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Racing Weight: How to Get Lean for Peak Performance

Matt Fitzgerald

3.88 · Rating details · 3,020 ratings · 178 reviews

In this title, sports nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald offers the first comprehensive and science-based approach to weight management for runners, cyclists, triathletes, swimmers, rowers, and cross-country skiers. For endurance athletes, the power-to-weight ratio is critical. After all, an extra 10 pounds demands more than 6 per cent more energy at a given pace. "Racing Weight ...more

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Paperback, 288 pages

Published December 1st 2009 by Velo Press (first published 2009)

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May 31, 2013 Sebastian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

And that is how it's done!

I was blown away by this book. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about nutrition, but I found a whole lot of useful information here about things to tweak in my eating patterns to improve my sports performance and to get leaner. Before I go into the details let me pose a few questions for you:

1)Do you think the lowest weight you can achieve should be your target weight to maximize racing performance?
2)Do you agree with low-carb diets being the best way to lose weig And that is how it's done!

I was blown away by this book. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about nutrition, but I found a whole lot of useful information here about things to tweak in my eating patterns to improve my sports performance and to get leaner. Before I go into the details let me pose a few questions for you:

1)Do you think the lowest weight you can achieve should be your target weight to maximize racing performance?
2)Do you agree with low-carb diets being the best way to lose weight and keep it off?
3)In your opinion, is calorie-counting essential when trying to achieve your optimal race weight?
4)Do you think that the timing during the day of your intake of different food sources (protein, fats, carbs) has no impact on weight loss?

If the answer to most of these questions is "No", this is the books for you. Actually, even if you answer "Yes" to the questions, you may be swayed to change your opinion after reading Fitzgerald's clear and insightful explanations.

It all starts with finding a target for racing weight, and this is not based on height or BMI, it is based on % of body fat. You will have to estimate this in some shape or form, the easiest one being a scale that provides this measurement. The target is an approximation, because a low body fat per se is not beneficial unless it's associated with better sports performances. Therefore, during this process you will monitor your performance at different weights / body fat % combinations to determine what your optimal situations is.

One of the main aspects I liked about the book is the philosophy about balanced nutrition. I am one of those people that is completely against low-carb diets, since when I have tried this is in the past, I have felt awful. The author presents us with a "scoring system" for our eating during the day in which healthy foods provide you with a positive score but these points diminish as you eat more servings during the day. Unhealthy foods have a negative score, and you goal is to score as high as possible within reason. Since I was eating healthy, I did not drastically change my eating habits, however, one of the elements that are important is timing of nutrition, with more carbs early in the day and relatively more protein later. Also, the author makes you aware of some foods that hide sugar in them and that should be avoided when possible. These simple changes have made me leaner than I ever was.

Like I mentioned before, the book does not focus on counting calories (unless you are in the off season and not training much and need to jump start your weight loss), but there are some recommendations about how to manage hunger. This does not mean that you are severely going to limit your food intake, but instead that you should focus on eating the right portions and combinations of nutrients to deliver your needs without overeating.

There is a section about strength training and high intensity training which were the portions of the book that I did not pay that much attention to. I already have a training plan that works and I do not want to mess with that at this point. This may be helpful to others though, so just be aware that it's there too.

Overall, this is a truly excellent book, with a lot of information and explanations on why the author recommends the course of action he presents to us. It is so good in fact that I have decided to read pretty much any other book he has written, hopefully with the same results. I recommend this book to all endurance athletes without reservations. As I mention that, I should point out that there is even a section dealing with athletes that are vegetarian and with those that have gluten intolerance. ...more

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Dec 27, 2013 Angela rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, running

