Professional Cycling

The alternative to riding in the rain or on a trainer is to, god forbid; do something other than ride your bike. No! I don’t mean watch cycling videos and eat popcorn.

There are many different endurance type sports that you can do to keep yourself fit while the weather is poor, including running, swimming, weight lifting, or in-line skating. If you live somewhere that is blessed with snow, or desecrated depending on your viewpoint, you might cross-country ski, snowshoe, or go mountaineering.

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Long endurance training rides are the backbone of your development and provide the best opportunity to train your body to digest food during exercise. On these rides you are concentrating mostly on endurance and aerobic development and using oxidative metabolism for almost all of your energy supply but you will use up a good amount of muscle glycogen along the way.

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Carbohydrates are the high-octane fuel of choice for your body. With a yield of only 4 calories per gram carbohydrates are also a very precious source of energy for physical activity. The normal endurance athlete diet should obtain about 65% of total daily calories from the intake of carbohydrate. Your body is always working to keep glucose levels in the blood constant under all conditions. Under periods of great physical exertion this can be very challenging. Your understanding of where carbohydrates come from and how to use them the most effectively will make life on and off the bike much more enjoyable.

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The most dramatic improvements in human performance in the last 15 years of endurance sports competition, especially cycling, have come as a result of advancements in sports nutrition. If you stick to the basics you can build a nutritional plan that will help you get the most from your riding. There are three areas of nutrition that you need to educate yourself about and pay attention to on a daily basis. Hydration, Energy and Recovery.

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One way to keep your motivation and skills up during the off-season is to find a regular group you can join. A good group ride should offer both quality training and good social riding. We all know that not every group ride is the same so it is important that you find one that suits you and your training goals. Start by asking the following questions.

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How much attention you pay to your recovery will determine how fast you progress in your training. Many things happen to your body during training. Vital fluids, energy stores, muscles proteins and other nutrients are depleted, cells and muscle tissue are damaged and the immune system is stressed. Once you climb off your first priority must be your recovery so you can return to training as quickly as possible fully prepared to do the work.

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