 I've never met an athlete that did not want to perform better. Can a performance advantage be gained by something as simple as eating within a fixed period of time after your workout? Maybe...or maybe not. I can't recall the first time I heard the term "glycogen window." I've also heard it called the "window of opportunity", the "carbohydrate window", the "metabolic window", and I'm sure there are others. I feel like this was a "truth" that was taught to me many, many years ago and since then has been reinforced. And certainly something I practice. If you're not familiar with any of these terms, it's the notion that your muscles are most receptive for glycogen (the stored form of glucose (sugar) that is made up of many connected glucose molecules) replenishment within the first 30 minutes upon completing your endurance exercise. Many experts in the field suggest a 3 or 4 to 1 ratio of carbs to protein to maximize the uptake. Since carbs and protein both have 4 calories per gram, one can simply look at the number of grams of carbs and compare it to the number of grams of protein. For example, if the food item at 40 grams of carbs and 10 grams of protein, that would fit the bill of a 4:1 ratio. That's right, 3 or 4 times as many carbohydrates as protein. So you may want to reconsider if a protein shake or bar is your go-to recovery food after that hard cycling workout. Please understand that these recommendations are for after intense and/or "long" bouts of exercise. A 60 minute Zone 1 recovery spins doesn't need major refueling. A spin to the coffee shop on the beach cruiser while on vacation won't need any refueling. But a ride or event where you're putting down the power or riding for over 60 minutes with a fair bit of aggression, your muscles will get tapped of their glycogen. And that's a notion that is not argued by many. However, there are some instances where exercise less than 60 minutes may require some attention to refueling, such as a 'cross race, crit, or TT. Back to the "window"... If you dive into this and do some research, you'll find more than one source that says this window does not exist, or if it does, it is much, much longer. I've seen as long as 24 hours after completion of exercising proposed. Personally, I subscribe to, and try to practice the 30 minute window. I also recommend this to the athletes I coach. I don't have any muscle biopsies to back up my thoughts, but I do have decades of practical experience with three main points why I think it's a good idea to eat within 30 minutes. 1. Almost everyone I work with is busy. It's part of our culture. We cram more and more into our days. If you make it a habit of eating/drinking within that 30 minute window, it will get done. I've had more than one client tell me how they "forgot" to eat when they got done or "ran out of time" or "didn't have anything handy" and ended up going for many hours or worse, going to bed without refueling. Almost without fail, they didn't feel great during their workout the next day. And maybe even days after that. So if you make it a routine and maybe even have your recovery meal or drink prepared ahead of time, you'll be sure to get it in every time. 2. If we eat something sensible and planned during that 30 minutes, we're less likely to raid the cabinets and refrigerator and make bad choices later on. Those bad choices can often lead to filling our bellies with non-nutritious food, only to be hungry again after a very short period of time. Get in a good recovery mean or drink, and you'll set yourself up for better choices later on. 3. You will recover better and feel stronger on your next ride. Again, this is purely anecdotal for me, but I've worked with many athletes since becoming a coach in 2005, and have heard both successes and failures. Often those failures can be traced back to poor refueling the day before. I know I've certainly put myself behind the eight ball after not being prepared or cutting my time to close to properly refuel. Better to end your ride 15 minutes early and get some food than to push it and put yourself in a hole. Consistency is going to pay off more than intermittent solid workouts. Dr. Allan Lim is one of my favorite exercise scientists to read and listen to. Not only is he extremely knowledgeable, experienced, and interesting, he also delivers down to Earth, practical advice. You probably know his company, Skratch Labs, and may have come across his books. Here's a great quote from his Feedzone Cookbook. WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT After racing or training more than 4 hours, it’s critical that you eat at least 4 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight within 30 minutes of finishing. For exercise lasting less than 2 hours, the goal is 2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body weight. This amounts to about 500 to 1,000 kcals for a 150-pound athlete, depending on the duration of training. Generally speaking, this means that you will eat as much as possible right after getting off the bike if it has been a hard day of training. After an easy day of training, you will eat enough to take the edge off. We need to eat immediately after exercise because our muscles are extremely sensitive to insulin during this time. Insulin brings carbohydrate into the muscle, where it can be stored as glycogen. Consequently, eating right after exercise helps to better restore muscle glycogen. “The Feed Zone Cookbook: Fast and Flavorful Food for Athletes,” by Biju Thomas & Allen Lim Much like I wrote about a cool-down, I have not seen any literature or research that says it's detrimental to take in a recovery meal or drink within this 30 minutes. The biggest downside I see is perhaps taking in too many calories at this time or slamming a big recovery shake after an easy or very short ride. However, if you keep in mind the notion of the recovery meal or drink is for long and/or intense rides, you'll probably be in a good place. Below are some other great listens and reads you can use as resources to help make your own informed decisions about your refueling practices. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dr. Allen Lim on The Gravel Ride https://thegravelride.bike/dr-allen-lim-founder-of-skratch-labs-talks-gravel-nutrition ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ What Post-Workout Nutrition Looks Like by LENTINE ALEXIS https://blog.strava.com/post-workout-nutrition-16547/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Truth About The Post-Exercise Fueling Window from Women's Running https://www.womensrunning.com/health/food/the-truth-about-the-post-exercise-fueling-window/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And if you really want to "nerd out", check out this article: International society of sports nutrition position stand: nutrient timing https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0189-4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I also found one article where they referenced a study that noted eating anything, even something "unhealthy" is better than nothing at all. https://www.bicycling.com/health-nutrition/a20014558/what-to-eat-after-a-ride/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Remember that there are plenty of real food options out there that will work well for recovery foods and drinks. Chocolate milk is great in a pinch, too. However, those recovery powders and bars are certainly convenient and going to be better than nothing. Until next time, fuel ahead of time, fuel during, and re-fuel after. And the rest of the time try to practice healthy nutrition. If you have a question or comment, please post below. Cheers, Coach Brian Chocolate milk and a swig of maple syrup is the best recovery meal! Chocolate milk is GREAT in a pinch for sure! And like a true Vermonter, MAPLE SYRUP! https://untapped.cc/ Ted King Rocks!
