raspaa wrote:I am currently training for a century ride in Sept, and I have found that one of my biggest weaknesses is that I don't have enough "juice" to maintain desired intensity for the entire duration. Seem to just hit the wall around mile 70-80, rest of the ride is always a drag. So I am looking into doing fasted rides in the AM to train body to burn fat more vs relying heavily on surgar/gel/foods during ride, as body cannot process food fast enough for energy consumption.
Generally, I ride for 60 min in zone 2 in the AM, 2-3 times a week.
Durring weekend group/non-fasted rides, I eat every 30-45 min. Banana is usually in the mix.
My questions for those with fasted training experience:
- should I stay in zone 2 for these hour long efforts? Or should more intensity be incorporated?
- Should I change fueling habits during non-fasted rides? Eat more, eat less?
- Other points I should be aware of to make this more effective?
Thanks in advance!
This is purely anecdotal, but I think we all react differently to carbs. I remember doing a successful Everesting last year, which was about 300kms. What I found was up to about six hours my body reacted reasonably well to sugary carbs like gels and bars etc. But after that I would just start to fade and bonk badly, and failing my first Everesting attempt. On my second Everesting attempt I focused on non-sugary longer burning carbs such as wholemeal bread and brown pasta, incorporated with some fats and proteins, for me this fuels me much more stably for longer periods. Simply put, try a jam and peanut butter sandwich in wholemeal bread instead of an energy gel before you try fasted training! The only problem is solid foods are hard to eat with any kind of reasonable heart rate so you either need to stop for a break, slow right down or liquidize your food.
I've tried fasted training, but personally evening training is more effective for me, as I'm prone to liking an evening beverage or snack.
There is so much debate around this subject, that I seriously doubt a 'one size fits all' approach will ever be correct.