I Love Bicycling is a website that is geared towards cycling for beginners with road cycling tips, training articles, nutrition tips, weight loss, how to’s and bike repair articles.
Electrolytes are salts and minerals such as sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium that are essential for maintaining hydration and regulating key bodily functions. Many electrolytes can be found in the ingredients lists in their uncharged form, for instance sodium chloride and potassium chloride. In the body, however, electrolytes break down into charged ions and are then utilized in a number of critical pathways. [Read more…]
For many athletes, scanning nutrition labels and counting calories is almost second nature. We need to make sure we’re putting enough fuel in our bodies to help us hit those mileage goals, and the way to do that is to make sure we meet a daily minimum of calories. But what exactly are we counting when we count calories?
Interestingly, most people really focus on a training plan and often forget how important a nutrition plan actually is. When I first started endurance rides I had no clue what I was supposed to do, I ate when I was hungry and drank when I was thirsty, which inevitably was too late. Bonking is no fun for anyone but I did it on a regular basis, it was just a given, 3-4 hours on a bike was my limit! That was until I learned what to eat on a long bike ride.
Most of us already know the answer to this, it is carbohydrates, but why? Carbohydrates can be broken down quickly and efficiently into glucose, which is then used as energy. Proteins and fats can be broken down in to glucose as well; however, the process is long and inefficient.
Multiple carbohydrates: The ability to digest and utilize carbohydrate is dependent on the amount and types of carbohydrate consumed. Individual carbohydrate sources have different transport mechanisms in the gastrointestinal tract which allow for different rates of absorption. There is good physiological data to support an upper limit in our ability to breakdown carbohydrate during exercise. However, the upper limit is increased if there are multiple sources of carbohydrate consumed. By selecting a product with more than one source (e.g. sucrose and fructose), you are able to absorb more than when you consume a single source (e.g. glucose only). Glucose, sucrose and maltodextrin are absorbed more quickly than fructose, galactose and amylose. –
Effort Level: At increased intensities the blood required to convert carbohydrates to glucose has moved from your digestion to your legs resulting in a less efficient conversion process.
Heat: As temperatures rise your body is not able to digest or absorb as much carbohydrates – even though your body requires more.
Info from: First Endurance
Truthfully, the better question is how much carbohydrates can I process? The answer depends on factors listed above, (and has little to do with how many calories you burn per hour) but it is anywhere from 45g to 80g of carbs per hour. If you have one single source of carbohydrate (e.g. glucose) then you are able to absorb a maximum of 60g of carbohydrates an hour. When you combine two different carbs, studies show that you are able to absorb as much as 90g of carbohydrates an hour. (I max out at taking 80g though).
Aim to drink a minimum of one bottle of sports drink (500 ml – 32g of carbs – 130 calories) half a bottle of water 250 ml, and eat one gel (30g of carbs – 100 calories) every hour on the bike. If it heats up you will need to drink more. Remember that this is an absolute minimum at moderate intensity.
I often add half a banana (12g of carbs – 50 calories) and more sports drink to get up to 80g of carbs per hour. Be careful not to drink more than 1.5L/hr though as most people are only able to process between one and one and a half litres of water per hour. For better hydration guidelines read this post.
Start eating and drinking within the first half an hour of your ride. You may not feel hungry or thirsty, but by the time you do it is already too late. Eating and drinking steadily is much better than stuffing your face all at once. Set a timer for every 15 minutes to eat and drink. One important consideration is if you are eating powerbars or gels, then wash them down with water (not sports drink) so they are easier to digest.
This happens quite frequently, do you ever get that nauseous feeling or have gastrointestinal problems? It is likely a result of eating too many carbs. If you feel this way in a middle of a long race make sure to dilute the high concentration of carbs with water and eat less frequently. Slowing down, drinking more water and eating half a banana (instead of a gel) will often save a ride.
Some people have lower tolerances to the high carbohydrate concentration in gel’s and gu’s. It is important to find your individualized nutrition and hydration plan that considers how long the ride will be, effort level, heat and tolerances.
You will likely be ok for an hour to an hour and a half at moderate intensity levels, but anything past that and you will lose energy, strength and focus and it will seem nearly impossible to finish the ride. In other words you are going to bonk!
A 4:1 ratio of carbohydrates to protein is a general guideline for efficient post-ride recovery. When putting together a meal or snack to help you refuel, aim for this 4:1 ratio by combining different food options listed here. It is important to eat within 30 minutes to an hour immediately following your ride for optimal recovery as those nutrients get “fast tracked”. The carbohydrates will replenish you lost glycogen stores while the protein will help rebuild the damaged muscle tissue.
