Fuel for Tour Of Sligo

To be at your optimum, your body needs the most nutritious quality food available, the old saying of “you don’t put diesel into a formula 1 car” and “your are what you eat” goes without saying, but in today’s world that is not always possible.

This is where common sense comes into play, we all know what good food is ! and what we must avoid ! its just a case of making the right decision and saying no to the craving for fatty greasy and sugary foods and yes to fruit, vegetables and good quality meals.

Depending on your fitness level and body size, and what intensity or pace you intend riding either of the 3 An Post Tours of Sligo at, your body will burn between 500-800 calories per hour, most sedentary people burn on average between 2000 and 3000 calories per day.

Exercise and especially aerobic exercise is a great way to tone up and burn off excess weight, but you have to eat to fuel the fire otherwise the metabolism slows down, to keep the metabolism running high it is recommended to eat little and often rather the your normal 3 square meals a day.

On the bike if your cycle is less than one hour all you need is fluid, if its over that I would recommend brining a healthy energy bar or piece of fruit with you like a banana or pear as these fruits are high in Carbohydrates which is the main fuel needed when it comes to exercising, post the training session its advisable to eat a mix of protein and carbohydrates (ratio of 4 to 1) as this helps the body recovery more quickly.

By training and preparing yourself for the An Post Tours of Sligo you will be making good lifestyle habit changes.

Hydration is a very important when it comes to cycling, on the bike you sweat a lot but the wind dries it up quickly hence you don’t feel you have sweated, I would recommend drinking 50-70ml of fluid every 15minutes while exercising this will prevent you from dehydrating because by the time you feel thirsty its too late as you are already in a dehydrated state.

Drinking regularly is a habit most people have to learn.. so make it part of your training regime, water is best but ideally mix it with some cordial and it’s easier to drink.

Typical meal to have on the day of high training load is.

Breakfast: 1 large bowl of Porridge with banana and mix berries

Mid Morning: cereal bar and fruit

Lunch: Jacket potato and chicken salad

Mid afternoon: fruit

Dinner: Meat/Fish, Veg and potatoes

Evening glass of milk and banana

Pre exercise: carbo drink and fruit

Post exercise : carbo and meat/ fish meals, recovery is best if taking within 30minutes post exercise.