# Body % Fat **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 7, 2002, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731 "2002-07-07T03:25:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cykrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@cykrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cykrider)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731/1 "2002-07-07T03:25:16Z")
Hey dopers, Here’s the deal, I’m a cyclist and I’m hoping to become a better one. The thing is, I’m 6’6" and 200lbs. Which means I’m probably about where I should be in terms of my size. However, hills have never come easy for me due to my size. Training is working, but I know things will get easier if I drop 10 lbs. Now here’s the question. If I’m say (the normal) 20-15% body fat now, and I knock it down to 12%-8% body fat, what kind of changes in terms of weight and more importantly health am I looking at? Is it dangerous to have such a low % body fat? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731/2 "2002-07-07T03:32:58Z")
I’m assuming that you are male. 8-12% body fat is not really that low for men. (It would be nutty for a woman, unless she was an olympic athlete or something). In order to really improve your bike performance, you’ll have to improve your cardio, more than your fat %. Theoretically, you could just bulk up your muscle mass, and your overall fat % would go down, but you would have just as much problem with hills. I would focus on increasing your cardio - your fat % will probably go down as a side effect. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731/3 "2002-07-07T15:25:30Z")
Have you been doing strength training? Your training would also be a lot easier if you put on some muscle in your legs. That would cause your weight to go up a little at first, but it would also kick up your metabolism and cause you to burn more fat in any activity. ---
**Author:** ![cykrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f19dbf/32.png) [@cykrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cykrider)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731/4 "2002-07-07T21:01:09Z")
First off, yes I am a male. And to answer some of the other questions, I am planning on starting a strength training program. This program will hopefully take what body fat I have and turn it into muscle, so if say, I’m 15% body fat, and I turn 5% into muscle I’m now 10% body fat. It’s this new low level of body fat that I’m worried about in terms of my health. I guess now that I realize that I’ll still be around 200-205 even the program, I’ll have 5% less “dead weight” to carry up the hills. Improving cardio is always a concern for cyclists but as of now tha’ts not my main focus b/c I’m at such a strong level. Which leads me to another question I’ve had in the back of my mind: Is it possible to increase your lung capacity? Maybe with deep breath training or something? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![g8rguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@g8rguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/g8rguy)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731/5 "2002-07-07T21:21:31Z")
I wouldn’t worry about 10% body fat at all, for a guy. When I was in high school, at least, I hovered in the 5%-6% range and was perfectly healthy, so 10% should be quite okay. ---
**Author:** ![d12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/71c47a/32.png) [@d12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/d12)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731/6 "2002-07-08T00:02:15Z")
Slight Highjack… Without buying one of those expensive doohickeys to calculate my body fat, is it possible to do by making some length of toe \* length of finger + nail length - 200 = body fat? or math equation? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731/7 "2002-07-08T00:06:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cykrider \* > \*\*Improving cardio is always a concern for cyclists but as of now tha’ts not my main focus b/c I’m at such a strong level. Which leads me to another question I’ve had in the back of my mind: Is it possible to increase your lung capacity? Maybe with deep breath training or something? Thanks. \*\* While you can’t make your lungs larger, I believe it is possible to go further on each breath. If you have access to a personal trainer, you should ask them. ---
**Author:** ![Poloin99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Poloin99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poloin99)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2002, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/body-fat/117731/8 "2002-07-08T02:12:44Z")
Hello fellow cyclist. For you to drop your percentage you will have to calculate how many calories you burn per day and eat less then you burn. Rather simple to say simple to do but time consuming. Lance Armstrong does it so it must work 🙂