Cycling nutrition

Kingsmill1

Does anyone have any tips on some safe, legal nutrition for fitness cycling ? I'm 44 just getting the bug and I'm averaging about 50 miles a week over 4-5 days average ride 11 miles with average speed 16 mph. Don't take any vits supplements at the moment but find after two days my legs are wasted, usually train two days one day off. I do use the zero cal tablets in my water bottles which has helped with dehydration.

Looking next to do some longer distances and some sportives so any advise would help.

sharky1029

If it is gels you are after, I would recommend torq gels as the taste surprisingly good for a gel. They come in loads of novel flavours such as rhubarb and custard.
They recently one the gel test in cycling plus I believe as well.
You could also try energy bars which also come from a wide range of brands and that depends on personal taste preference.

t.m.h.n.e.t

Keep it simple.

Carbs before a ride - carbs and protein after.

50miles a week really isn't a level that really requires anything special,If anything at all.

ShutUpLegs

Fruit & vegetables.

Bobbinogs

At that mileage I wouldn't worry too much about nutrition, just eat a well balanced diet and ride your bike. After a ride, drink a pint of semi skimmed milk, job done. If your legs are getting too tired after two 10 mile rides in a row, take 2 days off and let your legs recover. Remember that you get stronger in recovery so you have to give your body a chance to do so.

You only need to worry about on board nutrition when you are doing hard rides of over 2 hours or so (in which case you should eat something like a banana at about 1'15", ish, or about 25 miles) but you will learn to make your own rules about what to eat and when.

Kingsmill1

Thanks for the replies I would love the get out more and longer but the old ball and chain and ankle biter take up some of my time and work during the week and can't ride that far on my commute unless I do about 70 miles round trip which at my pace would mean getting up at 3am every day for a 7 am start , just not practical once the spring comes and my work hours change I'm going to try and extend the distances . I think my problem is recovery I've done two 11 mile rides in two days having had one day off and today did a three mile run as that's all I had time for going to rest tomorrow as legs are tired today.

unixnerd

I'm your age and I tend to short short runs after work (25 miles) at high power output and longer runs at the weekend (50-100) at a lower power output.

For long runs I tend to have coffee and toast with jam an hour before the ride. Coupled with a decent carby meal the night before, that's enough. Within an hour of the ride I'll have a good meal. On a long ride I'll have a banana and likely a cake stop or a Mars bar.

Eat a proper home cooked diet with a good amount of veg. I eat like a horse and I'm 5'6" 9 stone 9, I'm not trying to lose weight. I find cycling will see the weight fall off even with a good diet. My nephew has lost nearly four stone since taking it up. So long as you eat healthily and not junk food just eat what you like. I'd not worry about supplements as you should be getting enough vitamins and minerals from your diet unless you're doing mega miles every week.

simon_masterson

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Keep it simple.

Carbs before a ride - carbs and protein after.

50miles a week really isn't a level that really requires anything special,If anything at all.

Exactly this.

Not to belittle you, but that's low mileage. 40 miles or more a day on the other hand, unless you're going really slowly (I hate to think of how early you'd have to get up for that to be an option!) requires more of a regime.

When I was doing that kind of mileage I was using a recovery shake of protein powder, powdered oats and dextrose/maltodextrin to top up after the ride in; in retrospect I think I'd have been as well to have one after the ride home as well and if I'm fortunate enough to be able to do a commute of that length again (in the near future would be nice!) I will do.
You can't go "full gas" (ie. in my case 20-25mph average) all the time on a diet that provides for a much less active lifestyle. You need lots of quality carbs; eg. wholegrain pasta, wholegrain rice, wholemeal bread...

But eating a balanced diet isn't all that difficult. Certainly when I started looking at the calorific content of foods I was quite shocked. Just cutting down on the cake/fast food/caramel lattes can make a big difference.

And interestingly, just to stir the pot, some argue that electrolyte tablets are pointless at best and detrimental to glycogen stores at worst.

http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/news/panorama

t.m.h.n.e.t

Simon Masterson wrote:

And interestingly, just to stir the pot, some argue that electrolyte tablets are pointless at best and detrimental to glycogen stores at worst.

http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/news/panorama

Don't start this shit again

simon_masterson

T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:

Simon Masterson wrote:

And interestingly, just to stir the pot, some argue that electrolyte tablets are pointless at best and detrimental to glycogen stores at worst.

http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/news/panorama

Don't start this shoot again

I know, I know...

lotus49

Kingsmill1 wrote:

Does anyone have any tips on some safe, legal nutrition ...

Mr Pharmstrong has a lot to answer for, he's even got amateurs worried about the legality of what they have .