Once A Geek….

It would be nice to think that as I became more interested in sport and physical activity that I’d be able to shuffle off the geek mantle. Alas no – the further I get into it the more it seems  – how you do one thing you do everything – and so I just bring my geekiness where ever I go. It really must be deep in me.

Specifically since I last posted I been getting very interested in sports nutrition, not quite in the league of being anal about gear sizes and ratios  – no doubt that’s in the mail. It seems there is still some divide amongst the scientific community who study such things concerning the replacement of muscle glycogen post excercise.

To take a few steps back , mostly so that I can write the whole thing down and not have to bore my partner senseless yet again, here’s the deal. Your body has a few different sources of energy to draw from when exerting itself – muscle glycogen and fat. The proportion  of each that it uses differs dependant on how extreme the exertion is. At higher exertion, such as riding your bike at any speed at all, you’ll be mostly using your muscle glycogen. Usually these stores will last you for about 1.5- 2hrs before being depleted.  If you haven’t been suppling your body will another available energy source then this is the point at which you’ll bonk. Your body will burn fat for energy but as this metabolic process has twice as many steps it does not provide an immediate and available source of energy like your glycogen does.

I have had the huge and painful lesson of bonking just once – if you’ve ever been there you’ll have been very motivated to never experience it again. The second time I ever went out training down Beach Road I went to Frankston and back – around a 2.5 hr ride. I had some water with me, no electrolytes, no other energy source or food  – and as ever hammered away as hard as possible. After enjoying overtaking people all the way down  I bonked on the way back.  Just turning the pedals was a herculanian effort, it was devastating in a pathetic kind of way. I had to stop, gather myself and limped home to Balaclava with every ancient and overweight grand mother effortlessly over taking me. I had a sense that clearly something bad had happened but had not even the experience or knowledge to give it a name.  ‘Rooted’ seemed the best definition, which in meaning is not disimilar to being ‘bonked’ , depending on what part of the world you come from.

But I digress – to avoid bonking you must ensure you continue to supply your body with an available energy source. Sports drinks and energy gels, and these are not all created equal but I’ll go more into depth about that at another time. There is also some evidence to show that a 4 to 1 ( or 8 to 1 dependant on what your reading) carb to protien mix will enhance your performance substaintially.  Supplying your body whilst riding, if your going for over 2 hours is vital and theres also important work you can do post ride to maximise your muscles glycogen stores.

You  have a short envelope of time, half an hour, post ride to replenish your glycogen stores. Yes, you’ve just got in the door, you’ve avoided ‘bonking’ but you are ‘rooted’ nonetheless. Yes, the couch looks comfortable and standing is difficult but no – its not over yet. Your job now, as soon as possible is to eat complex carbs and protein. The carbohydrates will replenish your glycogen stores and the protein will not only help rebuild muscle tissues but also maximise their ability to store the fuel your supplying them with. The combination of carbs and protein both in training and post training seem to be vital to maximising not only your on- bike performance but also the benefit that you will be getting from the training. Your body gets stronger in recovery – so pay attention to it and you’ll feel yourself stonger each time.

Also, a word on anti-oxidants. If your involved in strenuous exertion you’ll be putting your body under greater oxidative stress. It is a great irony that the gas the gives us life is the great decayer. Greater oxygen levels , up to 10 to 20 times normal resting levels,  while exercising produces more free radical and so  cellular damage, aging and all that comes with it. Although there is evidence to show that if you exercsie regularly the effects of oxidative stress are minimised, anti-oxidants have to be a consistant and deliberate part of your diet. The same studies show that infrequent exercise may be detrimental as the oxidative stress is not minimised as in those who exercise frequently  – weekend warriors beware.

Well – thats the sinple run down. I’ll look forward to explaining it all at a cellular level to an empty room sometime in the near future – fascinating:P