Changing what you eat before, during or after training can trigger different physiological adaptations, enhance your riding, and help you achieve specific goals. Here’s how to fuel to gain optimal results
Words Mark Bailey Illustration Joe Waldron
1 Be flexible
Cyclists regularly adapt their training rides, goals and bike kit. But when choosing what to eat before, during or after training, we often stick to the same routines. In many ways, this is sensible. Knowing which fuel works for your body is crucial. And it’d be unwise to try a new plan on event day. But following the same nutritional strategy for every training session could be hampering your physiological adaptations and throttling your gains.
Most athletes are familiar with the concept of ‘periodised training’ – the strategic adjustment of training variables over time to optimise performance. But among professional cyclists, ‘periodised nutrition’ – the time-specific use of nutritional interventions to trigger targeted training adaptations – is of growing importance. While some riders follow habitual fuelling plans, it’s better to take a flexible approach, using a combination of different nutritional training methods to achieve specific goals. Some strategies are highly researched. Others are more theoretical. But most pro riders now periodise their nutrition.
2 The power of periodisation
At its most basic, periodised nutrition is about fuelling for the work required. This can be adapting your nutrition for seasonal phases, such as eating fewer carbs in the offseason to avoid weight gain, or as specific as altering what you eat around each workout, such as eating fast-digesting carbs at breakfast to boost your power before hill reps.
In fact, by changing what you eat before, during and after, the same session can deliver different benefits. For example, eating carbs before a three-hour low-intensity ride will train your body to burn glucose for energy. But doing the same ride in a low-carb state will teach your body to burn fat for fuel instead. Alternatively, eating carbs during the ride, but limiting carbs post-ride, can nudge your body into developing more energy-creating mitochondrial cells to further boost your stamina. And what about protein? Upping your intake of this macronutrient post-ride can enhance your muscle strength and physical durability. One ride. Four subtly different results. Take your pick…
3 The optimal strategy
As most of us squeeze training in before or after work, selecting the optimal fuelling strategy for each session is crucial. What you need before a sweaty daw