Did you know all of this? Share it with your friends below and comment on what works for you to help out the cycling community!
Besides water, there are two main things your body needs after an intense ride: carbohydrates and protein. Carbohydrates are necessary to replenish glycogen stores, which can become depleted during a long ride. Protein is needed by your body to build and repair muscle tissue. [Read more…]
Many cyclist are careful about their diet, buying organic fruits and vegetables, as well as avoiding preservatives and highly processed food. However, many people fail to achieve this same quality diet while riding or racing. Typical ride food such as sport bars, energy chews and gels are highly processed and contain a large amount of preservatives. Check the expiry date on your favorite ride food, many have a shelf life of more than a year.
In the pro peloton most riders eat real food, from little sandwiches to the famous cyclist rice cakes. These riders also eat commercial processed sport products as supplied by their team’s nutrition sponsor. Now most people are not racing hundreds of kilometers day after day but some of the same nutrition concepts apply. At some point you have probably gone for a long ride and eaten a typical buffet of processed sports products and felt kind of sick after, maybe your stomach even hurt while riding. This is usually a result of all the processed junk that your stomach is not used to dealing with.
This gut rot issue is becoming a hot topic and real ride food is becoming increasingly popular. The Feed Zone Cookbook by famous sport nutritionist Allan Lim shares many of the recipes for the real ride food that you would find in most pro peloton musettes.
Alternatively if you don’t want to do any cooking before your next ride a new company called Prima has some amazing real food options. These bars are delicious, made of nutritious real food, and contain no preservatives, plus they are gluten free. The downside is that since they don’t have any preservatives they only last for a few weeks in the fridge. Prima is a small company and has limited retail distribution, but you can order online from their website and fresh bars will be made and shipped right away. Order Prima Here.
Craig Richey is a multiple time Canadian National team member, representing Canada at mountain bike World Cups and Cyclocross World Championships. Craig is currently doing an MBA in Boston and recently launched SponsorConnected.com
Cycling at a medium pace primarily targets fat cells for energy; therefore, people say it is the “fat burning zone” and is the best way to lose weight cycling. Although all of this is true it is only half the story.
Example 1
So you have gone out at your medium pace (approximately 60% of VOmax) for an hour and burned 400 calories, primarily fat, good work. After the workout you are hungry so you go grab some food… Well, your carbohydrate stores are mostly full because you didn’t use any… Better store most of that 500 calorie meal as fat… Wait what?
Your body is designed to use what it needs, and if it doesn’t need it it will store it as fat until it does.
Example 2
You go as hard as you can for an hour and burn over 1000 calories, primarily carbohydrates, hard work. After the workout you are hungry so you go grab some food… Well, your carbohydrate stores are depleted because you primarily used them… Better store most of that 800 calorie meal (you are more hungry than example 1 because of the hard workout) as carbohydrate.
1000 calories – 800 calories = 200 calorie net loss = good = weight loss.
Additionally, when you workout that hard you continue to burn calories long after the work out has ended.
If you are looking to lose weight it does not matter what energy source is used during the workout because the golden rule of weight loss still applies “burn more calories than you consume”.
If you burn more calories than you can consume the net affect will be that you lose weight. A 200-300 caloric deficit per day is healthy and optimal.
Since burning the most calories is the primary objective that means that higher intensities are preferred for weight loss. That does not mean that every time you get on a bike you should put the hammer down and go like a bat out of hell, you will burn out.
Depending on how much time you have in a given week should determine how intense you should go:
At the end of the day interval training is a great mix between high intensity and low/medium intensity to burn lots of calories for weight loss. Mostly I recommend to do whatever it takes to make the experience as fun as possible so you make it a priority and do it more often. Go buy a Garmin and watch yourself improve, go with friends or your husband/wife (or go without them…), use your bike to commute… whatever it takes… Just get out and ride.
A battle is being waged on North American convenience store shelves. Sports beverages, led by Gatorade are fighting for their lives against energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster and Rock Star. At the heart of the battle is the question: do any of these drinks really boost performance?
The first batch, it is said, tasted so bad that none of the researchers could stomach it. In the spring of 1965, Dwayne Douglas, a University of Florida Gators assistant football coach asked a question: why did players lose so much weight during practice but never felt the urge to urinate? Robert Cade, director of the UF College of Medicine’s renal and electrolyte division would later recount, “that question changed our lives”. Cade’s wife gets the credit for suggesting they add a little lemon juice.
