Boost your bike control, comfort and stamina with these simple fitness and flexibility tips from ex-Gladiator and fitness coach Jane Omorogbe
PART 9 – NUTRITION
Imagine how your bike would perform if you brimmed it full of the very finest petrol. If you ‘feed’ your bike the fuel it needs to function properly, shouldn’t you give your body the same courtesy? At least on a weekday?
Paying attention to your nutritional intake can improve how you function physically and mentally, help you squeeze a few extra drops of fun from the tank (yours and your bike’s), and may help keep you rubber side down.
Before you jump on a diet that your mate once did, or a regime a social media algorithm fed you, know this…
We’re all individuals
What works for me may not work for you. I’m not about to suggest that what and when I eat will help you get into the best shape of your life, and become a demon on track. Because unless you’re also a middle-aged, menopausal, half ‐African woman (packing a wee bit of muscle mass)… there is a chance it might not do the trick.
Figuring out what works for you is the key. And finding a simple way to track your nutritional intake is like the magical lubricant that ensures the key will always work. Even when you take a week or two off, live life to the max and let everything get a little rusty.
Here are a few suggestions to get you started.
Keep track
Start by tracking your food and drink. Write down what, when and why you eat. Note how you feel before, during and after you One cupped hand = one portion size of carbohydrates
consume anything. You’ll start to see a pattern of when you feel more alert or sluggish, when you have had your best rides and when you wished you’d stayed in bed.
Sometimes this validates what you already know. Sometimes it highlights what you don’t know. Sometimes it encourages curiosity for what you could know.
Then what? Well, you could consult the Social Media Gods. Or you could just listen to your own body. At least to begin with. The best calorie tracker is… you.
Unlike rocking up with a set of scales and measuring cups, it’s highly unlikely you’ll offend your dinner date if you turn up with your own eyes and hands.
Tracking calories with online programmes can be inaccurate by as much as 20%. Food labelling can vary by up to 25%. Your hands are a part of you, they’re everywhere you go and they’re unlikely to change. It makes sense to track your nutritional intake using hand portions.
Keep it real
Macros are the important things we need t
