Cycling & Nutrition

You are what you eat they say: well it's true. If you train your body in order to improve your athletic performances but feed on fatty and high sugar foods, do you really think that you will improve? The main source of your energy and recovery comes from the fuel you put in the tank. Would you consider driving a car on inferior grade fuel and not expect to see a drop in performance ? The same is true for the human body.

List your priorities of what needs improvement. More training, better equipment; oh yes, I must improve my diet! Sounds familiar? Mmmm. We all know we should but how many of us actual do, or even no where to start.

Why do we need to improve our diet and what should I be eating or replacing? I think the best way to deal with this is to explain, how the food we eat effects performance for better or for worse. So that you understand how to manage your diet, I will explain what goes on; on the bike, off the bike, and before and after a bike ride

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On the Bike:

Eating:

During any training work out, blood sugar is a counting factor on how well you feel and perform, therefore it is vitally important to maintain your sugar levels by eating or drinking appropriate fuels on the bike during any ride longer than 90 min. The calories burned in these rides must be at least partially replaced during the training or race or blood sugar will drop and you will feel tired. Most cyclist seem to think that the fatigue is a lack of endurance training, but very often it is simply low blood sugar.

By eating every 15-20 minutes after the first 30 minutes of a 2 hour plus ride, you can avoid this "false fatigue". First you need to plan ahead and set up your stall, remembering that you need to eat regularly and you have to carry it on your person or bottle cage(s) and it has to be digestible, I will advise you more later on but for now a typical example:

Bananas, fig bars, energy bars and carbohydrate drinks etc.

All these foods are readily available and easily digested on the bike. Avoid high fat foods, they take ages to digest and won't provide you with the steady flow of energy you need so will slow you down. The main fuel your muscles burn on a ride is simple carbohydrate, so it make sense to refuel with these.

Eating on the bike does not come naturally, the physical stress of exercise suppresses the brain's hunger craving. This is especially true during extreme intensities when "hunger" not might appear apparent until the blood sugar has dropped dangerously low. You need to practice this and make it part of your training discipline. You'd never fit a new piece of equipment just prior to a race without testing it first - the same goes for eating and drinking during racing : try it during training first. And when you've found something that suits you stick with it.

Not eating enough on long rides normally results in the "Knock" or "Bonk", and at one time or another every cyclist has experienced it. When blood sugar falls so low, that further riding becomes more difficult, feeling light headed, drained, this is the Knock/Bonk and it is not nice, in fact the loss of balance and co-ordination makes it down-right dangerous. There is only one thing you can do if you want to continue. Find something sweet to eat-right away and get those blood sugar levels up.

The Knock or Bonk has a longer lasting effect on your body other than a bad experience, it will have drained your body of nutrients, set in fatigue and decreased your ability to recover and could have a knock on effect to your future training plans.

Earlier, I mentioned, setting up your stall and planning ahead. If your ride is 1-2 hours,

(assuming you had adequate breakfast) 1 bottle of a carbohydrate type drink would be enough to get you around. Make this up according to the instructions (never adding more powder or less water) unless it is very warm when you should add slightly more water - or use less powder.

If your ride is going to be 3-5 hours long it will require a different menu you will be eating for energy not just relying on liquid fuel. Start off with solid. Liquids are still very important - a 1% loss of fluid will give a 10% performance loss and so on - so make up two bottles of energy drink more dilute than on the instructions because s like, bananas, fig rolls etc every 10-15 minutes and alternate that with drinking your carb drink every other 10-15 minutes. You do not demolish your food intake in one go, "little and often" or a bite or two is usually enough, . The opposite is true for your liquids. It is much better to take around 100-150 mls (about 1/5th of a bottle) at a time. Apparently (so the scientists tell me) this stretches the stomach muscles as triggers the mechanisms by which we absorb the fluid . If you just sip you could end up feeling very bloated as the stomach will only have stretched gradually and not set off the appropriate emptying message ! Even on this basis (food plus good gulps of liquid every 15 mins) two 750ml bottles would last you 3 hours in normal temperatures. If its hot - remember more fluid, so that you consume the same amount of energy but in three bottles plus the same amount of solids.

Further in to your 3-5 hour ride, your bodies organs ability to function effectively will diminish and you will need to rely more on instant fast acting energy replacement. It would be advisable to have your bike set up to carry 2 bottles for this reason, as you will be dependent on your carb replacement drink. You may need to adjust your feeding times on "Feel" as you might start experiencing some fatigue setting in, so increase your feed times to every 5-10 minutes if necessary. The more "normal food" you can consume the better your guts will feel.

There are many carb or energy drinks on the market, If you look in my web-site shop for: : All Sports International you will notice quite a few different energy drinks, they also have a large range of supplements such as protein and vitamins.

Science in Sport (PSP 22) and Tekno Fuel are equally as good and readily available. (Available at Marrey bikes along with H5, MAXIMIZE, and Power bar products)

These products come in flavoured powder form and you mix it with water, 1 gram per kilogram of body weight i.e., 70 kg = 70 grams diluted in 1 litre measure.

