Fitness weight and performance are closely linked in cycling. For some runners or cyclists, monitoring diet is a way to achieve sporting goals, while for others, sport allows you not to accumulate pounds. What type of outings, how to manage them, to combine form and form on a bike?
We all know that overweight is a limiting factor to effort, both when it comes to fighting gravity and simply in terms of fitness. To ride with a surplus of 3 kg is equivalent to wearing a backpack of the same weight. 3 kg of too much, it is also a lost minute on a rise of 10 km to 7% of average. The goal of the training is to achieve and maintain a weight of form throughout the cycling season, so as to avoid excessive performance differences from one goal to another. It is necessary to specify what is the weight of form, in order to have a right and realistic vision of it. Many athletes lose the pedals always imagining too fat, or always wanting to be dry, forgetting that the weight of form is especially one that allows you to ride the best possible. If overweight proves detrimental to performance, it is the same if the weight loss is accompanied by a loss of muscle or a total loss of reserves. In short, you will have understood, the research of the weight of form must be realistic, and especially to be based on data relative to the past seasons, or to a percentage of fat consistent (between 6 and 12% for a man, depending on the level of the athlete).
The training volume
Depending on the intensity of the effort, different fuels are used to fuel the body. At low intensity, it will draw on fat reserves, almost unlimited, even in the skinniest of athletes. By driving faster, the human engine primarily uses reserve glycogen, provided by sugars, and available in limited quantities in the liver and muscles. As a result, the temptation to accumulate long, low-intensity outings often recurs in the history of cycling training. However, other research in the physiology of effort has demonstrated the importance of intensity training, to be able to ride fast and hard, even over short distances, because it is one of the essential qualities to make the difference in competition or on difficult courses. As for the long outings described above, their succession leads to a lack of freshness which then limits the progress of short and intense outings. So, how to combine the land to sharpen, and intensity to progress? Some Stakhanovists of the effort swear by a huge weekly volume, others preferring short, focused exits. The right measure seems to lie in a subtle mix of the distribution of training in quality and quantity, over the week, month and even year. Weight loss and sharpening cannot be seen as reduced to mere calorie loss during exercise or even to the “quality” of the substrates consumed. The process turns out to be much more complex, since the recovery of an effort itself requires drawing on the body's reserves. In short, the weight loss associated with training depends on the distribution, quality and quantity of outings, but also on the quality and quantity of food consumed outside of the effort.
Gourmet Muscles
If a volume workout increases the overall amount of calories consumed, quality training promotes the development of strength and muscle power. However, a muscular body consumes more calories at rest than a soft body. The basal metabolism increases with the proportion of muscle to body fat. It is therefore a kind of positive spiral that allows the athlete trained regularly to continue losing excess weight.
Nevertheless, in order to be able to withstand qualitative outings to progress, it is necessary to be able to supply the machine correctly in terms of energy. Therefore, drastic diets are of course to be banned, especially those consisting in eating exclusively greenery. How to drive with a minimum of output without reserve of glycogen? How to recover and rebuild muscle cells without a correct supply of proteins and natural vitamins? How to last and keep the psychological freshness essential to want to fight on a bike, by voluntarily frustrating yourself during meals? Many athletes, cyclists in particular, get the wrong fight by making weight loss a top priority. Narcissism and the idea that we have the eyes of others lead some of us to place weight loss as the main motivation to ride, even more than the desire to progress. Behaviors close to anorexia are found in some cyclists, to the point of incurring health risks. However, with a little detachment and pragmatism, the energy cost imposed by a regular and assiduous practice should be enough to find the weight of form. To do this, a few simple rules make it possible to achieve the goal we have set, such as balanced meals whose caloric intake is sufficient and well distributed, the elimination of sweets, especially outside of meals , the limitation of alcohol consumption and any other “appetizers” (savory appetizers) which are of no interest except empty calories. Apart from that, the rations can be copious at the three meals of the day, present rich and varied foods, while not forbidding anything.
