Hi. New to the forum so maybe there is already some info about this but anyway. Does it make sense to fuel during 1h sweetspot or threshold workout? Assuming that i am having breakfast before the workout and something like a protein shake after the workout, do I need to drink just water during the workout or just water wont be enought for this kind of effort?
Thanks!
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I always fuel intensity, even if itās short. Part of that is about replenishment after the workout, part of it is ensuring I have readily available glycogen, because I can rarely be sure that my stores are full.
Itās popular (but in my opinion incorrect) opinion that you donāt need to fuel <90m workouts. I have had issues during a 45m workout that I am confident are due to energy availability.
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Yeah if itās hard I like to have something during. Placebo or not.
If itās a steadier one I just have some more slower digesting food. Rice cakes or some trail mix or something. Especially as I get bored on the trainer, something to look forward to lol.
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Need it or not, thatās a good discussion. My take is you should get your body used to consuming calories on the bike. I keep both plain water, drink mix and snacks on the table. This way I can make a choice depending on how I feel.
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I totally agree with all of this. I think that consuming carbs during harder rides does more than simply ensure thereās enough fuel onboard to burn too. The nervous system is actually highly involved and it can actually throttle performance based on how hard youāre working and how much energy is available. It really doesnāt want you to run out!
Having a bottle of sports drink during a ride is pretty much always a good idea in my opinion. Youāre pretty much always burning carbs! 
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I have seen positive outcomes from fueling most of my rides. I do not feel that desire to eat crappy foods after the ride that much.
I prepare a sports drink and can even eat a ripe banana during the ride unless it is a VO2 workout. I have never needed a bucket so maybe it has trained my gut.
I am rarely using gels during training rides because of cost.
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I typically drink water during 60 min threshold and sweetspot workouts. IMO, consuming calories during these relatively short, medium intensity rides isnāt going to hurt, but I really doubt itās likely to āhelpā you successfully complete the workout. However, Iām a huge believer in the placebo effect. If you believe it helps, then Iām sure it has an impact and alters the way you āfeelā about your effort.
Experiment a little bit and see what works best for you. If you like a little something during the ride, great. If you donāt want it or feel like you need it, then thatās fine too. Itād be interesting to see what and how much TR users are consuming during 60-min efforts. Personally, I feel just fine with water and donāt want to mess with having to put a bottle of speed nectar together for a short indoor ride.
My understanding is that the science shows typical glycogen levels are adequate to fully supply energy needs for 60 to 90 minute efforts, and thatās been my experience.
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Personally for 60 mins indoors, I wouldnt take anything but water. Outdoors for 60 min I probably wouldnt even take the water either.
90mins onwards, certainly both.
That said try both. If it helps then why not?
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Contrary to my first reply, I also like to experiment and sometimes have nothing.
Iāve been > 1 hour away from home before and ran out of fuel and itās nice to know you donāt die 
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Thanks all for the advice! Funny that People is mentioning the placebo effect and was wondering if there are some studies about that. Would be a great topic for one of the podcasts!!
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Yes, there was a study that showed a performance boost from just swishing a carb mix drink in your mouth and then spitting it out.
If youāre not going to fuel your ride, consider something with more carbs after rather than a protein shake. You definitely need them after a workout.
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Fuel the intensity, not the duration. If you are doing something like 2x20 at FTP, that is a glycogen stripping workout. Itās wise to fuel during. It doesnāt have to be 100 grams of sugar necessarily - 50-60 is probably fine but up 100 is ok too if itās ok for your stomach.
I figure that that is a 600-800 calorie workout for me so taking in 300-500 calories is probably a net benefit.
If Iām riding easy z1/2, Iām not very concerned about sugar.
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I think both ways work, so do what works best for you. Iām also a big believer in the benefits of placebo.
I only chimed in because I wanted to say that while some folks will say that fueling workouts means theyāre not as hungry after the ride, Iāve never felt that. Iām ALWAYS hungry after a ride. I can eat a bunch of carbs before the ride, fuel the ride, and I will STLL be hungry at the finish. Just pointing this out so new people donāt think something is wrong if they have the same experience.
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Former runner and obviously an outlier here, but personally do not fuel for one hour rides. I see value in ātraining your gutā but for me I usually workout right before dinner so thereās no need.
Depends on what intensity?
For easy 1h ride i only drink water
For medium/hard put carbs in bottle
I fuel during almost every ride. Taking in 100-200 calories just means that many fewer I have to cram in before or after.
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Placebo (or perhaps a form of motivation) has a big influence for me. If Iām struggling in a session Iāll have a gel and tell myself āif you quit youāve just wasted that expensive gelā. Usually it gets me through, sometimes not.
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+1 on this. The performance/recovery benefits could be debated, but eating on the bike (and particularly eating on the bike when going hard) is a trainable skill.
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True. Plus, itās not a bad idea to train for how to fuel on longer rides/race events.
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IMO it depends on many factors. But for me the biggest ones would be (kinda in order of importance):
- Intensity. A 1 hr VO2 workout, Iāll fuel it. Whether itās placebo or ārealā it helps me achieve the workout.
- How that workout fits into my week/block. Sometimes Iāll take in 75g of carbs on a recovery ride if Iām in the middle of a big training block and that ride is between two big/intense rides. (ex. In my recent VO2 block I had 2 VO2s, recovery ride, 2 more VO2s in 5 days. You better believe I was eating during that recovery ride.)
- How that fueling fits into your personal nutrition. If you find that by taking in carbs during your 1 hour ride you then are less likely to overeat the rest of the day then thatās probably a reason to. But if fueling leads to you overeating over the day then consider skipping when appropriate.
EDIT: for context (as pointed out by @Helvellyn), I have an FTP of ~325W. So there are some big days (5 hours with Threshold intervals as an example) where I might burn 4k+ calories. Itās almost impossible for me to eat that completely back in one day so then Iām much more likely to eat during my recovery ride the next day so that I donāt start the next week in a hole.
If you have a lower FTP and/or ride lower volumes then this may be less of a concern because youāre just eating less calories overall. But for me, if Iām going to need a snack during the day then I might as well have it while Iām riding and get some insulin free glucose shuttling vs when Iām sitting at my desk working.
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