More Energy before riding
 

I happened to go to my local drug store with the family this afternoon so I asked the Lady pharmacist what would she recommend before going on a ride. I asked her about some of the energy diet stuff and she said that her husband who is a Physician and is a cyclist says that he eats some of the protein or energy bars and he drinks cytomax. I told her that Endurox r4 suppose to also be very good. I was thinking for the price I would go with accelerade. Any comments? Thanks

STeve

Hell, I typically ride in the evenings. So, I make dinner go to work for me. Pastas are my favorite. I like pancakes when I head out in the morning. I try to give myself no less than 30 minutes to digest before setting out. 45-60 minutes if possible.

I always eat breakfast before morning rides. However, I'll head out before eating dinner as long as I have a gel or two with me. Then after an in-and-out shower, I waste no time getting dinner in me.

if you can stomach the accelerade, this product works for me.

I've taken the hammergel and e-caps products now before rides and races for a few years now. I found huge improvements in performance with the race day boost capsules and the anti fatigue capsules as well as cardio caps and enduro caps. On long rides or races I drink perpetuem.

http://www.e-caps.com/

-- I like the results I get from the "Omega" brand energy drink. Clears the fog out of my head. Then once I get pedaling, the exercise itself provides a great buzz.

Pharmacist and the vast majority of the medical profession know nothing about nutrition for athletes. Food for Fitness by Carmichael has pre-race/pre-exercise eating guidlines as a function of time before the event and body weight. It also provides guidelines for eating during and after.

You can't go wrong with carbs. Quality carbs are best.

Al

So what's a quality carb? Just curious.

Brown rice, oats, whole wheat breads, grain cereals, pasta.

A bad carb would be something at the top of the food pyramid, such as cookies, soda, any think high in sugar, really (sugar is a simple carb and is used too quickly), even white bread.

Ok, my favorite pre-ride snack is a peanut butter/banana/honey sandwich. I guess it's not the best snack. But it usually works for me. Thanks matt

I'd say that's a good snack, assuming the bread is whole wheat and the peanut butter is made without hydrogenated oils.

Simple carbohydrates (sugar, soda etc.) can serve a purpose; they're exactly what you need if you bonk mid ride.

The most helpful tip I've found is to eat a complete meal AFTER each ride in addition to eating something before...you recover much faster and as a result are ready to go for next time.

I usually eat Nature Valley granola bars before/during rides; they have a good balance of carbohydrate/fat/protein and are easy to carry.

Quality carbs are carbs that have nutrients, fiber and protein that keeps you healthy. Non-quality carbs are those that are just sugars. That said, there is a time/place for the "mostly sugar carbs" or even "all sugar carbs". Examples are during the actual moderate to strenuous activity especially if it exceeds an hour, and for the first several hours after the activity.

For example, true whole-wheat bread is a higher quality carb than white bread, low sugar whole grain cereals are better than the empty, high sugar ones marketed to kids .

Some years back it was thought that the pure sugar stuff was best during and after the ride for fast assimilation (replace Glycogen & ATP). now it's believed that mixing some protein with the sugars increases the rate of assimilation. The ratio seems to be somewhere between 4 parts carb to 1 part protein, although lately I've read 7:1 in Carmichaels book.

Eating pure sugar stuff bothers me personally, so my wife makes these great oatmeal cookie bars with raisins and a few choc. chips. Chocolate is high fat and that slows the absorption process, so there are just a few. I do a gel once in a while during the ride to keep the carb ratio up, but I eat mostly the cookies and some dried fruit.

Immediately after the ride, I eat a cup of low fat plain yogurt (publix brand is awesome) with fresh fruit (actually defrosted frozen fruit) doctored to the 4 or 5 to one ratio with true maple syrup (about three tble spoons). Maple syrup is not healthier than sugar; I just love the taste. Also, I personally avoid corn syrup so I prefer to add my own sugars. You might consider this a quality carb meal doctored to do the job of a poor quality carb.

For the next several hours, up to 4 or 5, I'll eat low protein and low fat quality carbs like pasta, multi grain bagels with preserves, fruit and veggies, etc. The later in day I make sure I get enough protein, which is not all that much based on the current thinking.

Those days I don't do any longer duration stuff, i make sure I get enough fats.

Al