Good timing for this discussion in the podcast, Fascat’s registered dietician just finished a 3 part article series with practical drill downs on endurance nutrition pre-during-post rides.
I took some of the handouts and printed out on sticky labels to adhere to the inside of my kitchen cabinet where I keep my ride foods for quick reference (the page with in-ride carb/hr), and the flowchart with how to post-ride fuel based on the ride you just did and what the next ride looks like.
Links to the respective episode pages with handouts/cheatsheets, podcast, and YouTube links:
I had an interesting chain of thought while listening to the podcast and thinking about caloric deficits.
My first question is: how do we train to be better or more efficient at burning fat?
If we get super efficient at burning fat and work in the (mostly) fat burning zone (yeah, I know there will always be some carbs burned as well) for longer periods of time, how many calories do we actually have to consume/replenish?
E.g., if I burn 1000 calories worth of my fat stores and X calories worth of carbs and only replenish those X calories burned + consume the amount of calories I would need for a “normal” day, wouldn’t that work? If not, why not?
Would the body “prepare for winter (hunger)” and start shutting down even though one has a ton of calories in fat stores?
I disagree with what they had to say about choosing a smart trainer. What I heard is them say that you should always just shell out the extra money to get the highest end smart trainer. Is a Kickr really worth almost 3x as much as the Kickr Snap? A trainer tire is only $20-30, even from a bike shop, and won’t wear out for a long time.
I got my first smart trainer last fall, a Kickr Core (the $900 one), and really can’t imagine the experience being that much better for an extra $300 or so.
Other than that little gripe, really good conversation about trainer selection and the like.
Not sure the best resolution here, but this seems like a problem with the split seen. Maybe @IvyAudrain can forward this to the appropriate people to review?
I would bet easy money that TR consider the Core an upper end trainer. It is essentially the same as the Kickr14, 16, 17 mechanics with the quiet belt & pulley and a more simple frame. Nate and others used those older Kickr’s for years before swapping to the Saris Hammer series. So I think that the Core is a very good recommendation myself, and think TR would too (based on their past history).
As to the Snap, it is likely the best smart wheel-on trainer there is. It performs well and has the best flywheel for wheel-on. It still falls a bit behind the Core in feel though. The extra $400 (plus a cassette) for the Core could make sense compared to the fact that many people with wheel-on trainers end up getting another wheel & cassette setup to make swapping between inside and outside easier. That difference just about ends up even money (assuming you don’t already have a spare wheel setup).
More than one way to get a decent setup, and the choice between wheel-on/off gets more tricky if you consider running different bikes and drivetrains. The right choice can and does vary based on a number of factors they didn’t touch on. But they gave some good general guidelines, IMO.
I agree with you. I think the appropriate message is that it’s worth the money going from a wheel-on to a direct drive trainer in most situations. I don’t think that extra $300 to go from a Core to a Kickr really makes that big a difference by comparison. I don’t need to simulate grades greater than 16%, for example.
On the caloric deficit question. I was a little surprised that the quick consensus was to recommend reversing course immediately and putting the weight back on. I would have thought you might want to try training at at a caloric balance at the lower weight for a while and see if your power recovers.
I’ve read articles in the past but nothing bookmarked. This is the basic strategy that has worked for me:
target calorie deficit of 500 cals per day
eat enough protein
continue doing cycling workouts
twice a week resistance training
focus on eating more veggies, fruit, whole grains, lean meats, and other foods with high nutrient content / low calorie density
Following that basic strategy I’ve been able to maintain muscle mass and increase cycling power while losing weight. About 5 years ago the key for me was increasing protein (I’m in fifties) and carbs to support work on the bike and gym.
By getting better aerobically. To get better aerobically you do large volumes of work at sub threshold.
As much as you can.
On the hard days you can’t eat enough to catch up. So on the easy days you eat more so that you are as loaded up as possible for the hard days. Carb loading with complex carbs can take days. Eating rocket fuel while doing z2 lets you get that glycogen back into your muscles.
Never forget the ABCs of cycling: Always Be Chowing.
Just wanted to give a +1 for a TR cooking series or at least something food-focused!
Some of the types of articles i enjoy reading about regarding athletes usually involves food. A lot of it is mostly inspiration for what I want to try out. I just generally enjoy food. Watching “Eat. Race. Win.” while powering through TR workouts was a lot of fun.
Late to the party here but I wanted to add my 2 cents on the intermittent fasting issue. The TR podcast is unabashedly about making you a faster cyclist, so they are looking at things through that lens primarily. However, there is a growing body of evidence that there are health benefits of intermittent fasting beyond caloric restriction.
I’ve been doing it for more than five years now (maybe much more, I’d need to check), and to be honest I haven’t noticed any meaningful differences from before I did, other than having less time to overeat!
