Book recommendation for cycling nutrition
April 8, 2013 5:47 PM Subscribe
Book recommendation for cycling nutrition: looking for something that details on and off the bike nutrition and cites studies and the physiology of what's happening when you ride/train. Something that seriously discusses supplementation, but steers clear of the hard stuff. I am an avid, but amateur, cyclist that wants something readable but not totally dumbed down.
Something like the Cyclist's Training Bible could be a good start.
I've reached a fairly high level when it comes to riding (and racing Very Long Distance) bikes, so I'm curious on any specific questions you may have.
* Re: supplements, my rule of thumb is that food is always better (and cheaper), so eat food.
* Re: food while riding, it's going to be experimenting what works with you.
* A good way to get lean is to not eat before a long ride, and not eat during the ride. You'll bonk HARD, and it's generally not very healthy to do, but welcome to the finer aspects of the Pro Peloton! (kidding, kind of...)
Diet is a subject surrounded by landmines, but usually if you just use your sense and not eat processed crap most of the time, you're 99% there. Again, it's a lot of, "what works for you, personally". Weird things can happen when you push your body to do ridiculous things.
posted by alex_skazat at 8:44 PM on April 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
I've reached a fairly high level when it comes to riding (and racing Very Long Distance) bikes, so I'm curious on any specific questions you may have.
* Re: supplements, my rule of thumb is that food is always better (and cheaper), so eat food.
* Re: food while riding, it's going to be experimenting what works with you.
* A good way to get lean is to not eat before a long ride, and not eat during the ride. You'll bonk HARD, and it's generally not very healthy to do, but welcome to the finer aspects of the Pro Peloton! (kidding, kind of...)
Diet is a subject surrounded by landmines, but usually if you just use your sense and not eat processed crap most of the time, you're 99% there. Again, it's a lot of, "what works for you, personally". Weird things can happen when you push your body to do ridiculous things.
posted by alex_skazat at 8:44 PM on April 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: @alex I think bonking might be what I am trying to avoid. Did a mere 30 miles this past weekend and bonked on a cat 3 climb and was dropped. I'm 6'4" 170lbs so I am not sure how much effort I should make to get leaner, but thus the reason I'm looking for proper literature. I don't mind bonking on training rides, and like most cyclists I enjoy the suffering. I'm just trying to get a more scientific view of what's going on with my body and how to kill the burn in my legs.
posted by blueplasticfish at 8:52 PM on April 8, 2013
posted by blueplasticfish at 8:52 PM on April 8, 2013
You're the same weight as me, and I'm about 5" shorter - but I can climb like a goat. I also focus on almost nothing but riding up and down things (and long days).
If you're bonking, you may just want to eat while riding - the general rule of thumb is that you can eat about 250 cals/hour, so try a gel/gu type thing every hour or so, but maybe give it 20 min. before you hit that big climb and your heartrate/etc go over the top.
They're mostly sugar and should be absorbed right away to help replenish any of the glycogen stores your muscles are using up - my wholly IANAD theory is that may just be happening.
Some people get cramps with certain types of foods, so you may have to experiment on what works for you. With riding, I can eat mostly anything, but with running, I *can't* eat almost anything or I get cramps - which was a surprise.
There's a theory that your body gets used to what you constantly feed on it, and for more endurance type rides, it's better to go with more fat as your food source. The idea is that your fat stores are essentially limitless, so if your body is tuned to use it, you won't bonk as much on long rides.
I hate to bust forth with mere anecdotes, as you're explicitly looking for reading material. There's a wealth of information on this site, http://fellrnr.com/wiki/The_Science_of_the_Long_Run, but it focuses on running - but it touches on the Glycogen Depletion idea I was talking about. It does gives some interesting things to look into, if you cross-reference it with cycling. Cycling is going to be way lower impact and usual much lower stress and heart rate activity - it's why you an literally do it all day, when a 4 hour marathon can take you out for the day.
posted by alex_skazat at 10:13 PM on April 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
If you're bonking, you may just want to eat while riding - the general rule of thumb is that you can eat about 250 cals/hour, so try a gel/gu type thing every hour or so, but maybe give it 20 min. before you hit that big climb and your heartrate/etc go over the top.
They're mostly sugar and should be absorbed right away to help replenish any of the glycogen stores your muscles are using up - my wholly IANAD theory is that may just be happening.
Some people get cramps with certain types of foods, so you may have to experiment on what works for you. With riding, I can eat mostly anything, but with running, I *can't* eat almost anything or I get cramps - which was a surprise.
There's a theory that your body gets used to what you constantly feed on it, and for more endurance type rides, it's better to go with more fat as your food source. The idea is that your fat stores are essentially limitless, so if your body is tuned to use it, you won't bonk as much on long rides.
I hate to bust forth with mere anecdotes, as you're explicitly looking for reading material. There's a wealth of information on this site, http://fellrnr.com/wiki/The_Science_of_the_Long_Run, but it focuses on running - but it touches on the Glycogen Depletion idea I was talking about. It does gives some interesting things to look into, if you cross-reference it with cycling. Cycling is going to be way lower impact and usual much lower stress and heart rate activity - it's why you an literally do it all day, when a 4 hour marathon can take you out for the day.
posted by alex_skazat at 10:13 PM on April 8, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: "Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes" -Monique Ryan
posted by rhizome at 11:15 PM on April 8, 2013
posted by rhizome at 11:15 PM on April 8, 2013
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Chris Carmichael's Food for Fitness is more focused on sciencey nutrition stuff and discusses suppplements, but is still very readable, accessible, and easily implement-able.
posted by rhiannonstone at 6:08 PM on April 8, 2013