Drinking:

This is to hydrate your muscle cells and to keep them topped up during the long race, drink often. Thirst is suppressed during exercise. Though trained cyclists are generally able to judge how much to drink taking in consideration of distance humidity, airflow, fitness etc. dehydration can feel deceptive because it feels exactly like the Bonk. That is why it would be an advantage to have on board the carb replacement drink because it is serving 2 purposes, blood sugar and hydration.

A fluid loss as little as 2% of total body weight can severely effect your performance. Weigh yourself before and after a long ride. If you come back less than one kilo lighter you've done well. Anything over a kilo and you'll need to rethink your hydration strategy. Weigh yourself again next morning and if you are still underweight then I guess you (a) not re hydrated fully and (b) not fully replenished your muscle energy stores). Further details on "after a ride" are given below

Electrolytes:

When you raise your body temperature you sweat. During the sweating process you will sweat out fluids, salts, minerals and electrolytes etc. These need to be replaced at the end of your ride during the winter months, and during a ride in the summer.

Electrolytes pull fluids out of the blood stream and deposit them into cells where they are far less effective in compensating for fluid losses through sweating.

If you have ever suffered diarrhoea, the recovery leaves you fatigued and this is due to the loss of fluids, salts minerals electrolytes etc and can be replaced by taking a mineral replacement like Dioralite, which is a cheaper and just as effective drink form as an expensive "Electrolyte" brand name like, "Hydrosource" You can buy Dioralite in any chemist or supermarket. You can also make up a very effective electrolyte replacement drink yourself by diluting 100ml of fresh fruit juice with 400ml of water plus a small pinch of salt (preferably the LoSalt variety which is high in potassium). This is ideal as a drink for short rides or as a drink after riding when you know your fluid and electrolytes are down.

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Off the Bike:

Many endurance cyclist believe they should opt for a high carb diet and the sprinters should opt for a high protein diet, why is this?

The explanation is all to do with what type of fuel is needed for different events and stress levels. An endurance cyclist needs the type of fuel to keep going and the sprinter needs fuel for high energy and recovery. The preparation of fuel for your training ride or race is dependent on the activity.

Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates or "carbs" as I call it is the spunk in every cyclist bubble The optimum percentage of calories derived from carbs is at least 60% for all athletes. The more complex these carbs are, the better. Whole grain breads, pastas, brown rice and potatoes, peas and "greens" etc are the best sources of quality carbs.

There are two grades of carbohydrate - divided by the rate at which they enter the blood stream. Things like white bread, pasta, bananas, potatoes, white rice, sultanas and grapes all enter the bloodstream fast - nearly as fast as glucose itself. These types of carb are great for when you need a quick burst of energy such as when carbo loading before a long training or race session, during a session or immediately afterwards. The other type - slow release- include apples, pear, whole grain cereals, brown rice, brown pasta, porridge, sweet potatoes and most vegetables. These are best for maintaining energy levels between training sessions and are least likely to promote fat storage. Honey and jam are in the first group as is sugar and sugary sweets. Fat slows down the rate of release and entry of sugar so sweet fatty foods don't provide the energy we might think they would and are highly likely to end up as blubber. Milk sugar (lactose) is moderately fast - so good old rice pud as everything going for it for the cyclist (but go for the low fat varieties).

On a long ride (say three or four hours) you might burn up to 1600 kcal extra - depending on your weight and how hard you were trying. Around 1000 of these need to come from carbs. In a short race you might burn up an extra 600 cals - 100% from carbs. Even a sprinter can use up to 600 cals per hour during heavy training on or off the bike - and they will virtually all come from carbohydrate !

Note these numbers and you'll realise why it is so important for all cyclists to ensure they have a highly carbohydrate diet and avoid the low quality sugary fatty foods that do nothing for their fuel tanks and plenty for ballast.

Protein:

When you train exceptionally hard, weather it is in the gym or sprint training, you are effectively breaking down muscle tissue and the repair process can be quite painful. Your muscles also use some of their own protein as energy for maximal effort work so unless you replace that protein with similarly high quality protein all your training will be to no avail.

Your body's proteins will come to the rescue to rebuild your broken down muscle tissue. It is a breaking down and rebuilding process that power athletes want for muscle growth. As protein is not stored in your body like you can with carbs, you will need to take quality protein regularly for the muscles to absorb and aid recovery.

A sprinter will require around 3.3 grams of protein per kilo body weight per day So a 75kg rider will need around 250 grams in total per day.

But amount is only half the story. The protein must be highly quality "first class " protein. This means it can be utilitised easily by the muscles for repair, regeneration and building new tissues. This applies even if the rider is not looking to increase muscle bulk. The best form of first class protein is supplements based on milk whey protein. These should be used to supplement quality low fat animal protein such as chicken, fish and egg whites. Steak and other animal meats (and egg yolks) are quality protein but they are associated with high saturated fat levels which are undesirable.

