Please recommend an energy booster
 

The thread on caffeine below promted me to ask you guys this question.

I am looking for an energy booster. I know a guy who knows a guy who owns a health food store. This guy recommended something called Red Devils. The real name of these escapes me, something like.....Afenerdren...? Forgive me that is how I spell it phonetically, but it sounds something like that.

I have been dragged out (tired) while riding for some time now actually since last summer. I get on the bike, and feel crappy and i can't wait to get off the thing. When I do get off after my ride, I immediately feel better and I can work all day around the house, building my shed, shoveling dirt for my lawn, planting trees, etc I can go all day.

Nothing wrong with me physically, I eat right, not at all overweight, and ride a fair bit (200km + per week). I feel ok in the mornings, tad groggy, which quickly goes away. Went to the doctor had a complete bloodwork, B12, thyroid, etc, etc. no problems there.

Like I said, I WANT to ride, I do I feel crappy, when I finish I am glad it's over and do other things.

I would like to have a bit of a pick-me-up but I don;t want to become addicted to these things. Does anyone know about this...Afenerdren....or something similar?

Ephedrine is the major component of fat burners such as hydroxycut and metabolife. It's rather controversial because it causes heart problems for some people. Basically it's a stimulant used in weight loss products. It's jacks up your metabolism. Most people do not experience side effects, but some do. I've heard of people complain of feeling jittery all day, racing heart, so on and so forth.

Do some research on the Internet - you will find arguements for and against it.

Also, are you warming up or just jumping right into your ride? Are you hydrated enough? What do you eat before you ride? These are all things that can make a HUGE difference!

ah Ephedrine, that's it, thank you!

Yes, I am very well hydrated. I.e. I pee alot on the ride.

As for the other 2 questions, it got me thinking and I'll answer them together.
The only really time I am tired, is my evening rides. I am a morning person, but riding before work is not possible nor is riding TO work. I live 35km away from work, and that would be an 1.5 hour ride each way, and I want ot be at work at 7am. I feel pretty good the morning rides on the weekend, but could feel better I think.

I usually eat my supper 1- 1.5 hours before I ride, do a 40km ride, then have something like yogurt or muffin after. I am a vegetarian so supper is usually pasta, or rice, or tofu and vegatables of some sort, alot of the time with cheese or eggs. I AM a carbohydrate junky, I gotta have cookies, muffins, fruit, etc at about 2pm everyday and after any ride.

Do I warm up? Welllllll, I don't do any jumping jacks or anything before i ride, I do try to take i teasy for the first few km's, but I find i feel so good at the start I end up hammering, then I feel lousy, then i get kinda a second wind and feel a bit better. But once I turn around to head back home, sloooowwwwww. Like yesterday I did a 60km ride. Boy I was feelin' alright at the start, averaging 30-35km/hr, then I turned around to head back. Average speed went down to 25 and I couldn't WAIT for it to end.

I'll do some research on that stuff.....

I dunno. It sounds to me like you're overtrained, or just mentally tired of spending so much time on the bike. 200+ kms/week is a lot of cycling... what are your goals, racing? (If you turn pro, you'll have to give up the ephedrine. ;))

I'd suggest putting some more effort into trying to understand why riding has become drudgery and address the source of the problem, rather than finding a stimulant to allay the symptom.

I am not training for a race, I dunno why I ride so hard, I just want to be fast, fit, and I just like the speed. Being able to maintain a high cadence and average speed under you own power is just......neat.

I think it may be a tad physical, as my diet is really good it could be improved. It DOES feel like drudgery as I catch myself saying "hope it rains so I don't have to go for a ride". I just stand back and go "whoa there big boy, whadda ya say that for?"

I guess I feel as if I don't ride then I am gonna get out of shape and won't be able to do 100km ride, get fat and become a couch potatoe.

I need another sport me thinks. Perhaps kayaking.......oh jeez MORE money.:rolleyes:

Make sure you remember to enjoy the ride.

I have found a few times that I'm pushing to keep up the speed and cadence and it's a real effort. I remind myself that I ride because I enjoy riding and if I do a bad time today it doesn't matter. Then I relax and start enjoying the ride.

I usually find that when I do give myself the license to take it easy I start feeling great again and end up doing a good time.

It sounds to me like you do know why you ride so hard, and I can relate.

Nah. Sounds like you're too conscientious to let that happen. If it's a physical, try backing off a little... maybe one less ride a week or lower intensity. If it's mental, do you mostly ride solo? If so, try hooking up with a group or club ride once a week. It can do wonders for your motivation.

I use to ride with a group once per week in my old town. It was good.

When I moved here 1.5 years ago I started to ride with 2 differant groups but a few things made it inconvient.

1) with group 1 they would take a rough, pothole filled narrow twisting winding route with a speed limit posted at 50km/h but the motorists would do 90. Plus these people would not signal hazards in the road and I nailed 2 potholes that required retruing my wheel each time.


2) the second group had too many surprises, like a 10km dirt road on several trips and here I was with my road bike with 23mm tires!!! Arrgggghhhhhhh

Plus the amount of traffic in town is insane I am not familar with the area, etc etc etc. I did alot of complaining when I first moved here about the quality of cycling and I was a tad depressed. To think they call this place a "cycling haven" HAH!!!!

Anyway, I have recently built a new house wayyy outside the city and although I cannot ride to work anymore i do get more time on my road bike. I do see cyclists out here but i haven't had the opportunity to speak with them. I think this fall I am gonna post something at the local school, community rec centre, post office, and gym to see if people are interested in starting a bike club for the area. We are that far outside town that riding with the in-town groups is a bit of a hassle.

But yeah I do miss riding with a group, and that could be part of the problem. Perhaps I will post something now to find a riding partner.

a high protein meal gives energy for some hours afterward

for particulars see my post page three weight loss club

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...3&pagenumber=3

I would highly suggest you do not use an energy boster if your rides are late in the day and you value your sleep. Some of them will keep you awake late into the night. Even if you have a good long ride they will still affect you. Try to adjust what you eat before your rides, perhaps combine some simple sugars with some complex carbs. The ss will give you a quick bost of energy at the begining and then by the time your body uses them up the complex carbs should sustain you for the duration. Hope you figure this out. You could also be over training, in that case just take some time off and give your body a rest.
Slainte :beer:

Sounds like it could be unbalanced diet and/or overtraining .Vegetarians often have trouble getting enough protien and fat into their diet.Just be sure to always include some of those protien/fat items you mentioned with your pasta and rice or combine foods in such a way to create complete protien(ie beans and rice)and then maybe add add some olive oil or flax to a side salad.Same goes with the simple carb snacks .Try a trail mix or soy nuts with some of those fruits and muffins.If this doesn't solve the problem(I know it can't hurt)Long rides after a full work day may just not be giving you enough time to rest and relax.How are you sleeping?Overtraining often leads to trouble sleeping and intense exercise late in the evening can affect sleep as well.One solution may be to just cut back on the work LOL

Ephedrine is speed, a legal version of it, and it can be broken down to make more serious narcotics. I would highly recommend against cycling while using ephedrine or any other "speed" stimulant with the exception of maybe caffiene. It can definitely impair your judgment, cause blood pressure/heart issues and due to it's nature, artificially and dangerously push you beyond your body's natural limits.