I first ran across the first edition of this book a couple of years ago when I was looking for a solid, research-based, user-friendly primer on nutrition for endurance athletes, but dismissed it as probably too numbers-on-the-scale-focused for me. Then earlier this year Fitzgerald released a second book, The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition: A Cutting-Edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond "the Wall", which I devoured in a day & a half & loved. From that book, I really didn't get th I first ran across the first edition of this book a couple of years ago when I was looking for a solid, research-based, user-friendly primer on nutrition for endurance athletes, but dismissed it as probably too numbers-on-the-scale-focused for me. Then earlier this year Fitzgerald released a second book, The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition: A Cutting-Edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond "the Wall", which I devoured in a day & a half & loved. From that book, I really didn't get the sense that Fitzgerald was promoting one of the meticulous, unrealistic, drop-the-weight-at-all-costs philosophies that have turned me off from sports nutrition books in the past, so I decided to give Racing Weight a fair shot (by, y'know, actually reading it).

I wasn't disappointed. In a nutshell, Fitzgerald's thesis is that 1) like it or not, we all know that weight is related to performance in endurance sports, 2) we all have an ideal weight where we are strongest, healthiest, & racing our best, & 3) most recreational athletes weigh more than that number. Which is not exactly revolutionary. But having established that, I feel like a lot of sports nutrition writers tend to proceed down more or less the same path:

* Here is a chart that tells you what you should weigh.
* Here are some "tips & tricks" for losing all that extra weight.

This is not Fitzgerald's tactic. Instead of telling you what weight to shoot for, he recommends first determining your body composition (% body fat), then setting an individualized goal based on a few different things. I love this approach because it recognizes that we all have different genes and builds and body types, and the optimal weight for one 32-year-old 5'4" female runner may be very different from that of another 32-year-old 5'4" female runner. The weight that that correlates with that body composition may not necessarily be your optimal "racing weight," but it gives you a starting point to shoot for that's backed by research.

The rest of the book is chock full of science about how the bodies of endurance athletes process various nutrients, & tools for determining & improving the quality of your diet one step at a time (based on your activity levels & goals), the theory being that as you continue to train well & eat high-quality foods in the right amounts at the right times, your body composition will gradually move towards your goal. Fitzgerald also recommends a standardized performance test (eg, a 10K time trial for runners) every four weeks; if your performance improves with your body composition, you know that you are moving towards your ideal racing weight.

Another thing I like about both of Fitzgerald's books is his recognition of the realities that recreational athletes live with (as opposed to elites who have constant access to nutritionists & personal trainers & also hours and hours every day in which to train & prepare perfect meals at exactly the right times). Although he outlines some useful tools and frameworks for monitoring and improving the quality of your diet, he advises people not to obsess about it and to be happy with small improvements, and that if you can manage to eat pretty well most of the time, you're still doing better than probably 75% of recreational athletes. He also makes a point of advising people not to try to maintain their optimal racing weight year-round once they've found it, and touts the physical and psychological benefits of taking an off-season periodically where you're less careful about what you eat & let yourself gain 7-8% of your racing weight without worrying about it.

While I wasn't planning to *really* start trying to work on this until after the holidays, so much of his system is so easy and straightforward that I've found myself able to improve both the quality of what I eat as well as my body composition to a certain amount without all that much effort (and that's coming from someone with a full-time job, 60 miles of weekday commuting, & way too many evening / weekend commitments, FWIW). Obviously your mileage may vary, but I've found both of the Fitzgerald books MUCH more practical & useable for the average, fairly busy, everyday person than others I've looked at. ...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Aaron Maurer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As I train for my first marathon I decided to give this a read. I posted several posts last year about the first version of this concept of Racing Weight. I found this book to be very helpful. As I read the Quick Start Guide I found much of it to be very similar to the Racing Weight: How To Get Lean for Peak Performance. That is not to say that it is a bad book, but for being a quick start it was still crammed with information. A lot of good information. I performed the calculations and I unders ...more

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Jan 12, 2010 Meghan rated it liked it

