sports science, research, training and performance
Long-ride nutrition
Have you ever found yourself on a long ride, only to find you’ve run out of fluids or you’re struggling for energy with no snacks left? Here’s 4 top tips to make sure you get your long-ride nutrition right:
1. Calculate how many hours of riding you anticipate doing and make a plan to ensure your fluid needs will be met. It’s recommended that you are able to ingest a minimum 750ml fluid for each hour - and at high temperatures this figure will increase. If you can’t carry enough with you (which will most likely be the case on rides in excess of 70miles), you may need to plan a stop for water and carry extra carbohydrate drink sachets with you. While water is generally fine for the first hour, ideally you want a carbohydrate and electrolyte drink for your second hour, and perhaps even a carbohydrate drink with some added caffeine to give you a boost during the final stages of your ride.
2. For rides over 30 miles prepare a 200 to 250-calorie snack for every 10 extra miles you expect to cover, eg. for a 60-miler take three snacks. Choose something that is easy to digest, such as a sports energy bar, and think about how easy it will be to unwrap and eat on the bike. You may want to unwrap your bars prior to your ride and re-wrap them in tin foil to make them more accessible. This way, you can also portion them so that you can snack on them a little bit at a time.
3. Build in some provision should your ride go unexpectedly off -track (aka getting lost) by packing an extra snack to cover you for a further 10 miles. Extra water is obviously a good idea, too.
4. Finally, think about what you are going to eat and drink for recovery after your long ride and make it accessible for as soon as you get back from your ride. If you want to rush into the shower before you sit down to eat, drink a recovery drink immediately to benefit from superior refuelling. Remember, the closer to the finish of exercise you drink or eat carbohydrate, the more it will make it into your muscles stores ready to fuel you for your next ride.
1. Calculate how many hours of riding you anticipate doing and make a plan to ensure your fluid needs will be met. It’s recommended that you are able to ingest a minimum 750ml fluid for each hour - and at high temperatures this figure will increase. If you can’t carry enough with you (which will most likely be the case on rides in excess of 70miles), you may need to plan a stop for water and carry extra carbohydrate drink sachets with you. While water is generally fine for the first hour, ideally you want a carbohydrate and electrolyte drink for your second hour, and perhaps even a carbohydrate drink with some added caffeine to give you a boost during the final stages of your ride.
2. For rides over 30 miles prepare a 200 to 250-calorie snack for every 10 extra miles you expect to cover, eg. for a 60-miler take three snacks. Choose something that is easy to digest, such as a sports energy bar, and think about how easy it will be to unwrap and eat on the bike. You may want to unwrap your bars prior to your ride and re-wrap them in tin foil to make them more accessible. This way, you can also portion them so that you can snack on them a little bit at a time.
3. Build in some provision should your ride go unexpectedly off -track (aka getting lost) by packing an extra snack to cover you for a further 10 miles. Extra water is obviously a good idea, too.
4. Finally, think about what you are going to eat and drink for recovery after your long ride and make it accessible for as soon as you get back from your ride. If you want to rush into the shower before you sit down to eat, drink a recovery drink immediately to benefit from superior refuelling. Remember, the closer to the finish of exercise you drink or eat carbohydrate, the more it will make it into your muscles stores ready to fuel you for your next ride.
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Comment by srinath rajam on October 27, 2010 at 3:03pm -
cycling: for a 100 miler road race, does one usually stop 1/2 way for a fast replenishment drink?
thx!
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