The following year, armed with their new magic potion, the Gators rolled to an 8-2 record and established a reputation as a come-from-behind second half team. A small Indianapolis beverage company licensed Gatorade the following year and the sports drink industry was born.
Started in 1987, Red Bull was the brainchild of Dietrich Mateschitz, the secretive mastermind that turned a carbonated and caffeinated version of an Asian energy tonic into a global media phenomenon. Red Bull launched a new beverage category and continues to dominates the 37 billion dollar global energy drink market. Most people recognize the brand as a sponsor of sporting events, professional soccer clubs and motor racing teams.
Red Bull and other energy drinks have squarely positioned themselves as sports drinks that enhance athletic performance. Red Bull’s Malaysian website extols the benefits they provide for “the World’s top athletes” and lays out specific guidelines. One can a half hour before training or competition, 1-2 cans during the activity with water and 1 after to aid recovery. Red Bull’s North American website is less specific, relying on sponsored athletes like stand-up paddle-boarder, Robby Naish to prescribe the optimum consumption schedule: “before, during, or after”.
It’s been well established in the academic literature that caffeine increases endurance, reduces the perception of fatigue and improves reaction times. Based on their single serving size containing the caffeine equivalent of one cup of coffee, Red Bull’s marketing message plays heavily on these same performance enhancing qualities .
Taurine, another major ingredient of Red Bull, is an amino acid naturally present in your body. As a supplement, taurine has not been widely studied, likely because the body can make plenty of it’s own. One recent study did however test the effects ingesting caffeine combined with taurine on short term memory. Since many University of Wisconsin students were using Red Bull to perform better on exams, researchers tested to see if caffeine mixed with taurine could improve performance on short term memory tasks. The results showed no improvement in short term memory but did uncover a surprising effect on heart rate.
Just when caffeine should have been raising heart rates, the combination with taurine actually lowered them. It may be that mixing taurine with caffeine counters the very performance benefits that Red Bull promotes.
During prolonged intense physical exertion of over an hour, consuming carbohydrates can restore blood sugar levels and supply glycogen to working muscles. At 11 grams per 100ml, Red Bull packs nearly twice the sugar concentration as Gatorade’s 6 grams. That should be good right?
A 2009 study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism showed that glucose concentrations above 6 grams per 100 ml significantly reduced fluid absorption in the gut. Tossing back an energy drink during a hard workout is likely to leave you more dehydrated than drinking nothing at all.
Sports drinks are for athletes performing intense physical activity for prolonged periods.
Energy drinks are for people that like energy drinks.
If you are thirsty and fall somewhere between these two groups, try water.
You are the engine. Fuel the engine properly and it will perform. Don’t… and… you will putter out.
Your body needs different things for different functions. If your car runs out of oil you don’t go and put gas in the tank! Your engine will literally burst into flames! Your body is similar. It needs a healthy balance of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Lets start with the common misconception that fat is bad. Saturated fats constitute approximately 50% of the cell membrane. Together with protein, fats give our cells stiffness and integrity, they are also required to give us strong and healthy bones. Fats are essential to rebuilding cell walls; so, as levels of inflammation increase (caused by cycling or working out) the need for cholesterol (<– the fat) increases so it can rebuild the damaged tissue. Unsaturated fats are required for oxygen transfer, muscle recovery, energy production and more. Fat is also a key component in brain development. Still think fat is bad for you?
Amino acids, the “the building blocks” of protein, are used for building tissue and repairing damaged tissue. People have protein shakes after a hard bike ride or workout to repair the tissue that was torn from the stress.
Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for our brains and bodies to function properly. The body breaks the carbohydrates down into glucose, the body then uses the glucose for energy, if there is not enough glucose then the body starts to use proteins and fats. If the protein is being used for energy then it is not being used to build and repair tissue and its other important functions.
What is that? You want jet fuel? You have to know what to eat and when. Some general guidelines are:
These are large margins due to the fact that it depends on what you are doing. For instance, if you are doing intervals for 2 hours then you are going to need lots of carbohydrates and very little fat.
Nutrition is one of the most difficult things to master. It takes years of experience and trial and error. The best gauge is to keep comparing how you felt and performed compared to your last rides/races/workouts and adjust accordingly. This in itself is a great reason to have a training log AND a meal plan.
Some Suggested Reading: The Paleo Diet for Athletes, The Feed Zone Cookbook, The Paleo Diet Cookbook
Alcohol and cycling. Do they really mix?How bad is alcohol in relation to cycling performance? Well… some of this information might make you feel depressed. If you would like to plead ignorance in the future I would just stop reading now.
