Three Energy Sources for Cyclists

Posted by tan xiao yan on

If you are fond of cycling, you probably focus on your diet. Get these following things right and the rest is just to gild the refine gold. From the importance of carbohydrate, fat, and protein, you might pay more attention to these.

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrate is one of the body’s primary energy sources for cycling which is stored in the muscle. Most of the cyclists choose sports bars and gels which are high in carbohydrates, portable enough as the snacks eaten before the ride and a good source of calories in the cycling. These energy sources offer a lot of carbohydrates with minimal amounts of fat and protein. Some studies have shown that when consuming carbohydrate an hour before exercise, cyclists can improve their performance 12.5%. It is better to try to consume 40 to 75 grams of carbohydrate per hour before you take a ride. How much carbohydrate you may need for weekly requirement depends on a number of miles every week you ride and other lifestyle demands. Sports professors always recommend cyclists intake carbohydrate within a range of 5-9g for each kilogram you weigh in a day. You can get this from taking sports bar or gel before or during the ride which comes primarily from the carbohydrate in about 25-to 47-grams bars and gels about 20 grams to 25 grams, which raises your blood glucose to offer energy to your cycling muscles. Foods high in carbohydrates such as sports bars, Fig Newtons, and bananas, can provide a feeling of fullness so that you can not to bring the drinking fluids or sucking down gels. Sports bars and gels purposely are low in water content so that they can be compact and easily carried. By comparison, high-carbohydrate foods that high in water content, such as bananas, take up more room.



FAT

It refers that you need the good fats rather than bad fats here. Because the type of fat you chose to intake is vital to health, cycling performance and fit keep. Fats can be categorized into good fats and bad fats. Good fats include polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats. Whereas you can find that saturated fats are limited in meats and processed foods, polyunsaturated fats are important to maintain health and you can discover it in nuts, seeds, fish and oils such as flaxseed, borage and starflower oil.

Another benefit is that these fats can relieve the inflammation in the body, making them good for those with asthma and allergies and also bringing a benefit to stimulate the metabolism, and therefore assisting in weight loss. Good fats can benefit your body for reducing bad cholesterol and thus it is a vital to help to prevent the heart disease. It is best to target to around 25g of good fat every day for health supplement with less risk to intake too many calorific fats to the diet.



PROTEIN

Protein is often considered as muscle food rather than things relevant to the cycling, but getting adequate protein into your diet will improve your health situation, immune function, and recovery. Protein is responsible for keep tissue in good condition in the body and plays a vital role in immune function, which allows your recovery will be sub-optimal one if you are speeding up muscle damage through training while not meeting your needs. One study emphasized that protein can be also more beneficial than an equal calorie measure of carbohydrate or fat, and also can increase you absorbing just a little that can contribute to keeping your appetite under control. Food like beans and pulses in your diet together with lean meats, fish, and low-fat dairy foods can help you meet your need. It’s recommended to limit your consumption of red and processed meats that are linked to a higher incidence of disease. As the carbohydrate, a small amount of protein in every meal or snack is better to a large, hard-to-digest piece of protein into one meal resulting in better energy levels.



If you are eating adequately during the riding day, easy-paced rides taking less than 90 minutes don’t always need extra fuel supplement since your carbohydrate, fats, and protein stores will provide enough fuel over this period. Considering the exercise intensity you ready to take, it will decide what you can digest too, along with the time you have been riding. Just fuel your ride properly.