To make up the proteins needed in your diet will require a fast acting supplement, as well as solid type foods like chicken, steak and Tuna fish, but remember the body cannot absorb more than 25 grams at any given moment so spread the supplement out if you want the best results. I use "Whey" Protein as it is absorbed better than egg or milk protein powder and take whey with water not milk.

"All sports International Amino Load" is based on whey protein and also includes carbohydrates making it an ideal training supplement.

Fats:

Though cholesterol levels are not normally a problem with racing cyclist, a high fat diet can effect performance, especially for short racers like Criterium or track riders.

Fat is rarely high in vitamins or minerals and is extra baggage to cart around while you are racing. Fat in the diet, as I've said before, slows down digestion and impedes the absorption of protein and carbohydrate into the blood stream.

If you work on a power to weight ratio, you will understand that if you lose weight and maintain your power, you will go faster. Better still though, train to increase your power, watch your fat intake and see the results !!

There are two types of fats: Good - unsaturated, Bad - saturated

Unsaturated fats play an important role in hormone production, joint lubrication, low in cholesterol, and vital part of your diet. We obtain these fats from vegetable and nut oils.

Saturated fats can lead to heart disease as they have a habit of "furring up" the arteries We obtain these fats from animal fat, butter milk, fatty pieces of meat, egg yolks etc.

Monosaturated fats - such as olive oil and fish oil - are considered to be the healthiest fats as they help keep cholesterol levels down and provide nutrients for hormone production etc.

All types of fat are equally likely to end up on your backside so instead of swapping butter for olive oil spread better still to cut it out completely.

Fat is a highly efficient means of storing energy - there are twice as many calories in a gram of fat as a gram of protein or carbohydrate. However, once stored, fat is difficult to release under the stresses of exercise and is not a good fuel for anything but the longest, steadiest rides. Even then, it will be dietary fat rather than stored fat that will be used as fuel. The good news is that after a hard training session or race, the rate at which the body breaks down its fat deposits is increased.

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Before and After a Ride:

Drinking and eating before training or a race is just as important as during. Do not rely on your sense of thirst or hunger. Remember the marathon that I mentioned earlier, I drank fluids 24 hours before the race to hydrate the muscle cells.

So, the message is: Drink and eat prior to your ride, you need those calories and you need to be hydrated. Like wise, after your ride even though you have eaten and drunk before and during, you still need to replace energy and fluid loss. In the first half hour or so, make sure you drink plenty of fluid. I recommend the home made electrolyte drink. Also try to get down so quick release carbs - liquid form is best. During the next 90 minutes take on board sufficient quick release carbohydrates to allow you to refuel quickly. Delaying will slow down your recovery. After this time switch to the slow release carb so to minimise fat deposition. Warning: Weight watchers beware. It is not a good idea in cutting back too much, especially when you ride a lot of miles and you want to train regularly…..You will not recover. For weight loss the best form of training is moderate distance, moderate intensity plus a least two sessions per week of top end strength and power work. Long slow steady training might burn fat off but it is so slow that you'd be 99 before you'd anything to show for it !

Breakfast or Pre-race meal:

Lots of people myself included, often train either before breakfast or not have breakfast at all. Before you cry out, Hypercritic I only did this if I was interval training or specific track work not lasting more than an hour and I did not fancy spewing up, but some of us still skip breakfast altogether, and that is an unproductive habit and should be unlearned as soon as possible.

The average person will burn up around 1200 calories a day including sleeping, that is a metabolic rate just to exist, add on activity, working, walking, moving and your cycling, you can clearly see that you will need more energy or calories.

Get used to starting your day with a breakfast. Start with a glass of fruit juice, when you are comfortable with that add some toast and jam or cereals as well as. Once you have got used to this it will be easier to face your pre-race/training meal and put together a menu that agrees with you and your taste buds. I fully understand that it is easy for me to say get that down you and you know it makes sense but, because you are racing you are probably nervous and do not feel like eating. That is why I am suggesting at first, get used to the habit, you can then move on to a more nutritional breakfast for the job in hand, and those morning races or training sessions will start to improve. You will need to digest your breakfast, depending on size, around 3 hours, and keep sipping water regular.

Suggested Breakfast:

Fruit Juice

Bowl of oatmeal porridge

3-4 slices of wholemeal Toast & Jam (if you have margarine use unsaturated i.e., ("Flora”, “Golden olive”.)

If you need to consume over 1000 calories because you are riding over 3-4 hours, you can make up the rest with your carb supplement drink sipping regular, little and often rather than down in one. The above breakfast is around 600 calories. If you are drinking coffee as well as, caffeine although an enhancer, will dehydrate you. Compensate by drinking another glass of water for each cup.

In conclusion, it is really just down to common sense. What you eat and when you eat are the key points together with a sensible diet including pre race or training loading and recovery replenishment.