Jet Lag

Stone Glider

Back from Oz and feeling cr*p. Whilst with the family I borrowed the son-in-law's mtb after a couple of days and rode to the local shops. What a mistake! "Brain to legs.... Come in!" Only a few K's and I was completely done for. Got back to the house and thought I had had a total fail. Didn't ride the bike for a ten days or so, waited until the embarrassment had subsided, tried again and all was fine

My question is.... (here is a point to this post), how do Pro's manage? I am assuming that the problem was jet lag, is there a recipe for avoiding the damaging effects? The AToC is on at the moment, how soon do the competitors have to arrive in the time zone to give of their best?

P.S. I already know that there is a difference in the constitution of a professional athlete and a fat old man on an ill-fitting bicycle

Tusher

Someone wiser will be along shortly, but I believe that they take hydration very seriously, which can often be a cause of jet lag in lesser mortals. A few of the richer ones will shell out to fly business or first class in order to have as easy a flight as possible. (Although I've read Robbie Hunter moaning that he doesn't).

They do fly a lot, but most of their flights are in the same time zone, but it does mean that they're well used to flying, and recovering afterwards. They know how to pack, they know what to eat and what not to eat, and they know to rest as much as possible whenever they can.

On long-haul flights, they arrive in advance of the race to readjust, but even then, it tends to only be 2-3 days max.

My own personal theory is that their masseurs help- any good massage will stimulate the lymphatic system, which can only help.


It's an interesting question though.

rick_chasey

Rick Chasey
@inrng I'm sure you're finding the Giro riveting today! - quick idea/question for a future blog post - how do riders cope with Jet lag??

‏inrng
@RickChasey not much to it, they try to sleep / force themselves to stay awake on the plane to adapt early. A ride upon landing is ideal.

inkyfingers

I would imagine that the fact they are so physically fit would help as well. The other point is that most of the races that involve serious time changes are hardly the most prestigious (Beijing/California) so spending the first couple of days sitting in the bunch acclimatising wouldn't be too much of an issue for most.

fidbod

I can't speak for pros but my top tips for an early adjustment from Jet lag.

1. Don't drink on the flight except lots of water
2. don't sleep on the flight and when you land gut it out until normal bed time.
3. Hit the gym if you can to get physically tired before bed
4. Melatonin is great if you have some
5. Lots of excercise on day two if possible.

win.

shockedsoshocked

There's two things people on long haul flights have to deal with: Jet Lag and Travel Fatigue.

Travel fatigue occurs on long haul flights even within the same time zone. For a start there's time packing, travelling to airports, transfers etc, then they're sitting on a plane for hours with limited room for exercise, dehydration due to dry cabin air, poor food choices on board etc. Keeping hydrated (avoiding tea, coffee and alcohol) helps, as well as using compression clothing. Planes are awful places for athletes however as the recycled air just makes the germs circulate continuously.

Across that many time zones however there'll be not much you can do. It takes roughly a day per hour time difference to adapt, so the riders will just have to cope more than likely. You can't just have a nap on the plane and expect to be fine. Your body has various natural rhythms that are very deep rooted (ever wake up just before your alarm goes off for example and wonder why?) so I expect they have a few days to a week of really poor nights sleep, and I suspect that their riding will be affected if they're flying in and racing almost immediately. A weeks minimum to adapt I'd say they're probably taking.

shinyhelmut

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

There's two things people on long haul flights have to deal with: Jet Lag and Travel Fatigue.

Travel fatigue occurs on long haul flights even within the same time zone. For a start there's time packing, travelling to airports, transfers etc, then they're sitting on a plane for hours with limited room for exercise, dehydration due to dry cabin air, poor food choices on board etc. Keeping hydrated (avoiding tea, coffee and alcohol) helps, as well as using compression clothing. Planes are awful places for athletes however as the recycled air just makes the germs circulate continuously.

Across that many time zones however there'll be not much you can do. It takes roughly a day per hour time difference to adapt, so the riders will just have to cope more than likely. You can't just have a nap on the plane and expect to be fine. Your body has various natural rhythms that are very deep rooted (ever wake up just before your alarm goes off for example and wonder why?) so I expect they have a few days to a week of really poor nights sleep, and I suspect that their riding will be affected if they're flying in and racing almost immediately. A weeks minimum to adapt I'd say they're probably taking.

A popular misconception. The recalculated air is actually filtered much better than the air in your office. The close proximity to lots of people is the problem not the recycled air.

As for the rest of the advice above, drink lots of water, get up and move about regularly, compression socks are good, eat sensibly (this one can be difficult to achieve.) Plan your sleep on the flight around your destination time zone not your origin, if you can start this a few days before the flight then even better.

When you arrive light exercise in daylight can help you adapt to the new time zone. A massage will probably help.

All this is based on 19 years of flying longhaul most weeks.

shockedsoshocked

I stand corrected in that case. It would make sense. I'm friends with a couple of GB runners, a rower and a boxer, and they often factor in a few days pre-competition when they inevitably pick up something (they think the recycled air is the issue mind!)

symo

ShinyHelmut wrote:

ShockedSoShocked wrote:

There's two things people on long haul flights have to deal with: Jet Lag and Travel Fatigue.

Travel fatigue occurs on long haul flights even within the same time zone. For a start there's time packing, travelling to airports, transfers etc, then they're sitting on a plane for hours with limited room for exercise, dehydration due to dry cabin air, poor food choices on board etc. Keeping hydrated (avoiding tea, coffee and alcohol) helps, as well as using compression clothing. Planes are awful places for athletes however as the recycled air just makes the germs circulate continuously.

Across that many time zones however there'll be not much you can do. It takes roughly a day per hour time difference to adapt, so the riders will just have to cope more than likely. You can't just have a nap on the plane and expect to be fine. Your body has various natural rhythms that are very deep rooted (ever wake up just before your alarm goes off for example and wonder why?) so I expect they have a few days to a week of really poor nights sleep, and I suspect that their riding will be affected if they're flying in and racing almost immediately. A weeks minimum to adapt I'd say they're probably taking.

A popular misconception. The recalculated air is actually filtered much better than the air in your office. The close proximity to lots of people is the problem not the recycled air.

As for the rest of the advice above, drink lots of water, get up and move about regularly, compression socks are good, eat sensibly (this one can be difficult to achieve.) Plan your sleep on the flight around your destination time zone not your origin, if you can start this a few days before the flight then even better.

When you arrive light exercise in daylight can help you adapt to the new time zone. A massage will probably help.

All this is based on 19 years of flying longhaul most weeks.

+1

I also find (and this sounds odd), if your bathroom at the hotel has a marble floor take your shoes and socks off and just stand with your feet on the cold marble. Always refreshes me. I would also suggest having a wash when you wake up on the plane helps.

Stone Glider

Thanks for all the replies, really informative. Oddly enough, I had the smoothest and best flight out ever! A380 and Qantas service, plus plenty of sleep and no stress. Still felt rubbish when I tried to exert myself :oops:

We are postponing the enhanced seating for as long as our health can tolerate 'cattle class' to stretch the period when our finances can reach to visiting the family in Oz. The seats and space is fine on the A380, not quite so good on the 747 Definitely feel the want of fresh air by the end of a flight.