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 It's fairly appropriate that as I type this there's a solar eclipse going on and viewing parties all over the north east. I hope the disposable glasses truly do their job, and this certainly speaks to the power of the Sun. We'd perish pretty quickly without it, but like so many things, too much can be detrimental. Maybe extremely detrimental.
It's almost impossible to be a part of the cycling multi-verse and not have heard the term "marginal gains." This term was made popular in 2015 by the commentators of many big bike races, most notably Le Tour de France, as they discussed Team Sky's approach of making sure every detail was taken care of. According to CNBC, "Sir Dave Brailsford, former performance director of British Cycling, revolutionized the sport using the theory of marginal gains.... As this thinking became a culture and a philosophy shared by all members of Brailsford’s team, they kept searching for any and every area where they could make tiny improvements. Their goal was a marginal or 1% gain in every aspect of their training and environment. Individually, each incremental change may have seemed unnecessary or random, but collectively, they helped create a powerhouse with a level of success that became the envy of the cycling world." Well, this post is certainly about something relatively easy and "small" that we all can do, but its impact might not be so marginal. I'm referring to making sure that, as we head out for 30 minute quick ride or an all day adventure, we put on that sunscreen and/or protective layers. On a very surface (no pun intended) level, getting sun burnt just hurts. It's uncomfortable, can make sleeping tough, and generally make you feel more tired than you are. From a performance standpoint, if your body is using significant resources to repair damaged skin, and then those resources are not available to repair your body from the effects of training. Sun burn is a form of inflammation, something we typically want to minimize. Continuing along the lines of performance, if the burn is uncomfortable enough to disrupt sleep, you have now robbed your body of that most crucial time of repair and adaptations. The poor sleep can also negatively impact your next training session, and the snowball effect continues. But the most important consideration is the long term damage that sun burn does to our skin, which can lead to much more serious implications down the road. From the MD Anderson Cancer Center: "How your skin changes during a sunburn When ultraviolet radiation from the sun reaches the skin, it damages the skin cells and causes mutations in their DNA. “Our bodies have a lot of amazing mechanisms to prevent and even correct these mutations,” George says. “But if the skin cells get more UV exposure than they can handle, the damage may be beyond repair, and the cells die off. Blood vessels dilate to increase blood flow and bring immune cells to the skin to help clean up the mess. All this causes the redness, swelling and inflammation we associate with a sunburn.” The sunburn will eventually heal, but some of the surviving cells will have mutations that escape repair. These cells could eventually become cancerous. Can you reverse sun damage? Some beauty products claim they can reverse sun damage or even stimulate cell repair. But no research has shown that any topical skin care product or lotion can reverse sun damage. “There’s no simple way to undo sun damage yet,” George says. “But there are lots of simple ways to prevent it by being sun-safe and avoiding sunburns.”" So that's the key right there: prevention. I am much more careful now than I was in the past, using both chemical and mechanical forms of sun protection. I got these arm skins (arm coolers) from Champion Systems pictured to the left a couple of summers ago and love them for their speed and effectiveness. Speed? Yes, much faster than applying sunscreen to my arms for a sunny jaunt on my bike. Are they hot? No, I'm not going to say they're "cool", but up to mid 80's they don't bother me too much. There's lighter options and colors out there, too. They make them for your knees and full legs, too. Do watch with your kit. Some jerseys these days are almost see-through and don't provide much of a Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF). In addition to my clothing, I hit the sunscreen religiously now. Most on the time I use the goopy zinc based stuff, but I figure if I'm going for it, I probably should use something healthy and decent. For those super long days out in the sun, I'll even throw a small tube or stick in my pocket and re-apply. I know, I know. It's just one more thing as you're trying to get out the door for your 60 minute lunch ride or squeezing in 75 minutes before that next client meeting. But the 5 minutes you take to protect your skin, can turn into hours and hours saved by not having to go to the dermatologist. And that of course can transition from an inconvenience to a serious problem very quickly. Here are some good articles with sunscreen options, how and when to apply, as well as more information and tips: https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/g20005485/the-best-sunscreens-for-cyclists/#:~:text=Goldman%20suggests%20applying%20sunscreen%20to,a%20long%20period%20of%20time https://www.skincancer.org/blog/cycling-and-sun-protection/ https://www.theproscloset.com/blogs/news/cycling-sunscreen-and-sun-sleeves And this podcast really only touches on the issue, but if you've been in the mountain bike world for a while like I have, it might really hit home with you, too. Travis Brown was one of the mountain bike superstars from the 90's into 2000's, and to hear him talk about his scare with cancer was very, very real: Colby Pearce on Fasttalk So let's all take care of our largest organ so we can keep riding our bikes and enjoying other out of door activities for the rest of our lives. As a coach, I want to foster life-long cyclists so let's all stay healthy. There are so many options now with sprays, creams, sticks, etc. that we really don't have an excuse. Do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones, and, at the very least, do it for performance. Cheers, Coach Brian |
AuthorCoach B.L. is the head coach at BJL Coaching and an avid racer and cycling enthusiast himself. Categories
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