Question: holistic supplements for bikers

[2timer]

I live in Colorado and I ride almost everywhere I can. I'm poor and I have a cheap bike but I ride it enthusiastically. Where I live there are some serious hills. I like to ride hard but I often get exhausted, and it takes a day of rest before I can ride hard again

Are there any supplements I can take to speed up my recovery so I can ride everyday? I'm mainly interested in holistic stuff for total body and long term help. Right now I take flax for Omega 3s, nutritional yeast for B12, and plant oils for mono and polysaturated fats.

Lol. This sounds like a really weird question because I don't know a lot of people who approach cycling holistically.

Carb loading seems to speed up my recovery the most. Eating a white carb like oatmeal or spaghetti reduces my muscle fatigue. But beyond what I've said I'm wondering if there's something more I can do or maybe some fundamental nutritional advice I'm missing? Because I feel like I should be able to do 6-8 miles on hills daily.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

The main things that research has shown to speed up recovery are free: appropriate sleep, good diet, keeping mobile (doing mobility work - foam rolling, stretching, etc), and good hydration. Other than that, fish oil is a good supplement and is clinically more useful against inflammation and for cell repair than flax. The omega-3s in fish oil are EPA and DHA, which the human body uses easily. The omega-3 in flax oil is mainly ALA, a plant version which we don't convert well to use. Make sure you get enough protein (~0.8g per pound of body weight) and carbs in your diet (you do this, I'm sure). Other than that, illegal testosterone drugs are pretty much the only effective way to reduce recovery times, lol.

 

[tedrodai]

I like to ride hard but I often get exhausted, and it takes a day of rest before I can ride hard again.

That's normal after hard workouts. I'm sure there are some supplements that might help somewhat, but I can't speak to them. However, consistent training and proper nutrition will allow you to gradually increase your workload. There's no supplement in the world that is going to allow you to double your workload overnight, which is what switching from "6-8 hard miles every other day" to "6-8 hard miles every day" is. First make sure you're eating enough.

Then, if you'd like to exercise every day, reduce your workload each day. Say you're doing 20ish miles/week from 3 workouts per week...try switching to 20ish miles/week from 5 workouts per week. Or, don't ride so hard, but increase your mileage. Over time your performance will increase as long as you stick with it and eat well.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

That's normal after hard workouts. I'm sure there are some supplements that might help somewhat, but I can't speak to them. However, consistent training and proper nutrition will allow you to gradually increase your workload. There's no supplement in the world that is going to allow you to double your workload overnight, which is what switching from "6-8 hard miles every other day" to "6-8 hard miles every day" is. First make sure you're eating enough.

Then, if you'd like to exercise every day, reduce your workload each day. Say you're doing 20ish miles/week from 3 workouts per week...try switching to 20ish miles/week from 5 workouts per week. Or, don't ride so hard, but increase your mileage. Over time your performance will increase as long as you stick with it and eat well.

Agreed, this is sound advice. You can train lesser distances more frequently and slowly work your way up in distance of speed. Just systematically make things a bit more difficult from week to week, just don't make it impossible. Even if you increase your mileage 1mi per week, you're making good progress.

 

[2timer]

Ok, so I should either decrease the intensity of my rides, or if I keep the same intensity decrease the mileage?

I need to consume 0.8g of protein per lb of body weight? I think I'm 190 or so, so that's about 35-38g right? How much beans and rice do I eat? Because I don't want to take creatine or any of that synthetic "stacker" stuff, it's expensive and I feel like it's unnatural.

One last question: The protein, I'm not weightlifting so do I need protein? I'm just biking, that's more of a carbohydrate sport. Right?

 

[2timer]

...hmm ok, so fish oil the omega-3s are more readily available. Maybe I should supplement fish oil in addition to flax. Flax seed is just inexpensive and friendly to the environment, it's a good whole food to eat

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Ok, so I should either decrease the intensity of my rides, or if I keep the same intensity decrease the mileage?

I need to consume 0.8g of protein per lb of body weight? I think I'm 190 or so, so that's about 35-38g right? How much beans and rice do I eat? Because I don't want to take creatine or any of that synthetic "stacker" stuff, it's expensive and I feel like it's unnatural.

