Nutrition for cyclists (Your Questions Answered)

[@stevebatt9643]

Thanks for the great advice and I’m loving your channel especially with being an older athlete myself who definitely isn’t ready to give up. I’m 58 and so far in life I hit peak fitness at 50 and now training to be even fitter when I hit 60. It works for me as a great way of looking forward to the unstoppable ageing thing 😊

[@veloperformance]

Thank you. I love that attitude. Keep working at it and showing others around you what is possible. I feel a lot of people think that it’s not. Let’s show them it is.

[@chrism5433]

Velo cuisine channel lol thank you 🚲🍺

[@veloperformance]

Yeah my cocking sucks. I’ll stick to cycling 😆

[@chrism5433]

@@veloperformance unfortunately my wife doesn't prefer kitchen either.on that note said .how would you gauge the km training estimate for over 50 on the more serious side ?? Cheers 🚲🍺

[@veloperformance]

@@chrism5433 Soory can you eplain that a bit more?

[@theonlyDougBlack]

As a new cyclist at 52 I really appreciate all the helpful information. I did sign up for your free video series by email and they were great! Thanks for keeping us informed!!!

[@veloperformance]

Thank you. Glad you got something from the free email Series too.

[@AdrianWells]

Great advice. Unfortunately it seems even GCN have been falling for the Tim Spector and Glucose goddess nonsense as they were parroting them in their recent weightloss video.

[@veloperformance]

I’ve not seen it yet 🤦🏻‍♂️

[@888jucu]

Just a quick demonstration as to why you shouldn't fear high carb intake whilst training/racing. To give an example if u r moving along at a modest 150w ur body is still consuming the same energy as 129g/hr sugar. For sure ur body is using a mixture of both fats and carbs with that ratio dependant on how fit u r but exogenous carbs will be prioritised by the working muscles as a means of keeping the blood sugar homeostasis. The limiting factor for exogenous carb intake whilst riding will typically not be determined by how much your body needs but will be limited by how much you can actually absorb without getting GI distress. I currently can absorb up to 108g/hr before getting the stomach wobblies so if Im moving at 150w or more I know from the above calculation that those exogenous carbs are getting completely consumed by my muscles as well as some endogenous carbs and fats. When I consume sufficient carbs on the bike Im typically not very hungry when I get home and this is a good sign I got my carb intake right but if u find urself immediately raping the fridge as soon as you get home then that indicates you didn't take enough on the bike. Prior to getting my carbs and electrolytes sorted I used to get home from long morning rides completely wrecked and very often got afternoon headaches as a consequence thereby spoiling the whole day but since getting this all sorted I no longer get the headaches and have energy to function like a normal human being even after 150 or 200km ride 👍

[@ShawnIsBatman]

Fantastic video!! Thank you for answering my specific questions and thanks for the shout out on my screen name! Sometimes it is justified to reveal my secret identity for the greater good! On the Garmin (and other) calories burned number from a workout. I have seen over time that the trackers report between 400 - 600 calories burned per hour and this does correlate to the intensity of the ride. While I believe 600 may be a bit generous, when I am seeing 400-500 range , which is most typical, I am pretty confident that this number is in a reasonable ballpark. As you mentioned, this number is important only as a general piece of feedback in the big picture. I found great value and learned something from every question, not just the questions that I posed. Thank you!

[@veloperformance]

Thank you. Love the handle. 😎

[@daveebert7747]

I truly enjoy your content and your channel, especially as a 66 year old cyclist and fitness enthusiast. You have done your community a great service by adding the Lane Norton clip, he is as credible as they come. I like to mix up my energy source for long rides. Energy bars, trail mix, jellies and my favorite is Maple Syrup. I buy big bottles and pour it into a Hyrdapak 150ml SoftFlask, I have two of them. It is so much cheaper then commercial gels and 100% natural.

[@veloperformance]

I appreciate that thank you. Sound like you have your nutrition on point 😎

[@dazzatm6028]

great content

[@veloperformance]

Thank you 😎

[@racingsimon6234]

Great video Simon and thanks for answering my question. Currently trying to improve my nutrition around training/riding and watching your channel and reading Renee McGregor’s books, who I discovered via your excellent YT/podcast is providing lots of good advice to a recently re-motivated 53 yr old cyclist

[@veloperformance]

Thank you. She’s excellent. Check out Bio Layne and Martin McDonnald too. 😎

[@alexlencioni545]

A lot of that makes sense I bonked going back on a 124 km ride because I didn't prepare for it not enough energy bars and protein gels and short on fluids, staying fuelled up very important horrible feeling bonked.🚴‍♂️

[@veloperformance]

Thank you. Yeah we’ve all done it. Once you have you swear to yourself it will never happen again.

