whey based weight gainers and so on don't realize how expensive their urine has become. Quitting smoking will change things for you a bit. A lot of people gain weight because nicotine is an appetite suppressant. I lost weight because I started being more active, despite eating more. Of course there's the common sense suggestion that when you up your calorie intake, you should increase all the types of food you eat. That means a lot more vegetables and fruits too. I've seen plenty of people screw up their blood pressure by eating two or three times as many eggs or burgers and forget they need greens too.
One resource I think may be very helpful for you is looking into diet by blood type. It seems silly, but it's a great place to start getting information about what types of food your body may not be processing well. I've discovered that I don't digest milk well, but if it's cultured (yogurt, cheese) I'm fine. Similarly loading up on carbs does me no good at all. I may as well be eating packing peanuts as pancakes. If your body operates at all like mine, you may want to try a diet high in lean protein (lots of chicken, fish, eggs, and beans. Less beef, more buffalo [as it is easier to digest and thus takes fewer calories to get the nutrients out]) and tons of greens (kale is great, spinach instead of lettuce on sandwiches, cucumbers for fiber, carrots, et cetera).

Take Note: when trying to feel out a new diet regimen, _High Fructose Corn Syrup_ and _Sugar_ are your worst enemies! They're like heroin for your digestive system. While consuming them your body won't be able to tell you accurately what foods it needs by making you crave something. On that note, when you crave a food, that's your body telling you what nutrients it needs.

Good luck mate. We're all pulling for you!


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## DirtTurtle

You said you dont want to be told "you need to get some meat on dem bones", yet you put 5 pounds on in couple of days because of calorie intake. Do you see the correlation between eating and putting on weight. Either you have an underlying medical problem or not eating enough, and id say the latter as you seem to put weight on easy. 
If they original posts were honest , id say supplement your diet with extra servings of something as simple as rice or pasta, and keep up vitamins etc through veggies. You have internet, cycle and are concerned about weight and crosswinds so i pressume these are quite affordable. I used to have an extremely low bmi and was very health, still am fairly skinny but have an althletic build rather than look scrawny like rasmussen, my torso is simply small in comparison to my height and limb length, so low bmi is possible. 

As indicated before 6"1 and 115 is bascially considered gravely ill or at least some kind of medical problem in 99.9% of cases, the body generally keeps a nice healthy layer of fat etc unless you are speciffically eating very little or trying to lose body fat %.


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## rose2009

Hi, your idea is very interesting , I really like it. Thanks a lot


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## Zilla

ZoSoSwiM said:


> Don't try screwing up your metabolism.. You could give yourself problems. Your body is happy how it is. Eat more protein and maybe lift weights a little... don't eat yourself into gaining weight. You could give yourself diabetes.


putting on muscle and a bit of fat is not going to give him diabetes.

OP, you probably need more like 4-5k with an endurance sport.

start with your 3k or whatever, see if you're gaining. Up it by 500cal a week untill you are gaining, aim to gain .5-lb a week.


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## TheOcho

This is so unbelievably creepy and personal and off topic.

The internets is a dark, damp, creepy place with poor ventilation and the persistant odor of a low rent rest home. 


Cheers


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## ilovejuve

i am 6'2" and race right now at 190 lbs. oh how i would love to be at 175. once you are healthy forget all the bs. you would know if you were not healthy....trust me.
just say thank god you were blessed with a kickin metabolism!


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## Hippienflipflops

dude, i really really need to see a picture, i cant imagine 6' and 115...


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## estone2

Zilla said:


> putting on muscle and a bit of fat is not going to give him diabetes.
> 
> OP, you probably need more like 4-5k with an endurance sport.
> 
> start with your 3k or whatever, see if you're gaining. Up it by 500cal a week untill you are gaining, aim to gain .5-lb a week.


Why? Why should he try to gain weight?

I don't understand. F the BMI. Follow body fat percentage. If he's below medically underweight, his appetite will fix that in a hurry, and he'll end up the right weight. Every time I've ever gone below 5% BF, my appetite has more than compensated and I've ended up back where I started within 2 days.

He's blessed with a low weight. OP: Ride, and eat however much your body tells you. If you gain weight, you gain weight. If you don't gain weight, you don't. Either way, you'll get faster.


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## robm90

At your youthful age, if you start a reasonable full body weight training program to go along with the calorie increase you will be able to reach the amount of muscle mass your genetics allow. More muscle should help your cycling, as at your current low weight you are lacking in muscle compared to top riders.


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## Marty01

cperdue said:


> I started biking and climbing hills for the little victorys of each hill and that sense of freedom and being alive you get from pushing yourself harder than you think you can go.


truer words havent been spoken on these forums in a loong..loong while! actually rather chilling reminder as to why I started biking

as far as your weigh goes.. if your eating healthy and healthy amounts.. itl get into something more normal for your height..

I`m 5`11```.. used to weigh about 145.. stopped riding a few years and hovered around 170-185 .. theres some gym workouts in there and some just eating stupidly on my part.. if I had to do it all over again.. I`d make sure I don`t eat stupid instead..

eat right.. don`t stop biking.. the rest should fall into place.. and talk to your family doctor if you have one!! great source of info there.. specially if he-she is sports oriented


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## eminefes

Hippienflipflops said:


> dude, i really really need to see a picture, i cant imagine 6' and 115...


Just look at the pic of Christian Bale in The Machinist. He ain't gonna look much different than that. 

I'm 6' and 25 years old, and my weight is around 135. I've just always had a really high metabolism due to genetics. That will change someday, so I figure I should enjoy this while it lasts.


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