Pre/- Post

[johnnyha]

I dont think I want to use a pro as an exemple. If you eat a lot but dont gain any weight, where the problem?

The problem is that your body will remain inefficient and dependent on a high carb intake.

[Tapeworm]

^ simply not true. Any long duration aerobic activity will induce adaptation to the oxidative capability
of the muscle. There are some differences being training in a depleted state and conversly training without carb intake reduces the body's abiility to absorb and process carbs whilst exercising. Check out some of the studies done by Asker Jeunkderup.

[johnnyha]

Don't disagree with you, but there is a world of difference between limiting your intake and chowing down on a bar / gel / footlong every mile.

And Asker backs me up at http://www.srm.de/it/srm-blog/triathlon ... jeukendrup

There is a developing theory that training with low glycogen in your muscles can help your training adaptation. We also conducted studies where we had people train twice a day. In between they would not eat much carbohydrate and therefore they would not replenish their energy stores the second training of the day would therefore be performed in a glycogen depleted state. The athletes who trained with this regimen showed better adaptations in their muscles. We took muscle biopsies and found that various enzymes, in particular those involved in fat metabolism increased in comparison to a group of athletes who did similar training but always in a glycogen loaded state. When we measured performance in these athletes we did not see much but the training program was only short and it is not unthinkable that training like this for a longer period of time would also result in significant performance improvements. I therefore incorporated one of these sessions with low glycogen into my training week.

[CerveloBert]

So back to the subject at hand... Sometimes I like to blast "Eye of the Tiger" while shadow boxing before I ride just to pump myself for some intense local riding. I opted not to do this when driving to a start location because people would look at me really weird while I am shadow boxing in my drivers seat and I never worked up the nerve to open my car door and blast it while shadow boxing outside.

[denzity]

^ My legs aren't really feeling it today and I have 100km (2000m elevation) to ride. Let's see if your 'routine' can help me get in the ZONE.

[kevinkalis]

I understand people when they say 'you eat too much on the bike' but what they often neglect to mention is that it's the carbs you have in your body BEFORE you ride that actually make the biggest difference.

E.g. on a 4hr+ ride I'll eat 2000 cal above my BMR the day before in carbs. That way on the ride I don't need to eat anything, except maybe a snack halfway to settle the stomach.

I've ridden 4hrs where the day before I ate almost nothing and it's hell. The legs bonk after about an hour and no amount of eating on the bike can make up for it. If this happens I usually stop somewhere warm and let my body digest some of the food I've just eaten.

You must be trolling, unless you're one of those people who goes flat-out, start to finish.