On-The-Bike Fueling Guide “Train” Your Gut & Refine Your Habits All too often we see athletes thinking about their nutrition only during their "big days.” If this is true in your case, you may be missing the biggest opportunity for improvement when it comes to your training and raceday fueling; Digestive tract adaptation. In the same way that your legs muscles need to train and get in better shape, your digestive tract needs to do the same! Your gut will actually get better at handling and digesting calories during exercise with consistent “training.” Besides the physical benefits of regularly practicing proper on-the-bike fueling, you’ll also begin to form the right habits needed to make sure you are nailing your on-thebike fueling for your big days in the saddle.
Plan Makes Perfect… Almost Plan out WHAT, WHEN and HOW MUCH you are going to eat and drink. On the surface, this may sound obvious, but it's interesting to note that successful athletes rarely hit their hydration and nutrition as planned. However, because they were drinking and eating with a plan, they fared far better than those that ate and drank more by how they felt. The unprepared group consistently hydrated less, and ended up taking in fuel later in the ride in an attempt to "catch up" – Precisely when their stomach was unable to process and absorb everything, further compounding the problem and lowering performance.
WHAT TO EAT: Choosing the Right Fuel for You When eating during exercise, your goal is to get fuel to your working muscles quickly and easily. Taking in simple forms of carbohydrates (CHO) is the fastest way to do just that. Better yet, taking in CHO in different types of CHO together (For example, glucose and fructose) at once accelerates the rate of digestion because different forms of CHO use different receptors in your digestive system to enter your bloodstream. The majority of sports nutrition products (such as drinks, gels, and bars) are designed with a combination of glucose and fructose so that they can exit the stomach and be digested quickly. Many of our athletes are surprised to learn that there are plenty of forms of excellent fuel already in their home. For example, table sugar, honey, and maple syrup are all perfect examples of natural glucose and fructose combinations. It’s important to know that protein and fat can still play a helpful role during your training. Both can provide usable energy in low- and moderate-intensity riding. The longer an event or training session, the more an athlete will benefit from incorporating fat and protein. However, your primary focus should be on fueling with carbohydrates.
CharlesCoaching.com