Refuelling after a ride

DaveyL

Have read a couple of things recently (one in the Torq nutrition guide and one on cn.com http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness.php? ... ng_numbers) that recommend taking on 1-1.5 g per kg of body weight of carbohydrate in the 15 min after a ride. Seems like the idea is to replace glycogen and help recovery.

However, there doesn't seem to be any information on how hard the ride has to be before you need to do this - any advice? And shouldn't you adjust the amount of carbs you take in to reflect how hard your ride was?

In any case it seems like a lot of carbs - it could amount to about 1/2 to 1/3 of your daily intake (for me it would be about 100 g of carbs and hence about 400kcal from carbs alone). Is this supposed to be part of your daily calorie intake or is it over and above what you would normally eat?

As an aside - the cn.com article recommends the day before a big event (and as part of a carbo-loading strategy) to take in 8 g/kg body weight of carbs - surely that's just ridiculous? Is there a limit to how much glycogen you can store?

shakey88

"For goodness shakes" go down nicely after a long and are full of all the good stuff for recovery

Mettan

Think there's a 2 hour window Dave (could be wrong though) - I tend to eat anything (carb-wise) - can be something like an Eccles cake, or a few of Jaffa cakes or whatever - think it all gets converted into a useful format anyway - I just make sure I get something carb-wise in me after a ride, with a glass of milk - not very scientific, but along the right lines.

Bhima

DaveyL wrote:

In any case it seems like a lot of carbs - it could amount to about 1/2 to 1/3 of your daily intake

A cyclist's "daily intake" is a lot more than usual. The "daily intake" figures you see written on packages everywhere is only a guideline for the average person who has an activity level a lot less than a cyclist.

arnie-77

Its more like a 20min (tops) window where you want to get in as much quality nutrition as possible - which is why many people use recovery products straight after. I have been a regular user of SIS Rego Rapide which has whey protein instead of soya (which is the basis of the regular recovery product, there are two that look very similar). Whey is digested faster and has other benefits so works well with the tight time frame.

BeaconRuth

DaveyL wrote:

However, there doesn't seem to be any information on how hard the ride has to be before you need to do this - any advice?

I think it's just a question of using some common sense, TBH. Most people are getting towards depleting their muscle and liver glycgen stores after about 90mins of brisk riding, so it's reasonable to assume that a brisk ride of 1.5-2 hours would need a proper re-fuel afterwards. I'd put a very hard hour on the turbo in the same category, or a longer, easier-paced ride. However, a gentle recovery spin wouldn't deplete your glycogen levels so much so wouldn't need the same amount of replenishment afterwards.

And shouldn't you adjust the amount of carbs you take in to reflect how hard your ride was?

Erm, yes!

In any case it seems like a lot of carbs

I don't think so, it would only be the equivalent of a couple of bananas for me.

- it could amount to about 1/2 to 1/3 of your daily intake (for me it would be about 100 g of carbs and hence about 400kcal from carbs alone). Is this supposed to be part of your daily calorie intake or is it over and above what you would normally eat?

Yes, it is part of your daily intake because it, erm, is part of your daily intake. It just means timing it well so that you consume it soon after your ride, don't leave it for several hours after you come back. It doesn't seem like rocket science to me?

As an aside - the cn.com article recommends the day before a big event (and as part of a carbo-loading strategy) to take in 8 g/kg body weight of carbs - surely that's just ridiculous?

Why ridiculous? It's not all that much compared to what people in regular training should normally consume. A rule of thumb I use is that a rider training for 14 hours a week should consume 7g/kg/day. Obviously this is scaled down for less riding.

Is there a limit to how much glycogen you can store?

Yes. But regular training increases the amount you can store in your muscles, the speed with which you replenish it and the efficiency with which you use it. It's one of the most significant physiological differences between a fit cyclist and a novice.

Ruth

Blonde

It probably depends what kind of riding you do as well, not just the overall mileage, but make of this what you will: I now eat a lot less carbohydarte than I did when I was involved in audax riding. I used to eat main meals of basically pasta with a sauce, but I would never do that now. Any pasta, cous cous or rice I have now is a side dish (2 spoonfuls, maybe a 5th of a plateful, maximum) with the rest being veg and protein. I don't know what I weigh (haven't weighed myself for 3 years) but I am a clothing size smaller than I was when doing those long events, even though my bike mileage for 2008/9 was exactly half what it was in 2006/7. I feel better for eating less refined carbohydrate but I am also faster in average speed over the course and in actual time taken (so with less stop time) for 100km-220km rides. I used to get stomach cramps and diarrhoea on and off the bike (amongst other problems) but now that I avoid most breads and have limited amounts of carbohydrate at meal times I feel much better. I don't use carb drinks on the bike any more either as they still give me stomach cramps and diarhoea. I eat a lot more protein than I did two years ago. I still eat lots of fruit and veg but really limit my intake of refined carbs. I have read some research that suggested that women don't benefit as much as men from carb loading. I now ride faster shorter events and don't do anything above about 220kms so it is difficult to compare but doing the longer audax events at steady pace must have required fewer carboydrates than I was eating at the time. However, the same must also be true now - I eat very little refined craboydrate yet my times are better, I find hills and mountain climbs easier and have more energy on and off the bike. I also no longer put on 7-10 pounds of water every month for the week before my period - this was a real bugger when doing hilly events, as 7-10 pounds is a lot of extra weight to suddenly have to carry, apart from the discomfort and my kit not fitting etc, but since dropping the carb intake this doesn't happen at all any more. Am I some kind of freak?

On my 76 mile hilly ride yesterday, I ate leek and potato soup and a peice of carrot cake half way round. After the ride I ate half a small pineapple and had a 330ml carton of malted soya milk before I made our tea (chicken and veg stir fry). It is a mix of carbs and protein but it's not overly carb-rich.

Frank the tank

I like a drink of for goodness shakes. But my real fave after a long ride is a couple of pints of Guinness.

I don't suppose thats on many sports nutritionsts list of must do's, but, hey, I'm not trying to win the TdF.

malcsussex

Frank the tank wrote:

I like a drink of for goodness shakes. But my real fave after a long ride is a couple of pints of Guinness.

I don't suppose thats on many sports nutritionsts list of must do's, but, hey, I'm not trying to win the TdF.

Ooo Guiness that would give me a mega headache..I take one banana, pint of fat free milk and chuck in some other available fruit juice. Wack it in the liquidiser and enjoy. I agree must be asap. I often prepare mine before I set off. What a welcome home.

JGS

Blonde wrote:

but I am a clothing size smaller than I was when doing those long events

It does bear thinking that being lighter means you use less calories than someone heavier travelling at the same speed. This would probably tie into your lower carb intake and lower mileage. As usual I am probably wrong though ....