I think we have all heard/said the statement “I am carbo loading” in relation to having that delicious cold beer. Unfortunately, this could not be further from the truth. What actually happens when you start drinking any type of alcohol is that your liver spends all of its energy trying to remove alcohol from your bloodstream; it no longer has the capacity to convert glucose into glycogen.
Glycogen is a major energy source that your body uses to pedal that bicycle. It is generally quite depleted after a ride and should be replenished by consuming carbohydrates.
Since your liver is busy trying to clear the alcohol from your bloodstream and is unable to convert the glucose to glycogen, your body has to do something else with it… I’ll give you one guess… … … Fat. Yup… that glucose will now be stored as fat. Soo… to be more realistic, we should actually be say “I am fat loading.”
Alcohol has been known to affect sleeping. If you do not sleep well then you will not produce as much human growth hormone – a hormone that builds muscle. Coupled with that, alcohol is a diuretic resulting in the fact that you will likely need to get up from your already disturbed sleep.
As you know from my article about hydration as little as a 2% decrease in body water weight decreases your performance. So it is going to be difficult to perform the next day at your best.
On top of all of this, studies have shown that drinking alcohol lowers testosterone levels. Testosterone is key to developing muscle in men AND women.
All of these factors add up to a less than optimal recovery.
1. Having a few cold beer after a ride because I feel I “deserve” it.
I certainly make a point to refuel properly by eating before indulging in my “reward”.
2. Drinking before an event.
It is not a good idea to drink the day, or even 2 days, before an event, as the 2% dehydration rule may effect your outcome.
3. Overall consumption.
Decreasing your overall consumption is relatively easy in small increments. Just focus on cutting out excess as discussed in my 5 healthy tips for cycling article.
This article may be a little depressing;however, I am not going to give up drinking. It took me a couple frosty beverages to complete this article. I am not getting paid to bike for a living and I am all about enjoyment of life. On the other hand, knowing this information certainly has changed a few bad habits.
Is the Paleo diet for cyclists? Yes! and no… but more Yes than no!
The Paleo diet is high in animal proteins which contain important amino acids for recovery. As you know from previous posts, one of the keys to becoming a great cyclist is fast recovery. The faster you recover the harder you can train.
When you eat food it goes to the kidney as acidic or alkaline. The idea is to obtain a more alkaline pH (approximately 7.35 – 7.45) because that is what we were used to “back in the day” (Paleolithic period).
Acid foods such as grains, cheese, dairy, salty processed foods and meat cause the body to think it is out of balance (pH wise). When the body thinks it is out of balance it uses up essential minerals such as potassium, magnesium, calcium and sodium to restore equilibrium. What is even worse is the body will break down muscle tissue, that you have worked so hard to build, to restore a balanced pH level;however, the paleo diet does counteract this with all the fruits and vegetables (fruits and vegetables make you more alkaline). An acidic pH makes people more prone to colds and illness. If you are sick, you are not able to train.
To summarize, the paleo diet will help muscle growth (by not eating away at the muscle you worked hard to build) and keep you from getting sick.
Any cyclist/athlete must maintain muscle stores of glycogen, it is your bodies fuel for high performance activities. If you were to follow the strict Paleo diet, fruits and vegetables (relatively low on the glycemic index) would be your only source of replacement. Unfortunately, you would have to eat pounds of fruits and vegetables (read as pounds of fiber… or… lots of bathroom time) after high intensity workouts.
So… you need carbs for high performance. What to do?
The ideal diet for cyclists requires tweaking the Paelo diet. Follow the Paleo diet except for: immediately before cycling, during cycling, and 30 minutes to an hour after cycling. During these periods you can and should eat carb loaded foods. (Details of what to eat and when to eat it in later posts so subscribe to my newsletter… or buy The Paleo Diet for Athletes if you simply can’t wait)
I read The Paleo Diet for Athletes and I am a firm believer in its health benefits. I have never “subscribed” to a “diet” before this, but this one just makes sense! I strongly recommend that you at least try it out… if you haven’t then you don’t have an opinion, you are just speculating.
I did not go cold turkey Paleo Diet for Athletes, but at least I am now aware of what I should be doing and when I should be doing it so I can make more informed decisions.
If you have already read The Paleo Diet for Athletes, (as many of you likely already have as it is at the top of the best selling list for diets) then I have also included some Paleo Cookbooks and Mealplans for people who want more ideas or need a meal plan that I have used and enjoy. As I said in The Basics to Cycling Nutrition the key to becoming a good cyclist is nutrition! Click on the pictures below to learn more:
