Nutrition and Hydration for Cyclists
Vicki K. Sullivan, PhD, RD, LD
Vicki K. Sullivan, PhD, RD, LD
Cyclists who start to ride competitively, longer distances,
and faster speeds than the average casual recreational rider have a lot to
consider when it comes to nutrition and hydration. First, unlike many other sports, it is easy
to forget or become unaware when fuel and hydration levels are running
low. If one does not have a plan for
hydrating and fueling with food BEFORE one is hungry/thirsty, it will almost
certainly be too late.
If you were driving your car to Daytona, you would not start
with an empty tank of gas, and expect for your car to be able to perform the
trip. However, even if you did run out
of gas, your car, unlike your body (which I refer to as your Temple) would be
back to top performance as soon as you fill up the tank. Unfortunately our Temple, will not recover so
quickly, and serious sometimes-irreversible damage can be done when dehydration
and heat hit.
Therefore what should your plan look like?
Hydration.
Water enriched blood
carries oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and whisks away waste. Water also acts as a cooling system for your
body as it is expelled as perspiration. One should hydrate with water or
a sports drink at a rate of at least 20 ounces for every hour that you ride. So one water bottle should be empty by the
end of the hour and ready to refill at the next rest stop. It is worth setting a timer to drink every 20
minutes on a computer or watch until this becomes habit, because for most of
us, thirst is not an indicator of need, especially in cycling. While it is important to get electrolytes and
sodium, perhaps even carbohydrates in the sports drinks, it is also important
not to overdo any of these elements and to shift back and forth between sports
drinks and pure water.
What is the Best Fuel/Food?
First and foremost,
if you are riding at least 45 minutes at a competitive speed, the most
important time for you to remember to fuel up is within 30 minutes after you
finish. If you are riding longer
distances, this cannot be stressed enough. Those 30 minutes to 1 hour after your ride is a critical time to restore
your glycogen muscle stores. A simple rule of thumb is to divide your
weight by 2, and consume that amount of grams of carbohydrates. For example I weigh 135 lbs, so I need to
ingest approximately 68 grams of carbs within that time. So that could be a power bar (45 grams) and
an apple (25 gms). Or it could be 2
Cliff Gel power shots.
As we get into longer distances, and times, it is important
to have primarily carbohydrate rich, digestible, snack size foods that are easily
available. From a nutrition standpoint,
a combination of ready-made products, or processed and unprocessed foods is
best. What this entails may vary from
one individual to the next. Taking
things out of wrappers and putting them in a baggie, then breaking them into
bite sized pieces is a good plan. Then
roll the baggie up without sealing it and put it in a pocket for easy
access. For example, cutting up a power bar, bite
sized gels, bite sized low fat cookies, bagels, chopped fresh pineapple, or
dried fruits like dates, raisins or cherries are all good choices. Like
hydration, you should practice eating every 20-30 minutes because it is very
easy to forget and run into trouble later.
On another note, there is a fine line between too little and
too much carbohydrate ingestion. So be
careful not to go beyond these guidelines and ingest too many carbs because
high concentrations of carbs can cause gastrointestinal distress and
nausea. Also stay away from high fiber
products. Too much carbohydrate
ingestion is a frequent problem among professional riders during races. One way to help avoid this is when you consume concentrated carbohydrate products make sure that
you drink plenty of water to help quickly convert them to blood glucose to fuel
your system.
Great Carbohydrate Rich Foods for Cyclists
- Bite size power bar (Look for roughly 45 grams per bar)
- Bite size bagels
- Dried and dehydrated fruits
- Cereal Squares (Quaker Oat Squares)
- Gel shots
- Fresh Pineapple
- Low fat cookies (biscotti)
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