Weekly outings
For the search for weight loss to be successful, it must be part of an overall process of research to improve physical condition. Most of the time, in order to reduce psychological constraints, it is by setting simple rules and avoiding rethinking that the balance ends up tilting in the right direction. When it comes to training, sticking to the ground rules is necessary to be ready for the weekend, for the weekly run or hike. A single “long” outing per week largely maintains the basic capacities (over the distance of the race, or over time plus an hour), while the short outings (from 1:30 to 2 hours) with intense work allow you to gain strength and muscle quality. Taking into account the differences in volume and intensity of each outing, you should avoid weighing yourself daily, or even several times a day. After a long outing, the weight loss observed only corresponds to sweating, and is very quickly replaced at the first meal after training. After an intense workout, the weight loss is due to the decrease in glycogen stores in the muscles. One gram of glycogen is accompanied by four grams of water, which explains the variations in weight after intense efforts. This is also why it is possible that we have the feeling of “bloating” in a period of overcompensation, that is to say when we replenish the glycogen stocks in anticipation of the coming race, by consuming starchy foods and avoiding violent efforts. These phenomena are normal and are not involved in fat loss. Knowing that a pound of fat is the equivalent of around 9000 calories (or a bottle of oil!), You'll get an idea of the long-term effort you need to make if you don't combine food monitoring with a regular training and a change in basal metabolism thanks to the efforts made.
What about training on an empty stomach?
In running, jogging in the morning on an empty stomach is recommended to consume reserve fats first, after a night of dieting. During an effort, even moderate, the first tens of minutes primarily use sugar circulating in the blood, as a starter. With fasting training, the idea is to type in fat faster. Over the course of a jog, the few minutes saved can affect the overall negative balance. But, for a cycling training, in the case of a long outing, this will not be the case. In the case of a shorter outing but with intensity exercises, the lack of sugars undoubtedly affects the quality of the session, with increased risks of acidosis that can significantly alter the recovery and lead to fatigue of the body.
Balance and metabolism
The equilibrium of food is obtained by distributing 55% of the calories in favor of the carbohydrates (slow and fast sugars), 30% of the calories in favor of the lipids (visible or hidden fats) and 15% of the calories in favor of the proteins. The notion of calories and amount varies somewhat, since 1 g of carbohydrates and protein equals 4 calories, while 1 g of fat is equal to 9 calories. This is further complicated by the fact that most foods consist of at least two of the elements described above, including lipids hidden in many foods. The basic metabolism of a sedentary person varies according to their weight and lifestyle. A person who is bedridden all day consumes very few calories compared to an athlete whose needs are not limited to the duration of the effort alone. After training or running, the body continues to consume in order to rebuild its reserves and repair the tissues attacked by the effort. If a person of 70 kg a little active needs 2 500 calories a day to maintain their weight, it is not uncommon for Tour de France runners to need 5 500 6 000 calories when a step of mountain is on the menu.
to summarize
10 TRUCKS TO LOSE WEIGHT ON THE ROLL
- Only weigh once a week, if possible on the same day and at the same time.
- Avoid sweets outside the effort, and possibly outside meals.
- Avoid alcohol, salty aperitifs.
- To eat varied.
- Eat well with meals, possibly increasing the carbohydrate portions (slow sugars) in case of big appetite.
- Consume energy drinks and solid foods during long and / or difficult sessions, which avoids cravings and excess after exercise.
- Ride regularly, if possible an equivalent number of hours, week after week. In this way, the body and the feeling of hunger are gradually regulated.
- Learn to decipher food labels and be wary of those who hide unwanted and unwanted fats.
- Simple cooking. A big dish of plain al dente pasta is healthier than a plate of lasagna Bolognese or tagliatelle with carbonara!
- Respect the ideal cooking of food. Overcooked pasta loses its nutritional qualities, for example. They turn into fast sugars. Undercooked vegetables lose their vitamins.