I came across this book when I was in the running section at Barnes and Noble. A woman who was also there recommended it to me as we discussed our upcoming races. I am a runner and she is a triathlete. I found when training for the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon, my training program and everything else I read seemed to focus mainly on the mileage and never on the nutrition. This bothered me because I knew I was not eating properly. Once you take on that type of distance the amount of food and type o I came across this book when I was in the running section at Barnes and Noble. A woman who was also there recommended it to me as we discussed our upcoming races. I am a runner and she is a triathlete. I found when training for the 2009 Marine Corps Marathon, my training program and everything else I read seemed to focus mainly on the mileage and never on the nutrition. This bothered me because I knew I was not eating properly. Once you take on that type of distance the amount of food and type of food you once ate is no longer good enough. You are no longer an average joe but now you must consider yourself as an endurance athlete. I knew I was not eating what my body needed. I knew this because it told me so. I never cared much for red meat until my mileage increased and then I craved it everyday. Maybe it wasn't the red meat, but rather the iron from the meat that my body needed in order to go the distance.

Racing Weight has some very interesting points. I enjoyed how Matt Fitzgerald discussed our early way of life, people lived off of, nuts, berries, and the occasional piece of fish. Describing our ancestors as hunters and gathers, and claiming that is still a diet option for us today. He also goes in depth about the yo yo diets, such as the low carb, or high meat diets, and how they are just recipes for disaster for endurance athletes because they deprive the muscles of fuel. However, the main point of the book is how to get lean for peak performance, or in other words how to obtain your ultimate racing weight in order to perform the best you can. The beginning of this book is fantastic. He talks about each type of endurance athlete, their body type, and what their body fat percentage should be during peak performance. I found it really interesting that he mentioned how the swimmers body holds the highest body fat percentage compared to all the other endurance athletes because they are consistently emerged into cold water.

Fitzgerald discusses the brilliance of the human body, and teaches one to think of food as fuel. He teaches about calories in and calories out. He lists helpful websites to visit, and discusses the different scales/tools to use in order to keep track and measure weight and body fat.

Overall the book was helpful, however I found his writing style hard to grasp because he uses a lot of math, measuring, and numbers in order to make points. I also found him contradicting through out the book. For example, he mentions high intensity work outs vs. moderate, but I am still questioning which one burns more fat and which one is more helpful for endurance athletes. He also uses a lot of scientific studies through out the book that contradict each other.

At the end, he includes recipes and some strength training workouts. ...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Mirkat rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Matt Fitzgerald offers endurance athletes a different approach to weight reduction than the usual "diet" model. Instead, he outlines a system of improving diet quality, managing appetite through nutrient timing, calculating carb needs based on ideal racing weight + training volume and protein needs based on body weight, and finding the appropriate balance of training volume and intensity. He also identifies how to determine ideal weight/body composition.

As a vegan athlete, I will mention that he ...more

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Jul 03, 2018 Rainey rated it it was amazing

I have tried to renovate my diet for years. What I like best about this methodology is that it doesn't put me inside of a box with set numbers or calorie totals, it simply asks me to make choices. I'm awarded points for making good choices in the app with the number assigning, and making poor choices comes with point deduction consequences. He breaks everything down so easily that the real glaring errors in my diet became so apparent and I easily was able to make good changes. This book was reco ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Victoria Zabuzova rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 25, 2014 Kellie Reynolds rated it it was amazing

I did not expect to rate a book about sports nutrition with 5 stars. It deserves 5 stars for 3 reasons- the content is useful and important, the topic is well researched and based on data, and the author (Matt Fitzgerald) is an excellent writer. I do not know how many other authors are an English major, sports journalist, athlete, and certified sports nutritionist. The combination results in a fantastic book!

The main premise of the book is that endurance sports performance is best when the athle ...more

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Feb 05, 2019 Sara rated it liked it

This was fine, and I definitely got distracted reading it. Nothing ground breaking here, although I'm also not sure how much science there actually is to back up his plan (in part because I am not going to read the studies and because most of them seem to be very small). ...more

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Dec 27, 2018 Mehmet S. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book has been a life changer. I am living by this book!

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Jun 08, 2015 Alexandra Chauran rated it it was ok

I'm probably judging this book more harshly because I actually paid for the Kindle edition. The author seemed to flip-flop on his target audience. The first 40% of the book seemed to oddly enough be geared towards overweight people who have no idea that what they're eating is bad. Then we got into a quality, meaty portion of the book until I was about 54% through and then he flipped back again. I got this book because I thought it was for athletes fine-tuning those last body fat percentage point I'm probably judging this book more harshly because I actually paid for the Kindle edition. The author seemed to flip-flop on his target audience. The first 40% of the book seemed to oddly enough be geared towards overweight people who have no idea that what they're eating is bad. Then we got into a quality, meaty portion of the book until I was about 54% through and then he flipped back again. I got this book because I thought it was for athletes fine-tuning those last body fat percentage points, but was annoyed by his cute little "Diet Quality Score (DQS)" system presumably addressing an audience of people horfing down bags of Doritos and then trying to bolt 26.2 miles? I was infuriated by the appeal to "natural" foods. Look, I eat more raw fruits, veggies and nuts than the next person, but the idea that what's natural is good is not supported by science here. It's natural to live only until I give birth and then die. It was, however, refreshing how much he hated fad diets like gluten-free and low-carb and vegan (I'm a self-hating vegan).

I was also frustrated by the only oblique references to calories in and calories out, preferring to defer to intuitive eating (See: Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works and Weigh Down Diet). Calorie research was the information I was really hoping to see. It's just science. I can eat whatever "natural" food I want to excess or I could accidentally eat a caloric deficit that doesn't support my training. He explains this, but then does nothing to help the reader calculate what calories are ideal. What caloric surplus or deficit does he recommend for different points in the training season? He even refuses to print exact portions or calories when he gives us a fascinating peek into the daily meals of famous athletes. Why not? I assume there's a reason. here's my theory: The guy is accused of supporting eating disorders. With his shyness about calories I can see why. He pretends that he was surprised by this controversy. "Who me?" Batting eyelashes in the last chapter. Hah! You can't tell me that I should weigh 93-102lbs while running screaming away from telling me how many calories I should be eating and how many I'm burning and then pretend that you're not setting people up for failure. Still, the take-away point from this book is good: Set up an Excel spreadsheet with your race times and weight at the time. See which weight supports the best time through trial and error. That is, by definition, your healthy weight. A knowledgeable athlete can surely do the caloric math. A reasonable assumption by the author I'll concede. However, if an athlete can do that, then he or she doesn't need a silly DQS exercise made for elementary school kids.

P.S. DO NOT attempt to replicate the Romanian Deadlift diagrammed in the appendix. That rounded back will bust your shit up (See: Starting Strength: Basic Barbell Training). ...more

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Sep 06, 2011 Mark Sloan rated it liked it

The meat of this book is contained in chapters 7-11. Fitzgerald includes a Diet Quality Score table and a lot of advice on how to reach your optimum racing weight. He includes specific advice for endurance sports like distance running, rowing, swimming, and triathlon.

Chapters 12-14 felt a little bit like fluff to me. They covered some sample recipes for athletes, a list of what some pro athletes eat, and a quick chapter containing Fitzgerald's opinion on some of the most common available supple ...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Shira rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiber

This is a rare thing; a book for runners that attempts to actually help and educate you, not make you buy more junk. His books can be dense with information at times, so skim away (read the part about energy drinks, for example) and then return to different parts of his book as questions pop into your head.
You could absolutely read this straight through, but I found it useful to pick through it in bits and pieces (at least for the second reading). I think Fitzgerald is a gifted author with a ta ...more

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Oct 18, 2011 Niki rated it really liked it

Great information for nutrition for endurance atheletes...that is if you are an elite competitive runner. Fitzgeralds information and advice was sound, all backed by research and common sense. I learned a lot about the athlete's body and ways to nourish it best. However, for the recreational endurance runner, this is not a practical guide. Still a great read! ...more

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Aug 11, 2017 Andrea rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A very comprehensive guide to getting to any endurance athlete's ideal weight. This book is easy to read and has very practical information that can be easily integrated into anyone's life. I really enjoyed this book, it helped me understand why I've felt so different every time my body has changed either into a heavier or lighter version and why my best times and feelings have been when I have been on my lightest even though it's at those times when I'm eating more but with healthier and more c ...more

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Jun 29, 2018 Tyler rated it really liked it

Shelves: running

I started running about 5 years ago, and I want to finally focus on improving my performance, specifically my marathon time. one aspect of that will be to manage my weight, and this book has great information on how to go about doing that. The recipes and suggested strength-training exercises are also a plus.

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Aug 30, 2018 Jeni Burckart rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Great book with a simple approach to eating focused on eating high quality foods. A good read while training for my next half marathon because anything that hints at cutting calories is just going to starve training. This book takes a realistic approach to changing body composition while training to improve performance.

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Sep 06, 2017 Jewel rated it it was amazing

This is one of the best books about fitness and health. It offers a fresh perspective for those who are looking to go deeper with their fitness. It also includes info from top athletes in a number of different sports. I reread it often.

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Oct 21, 2018 Mel Edwards rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Guilt-free and sensible

The gist is eat a better balanced diet. About 2/3 of the book was interesting but nonessential to my needs. The essential part was worth the price of the book.

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Jan 27, 2019 Esther rated it really liked it

Shelves: running

I think it is an amazing book. I only give 4 out of 5 stars because I think the Quick Start could have been a bit more elaborate. I know he wants to sell his Quick start book as well but still a brief sketch of a training/ nutrition plan would have been nice

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Nov 02, 2020 Alan rated it really liked it

Shelves: fitness, running

Seems well reasoned, and useful. Target audience is runners, swimmers, cyclist, triathletes, rowers, and others who primarily require endurance and are more or less, depending on the sport, hampered by excess body mass in racing.

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Jan 23, 2017 Julie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: runnerd

Excellent research-backed info on eating and training right for healthy athletic weight and performance. Helpful charts and tables

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May 05, 2017 Mori Bell rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Perfect motivator prior to a new training cycle.

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May 31, 2017 Maris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book will help athletes as well as non-athletes to manage weight. DQS offers hassle free system how to oversee daily calorie intake

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Jun 27, 2017 Lisa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Pretty ok. Learned a lot about the general benefit of lean body mass and performance. The tips and explanations were great. Wish there were more exercises and assignments to follow along.

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Sep 03, 2017 Mark rated it really liked it

No nonsense, comprehensive and practical.

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Nov 13, 2017 Jonathan Grant rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This book has confirmed all my previously held beliefs about bananas.

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Jan 16, 2018 Joshua Thompson rated it it was amazing

A good no nonsense book on weight management for endurance athletes. I like that his emphasis is more on food quality than quantity, and more on body composition/body fat than pounds.

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Feb 19, 2018 Michael rated it liked it

Interesting but I'd say just buy the cookbook (Which is great) ...more

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Mar 31, 2018 Vickey Volk rated it liked it

Shelves: running

The book's approach to eating seems both basic and confusing at the same time. ...more

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About Matt Fitzgerald

Matt Fitzgerald

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Matt Fitzgerald is the author of numerous books on sports history and endurance sports. He has enjoyed unprecedented access to professional endurance athletes over the course of his career. His best-sellers include Racing Weight and Brain Training for Runners. He has also written extensively for Triathlete, Men's Fitness, Men's Health, Outside, Runner's World, Bicycling, Competitor, and countless ...more

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“But for endurance athletes, doing so is a little different because macronutrient balance also has a major impact on training performance and many athletes do not consume enough carbohydrate in particular to maximize that performance. Any measure that boosts your training performance will also tend to make you leaner.” — 0 likes

“While it pays to be light and lean in all endurance sports, there is thankfully no single, ideal body type for any specific endurance sport. The variety you see in the physiques of world-class cyclists, runners, and other endurance athletes can be surprising.” — 0 likes

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