One last question: The protein, I'm not weightlifting so do I need protein? I'm just biking, that's more of a carbohydrate sport. Right?

0.8 x 190 = 152g of protein per day. This is easily achieved if you eat things like eggs, chicken, fish, lean beef/lamb/pork, etc.

Working out consistently results in muscle damage. The way you get better, faster, and stronger is partially due to the muscle repairing stronger and bigger. To do that, you need protein. You need the same amount. I'd say you would need more if you were weightlifting. You need both. Carbohydrate is the fuel for biking. Protein is the macronutrient that helps keep the muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, etc together and healthy.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

...hmm ok, so fish oil the omega-3s are more readily available. Maybe I should supplement fish oil in addition to flax. Flax seed is just inexpensive and friendly to the environment, it's a good whole food to eat

Flax seed isn't bad, but it's not as useful as people think it is. Fish oil has a massive backing in research while flax doesn't.

 

[tedrodai]

Because I don't want to take creatine or any of that synthetic "stacker" stuff, it's expensive and I feel like it's unnatural.

I'm not tryin to change your mind about taking creatine, but I'm OCD about spreading knowledge sometimes. I recommend you read the first couple of sections ("Biosynthesis" & "The phosphocreatine system") of the wikipedia article on creatine. I have no idea how creatine is produced for supplements, but the substance itself is very natural.

Of course, there's no need to consume it as a supplement unless you want every little edge, because your body produces it from amino acids. You also ingest a small amount in some meats, because that's where animals & humans store it...in the muscles.

Ok, so I should either decrease the intensity of my rides, or if I keep the same intensity decrease the mileage?

Almost forgot that I wanted to respond to that. That's correct, if you want to increase the frequency of your exercises. There's nothing wrong with exercising every other day and recovering in between either. Just find a balance of frequency/effort/recovery that you enjoy. The recovery period is when you're making all your fitness gains, so don't sweat needing to. The exercise is just for stimulating your body into making those improvements...and for having fun of course.

 

[iluvdeal]

A study came out a month ago or so about how blueberries may aid in muscle recovery. Google "blueberries muscle recovery" for the articles.

Also, how long are your rides? Consider eating something during the ride if you aren't already, that should help with your energy levels. On hour long plus rides, I can definitely notice a difference in how I feel based on what I ate before the ride and what I ate during the ride. On days I don't bring food with me to eat during the ride, going up the same hill feels much harder. Also realize food doesn't hit your bloodstream immediately upon eating it, so time it accordingly.

 

[Kaido]

I live in Colorado and I ride almost everywhere I can. I'm poor and I have a cheap bike but I ride it enthusiastically. Where I live there are some serious hills. I like to ride hard but I often get exhausted, and it takes a day of rest before I can ride hard again

Are there any supplements I can take to speed up my recovery so I can ride everyday? I'm mainly interested in holistic stuff for total body and long term help. Right now I take flax for Omega 3s, nutritional yeast for B12, and plant oils for mono and polysaturated fats.

Lol. This sounds like a really weird question because I don't know a lot of people who approach cycling holistically.

Carb loading seems to speed up my recovery the most. Eating a white carb like oatmeal or spaghetti reduces my muscle fatigue. But beyond what I've said I'm wondering if there's something more I can do or maybe some fundamental nutritional advice I'm missing? Because I feel like I should be able to do 6-8 miles on hills daily.

Biking was the first sport I got into after recovering from a lifetime of undiagnosed food allergies (low energy, constant illness, etc.). I got really serious about it and spent several months studying nutrition and trying out different meal plans. The absolute best diet I ever tried while biking was "The Thrive Diet" by Canadian triathlonist Brendan Brazier. Basically it's a low-alkaline Vegan diet. He really really knows his stuff, so don't judge it based on the vegan tag. I felt awesome on that diet. The downsides are (1) it can get expensive, and (2) it requires a lot of non-standard ingredients, so it helps to live near a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's/healthfood store. Here's a link to the book: (also available in Kindle format)

http://www.amazon.com/Thrive-Nutriti...dp/0738212547/

The recipe I use the most for biking now is the Chocolate Blueberry energy bars. Basically chuck the following in a food processor:

1 cup Fresh Dates (if they are dried, you can also soak them)
1/4 cup Almonds
1/4 cup Fresh Blueberries
1/4 cup Roasted Carob Powder (sort of like cocoa powder)
1/4 cup Ground Flaxseed
1/4 cup Hemp Protein
1/4 cup Unhulled Sesame Seeds
1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Lemon Zest
Sea Salt to taste

Then mix in the following by hand:

1/2 cup Sprouted or Cooked Buckwheat (optional)
1/2 cup Frozen Blueberries (make sure they are really frozen or they will fall apart when you mix them; these are in addition to the fresh blueberries because those get blended up)

Then spread them out in a pan & freeze. I chop them into small bars and wrap them in aluminum foil to go with me on my bike rides. These are a million times better than any off-the-shelf processed "energy" bar. Even eating clean, I used to get mild headaches on long rides, but these bars took care of that...nice consistent energy and you feel good when you finish. I can do a 20 or 30 mile ride and take these & some water and feel great when I finish, instead of plastered. They look kinda like this:

http://renegadehealth.com/blog/wp-c...ve-Chocolate-Blueberry-Energy-Bars-Recipe.jpg

So somewhat messy, but they taste really good in the middle of a ride. Someday I'd like to fully embrace that diet, but I have too much fun grilling meat and eating junk food to commit to it right now :awe:

Bottom line: Food really makes a big difference.

 

[marmasatt]

I don't know exactly what you consider holistic, but you would probably do well by glutamine. It's a naturally occuring amino acid/protein.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

I don't know exactly what you consider holistic, but you would probably do well by glutamine. It's a naturally occuring amino acid/protein.

But doesn't have any basis in research, except for burn victims. Regular whey would do him better, if he had to use something like that.

 

[2timer]

Biking was the first sport I got into after recovering from a lifetime of undiagnosed food allergies (low energy, constant illness, etc.). I got really serious about it and spent several months studying nutrition and trying out different meal plans. The absolute best diet I ever tried while biking was "The Thrive Diet" by Canadian triathlonist Brendan Brazier. Basically it's a low-alkaline Vegan diet. He really really knows his stuff, so don't judge it based on the vegan tag. I felt awesome on that diet. The downsides are (1) it can get expensive, and (2) it requires a lot of non-standard ingredients, so it helps to live near a Whole Foods/Trader Joe's/healthfood store. Here's a link to the book: (also available in Kindle format)

[URL="http://redirect.anandtech.com/r?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FThries because those get blended up)

Then spread them out in a pan & freeze. I chop them into small bars and wrap them in aluminum foil to go with me on my bike rides. These are a million times better than any off-the-shelf processed "energy" bar. Even eating clean, I used to get mild headaches on long rides, but these bars took care of that...nice consistent energy and you feel good when you finish. I can do a 20 or 30 mile ride and take these & some water and feel great when I finish, instead of plastered. They look kinda like this:

http://renegadehealth.com/blog/wp-c...ve-Chocolate-Blueberry-Energy-Bars-Recipe.jpg

So somewhat messy, but they taste really good in the middle of a ride. Someday I'd like to fully embrace that diet, but I have too much fun grilling meat and eating junk food to commit to it right now :awe:

Bottom line: Food really makes a big difference.

Thanks man. That's some good advice. I will have to check that book out.

 

[Ghiedo27]

In what way are you exhausted after your ride? Are you out of breath with your heart pumping away? Are your legs sore and feel heavy the next day? Do you have low energy in general?

For some generic tips for recovery I recommend making sure you get 10m of cool down to let your heart rate slow and your muscles relax before getting off of the bike. You can walk for a bit to cool down if terrain doesn't allow for easy riding at the end of your route. Make sure you're eating something within the first 20m after working out. Stretch. Give your legs a rub down.

Invest in a heart rate monitor. You can get a cheap one. They're invaluable to controlling your effort. If you want to be able to ride every day you need to learn how to get a good workout while holding that little bit extra back. If you enjoy the feeling of pushing yourself to the limit, plan for it. Go easy the next day with some easy spinning or go for a walk / hike an easy trail.