Spring is coming and many cyclists are itching to go for it 100% again. Preparing your body to perform at its best or restarting after a winter break can be quite a task. That is why it is important to draw up a preparatory schedule and determine your performance goals in advance.
To achieve maximum “exceptional” performance, one must first and foremost be well prepared. This means that as a amateur will temporarily have to live partly like a professional athlete.
- It is best to have regular screenings by your sports physician
- Using the right additional resources to temporarily strengthen your body to perform even better, of course in a healthy and permitted manner.
- Getting to know your body by pushing your limits during the initial training phase as you will have to do during the performance itself. You can't climb mythical mountains without cycling enough elevation, you can't run a marathon if you've never passed the 28-32K wall, you can't play a super tournament if you've never done a quick succession of performances with shortened recovery periods well.
- Make sure your body is in excellent condition for your performance. If you start out a little overweight, no problem, by dealing sensibly with the balance of energy intake versus energy expenditure, you can ensure that you reach your ideal weight at the right time for such a performance. Be aware that you during this period your diet will be vital. During this period you should consume more proteins in order not to lose your muscle mass and to burn fats sooner: weight on track.
Tip 1: Load Carbs the Right Way
There is a lot of scientific research into carb loading. Research shows that it takes about 12 hours to load our glycogen levels. So, overnight gives us enough time to absorb the carbs as glycogen. However, glycogen loading in our blood and muscles is limited, so loading good fats may also be necessary.
Tip 2: Loading fats
At certain points in building your endurance you will need fats as an energy source.
The more trained you are, the better your muscles can use fats as an energy source, which means you saves glycogen, allowing you to extend your effort.
Tip 3: Loading moisture
As we increase our carbohydrate intake, we also increase our body’s ability to retain fluid. 1 gram of carbohydrates allows you to retain approximately 3 ml of extra fluid. In endurance sports and especially in warmer weather, this is an added bonus.
Tip 4: Loading electrolytes
Electrolytes can have a big impact on endurance, especially in warmer climates or hotter days. The right electrolytes choosing can be very personal, so we always recommend to try out products during your training. Also build up your drinking pattern to small sips in preparation for your competition.
Tip 5: Choose the right food
Often people use their race as an excuse to choose high sugar, nutritionally devoid foods beforehand. It’s like filling a Ferrari with poor quality fuel.
Eating the wrong foods not only increases oxidative stress and inflammation in your body, but it is completely pointless. A good choice of food consists of fruits and vegetables that are high in carbohydrates. Also food with a high content of high quality fats such as avocado, salmon, nuts and some oils are important to include in your diet.
A good preparation, from which you will later reap the benefits, is therefore very important. With the above tips you will certainly make a smooth start.