[@13bjo]

Reservoir of excellent ,sound and sensible advice that can be reflected upon and introduced into a way of thinking that helps promote a positive healthy lifestyle as well as for cycling. Thanks you for all your hard work in putting all these vids together.

[@veloperformance]

Thank you. 😎

[@andeez4663]

Great vid. I have heard conflicting info on what to eat before long Z2 rides. One thing you maybe should have mentioned is that all the gels, energy drinks etc will have a detrimental effect on our teeth, esp as masters cyclists. So, brush after training!

[@veloperformance]

Good point! I’ll talk about that in Majorca in one of my videos. 😎

[@veloperformance]

@andeez6663 out of interest what was the conflicting advice?

[@andeez4663]

@@veloperformance One coach told me to limit carbs before Z2 rides to train the body to use fat. I also saw that on a vid somewhere. Then I messaged Inigo San Millan below one of his videos asking what he ate before Z2 rides and he replied "a large bowl of oats". So, if the body has a belly full of carbs will that inhibit the fat burn?

[@veloperformance]

I think we need to differentiate between “fat burn”and oxidise blood lipids. The two are different. Low carb training will push up fat oxidation of blood lipid but doesn’t push up fat loss. Fasted and low carb has also been shown not to be that effective at driving a greater aerobic adaptation to well fed state long distance aerobic training. So you can but why do you need to?

[@andeez4663]

@@veloperformance I'm not interested in losing weight, just going faster at a lower heart rate. I understand that training at Fat Max will see the greatest gains, I was just unclear as to whether training at Fat Max should be done fully carbed up or not

[@LeeWright]

Another fantastic video! Have fun in Mallorca!

[@veloperformance]

Thank you. 🚴‍♂️💨

[@davidryan4053]

Nicely explained. Simple. Thanks.

[@veloperformance]

Thank you 😎

[@grahamwilson829]

Informative and honest as usual.👍👍

[@veloperformance]

Thanks 👍

[@thery900]

Great video and thanks for the advice 👍🏻

[@veloperformance]

No problem 👍

[@peterstockwell7512]

Great advice

[@veloperformance]

Thank you Peter. 😎👌🏼

[@jb50-w3k]

Excellent info, thanks!

[@veloperformance]

Thank you 😎

[@Jean-PaulHuppe]

Very interesting👍 Thanks

[@veloperformance]

Thank you. 😎

[@JibbaJabber]

Great vid - love the real world practical video.🥇 Superb info on carbs, protein and weight loss 👍 Keep the good work up. #Subscribe PS. Not sure about the pronunciation @12:43 😊

[@veloperformance]

Appreciate it!

[@jamesmacdonald3060]

very helpful..

[@veloperformance]

Glad it was helpful! 😎

[@McDonaldPhotography]

Great tips - thank you 🙏

[@veloperformance]

Glad it was helpful!

[@chrismadge7292]

Good video, but there’s a few points I don’t agree with. There’s no way I can eat a carbohydrate meal an hour before a turbo session, I need at least two hours or more to digest the food otherwise I get stomach issues. Some riders can easily burn 1000 calories an hour, a power meter is your best guide for ride calorie expenditure.

[@veloperformance]

Depends what you eat before the ride. If you find it hard to turn what you eat and drink in training is key. It’s in usual to burn 1000 calories an hour but not impossible if you are a heavy rider. What I’m trying to drive home here is that calorie measures can be off by as much as 10% up to 90%. It can vary so being mindful of this is important.

[@ashleyhouse9690]

I think a lot of endurance athletes will change their minds about nutrition when they are diagnosed as pre-diabetic or even T2DM in future.

[@veloperformance]

Pre diabetes and Type 2 is not something most healthy people or cyclist should worry about as long as they stay fit and in good shape. Being healthy and efficient muscles / cells will metabolise carbohydrate as fuel just like it should. The problem generally arises when people are at an unhealthy weight or have higher fat level / poor body composition. It’s not carbs people should be worrying about it’s their health and body composition they need to focus on.

[@ashleyhouse9690]

Just keep telling yourself that and you'll be fine. Meanwhile, just Google "Pro athletes with type 2 diabetes" and trot along to the Wikipedia page. Seriously, anyone going into middle age or older who are following a high carb approach to endurance sports really should be concerned and follow the myriad of research by many emmenent doctors which is out there.

[@ashleyhouse9690]

It's interesting that you use the phrase "most healthy people" because it's obvious just looking around at cycling sportives that the majority of participants don't fall into that cstegory. That notwithstsnding just Google "Pro althletes with type 2 diabetes" and gobto the Wikipedia page. I think you'll agree that those people should be healthy? What could be thecreason why so many