The importance of food supplements for cyclists
Are you a cyclist and want to increase your training resistance by improving your performance? Do you want to delay the feeling of tiredness so you can continue pedaling and achieve your goals? Are you looking for a product to take with you to the race for recharge your energy when necessary and overcome your limits? In this article we will talk about the best road bike supplements and the importance of integrating specific nutrients before, during and after the ride to improve performance.
Pedaling for long periods on asphalt or bumpy roads, the cyclist finds himself alone to face the great summer heat or the biting winter cold, strong sun, rain, wind and must maintain high concentration in order to get to the end of training without losing pace. To be able to maintain the right level of strength in the legs and mental clarity requires hard training, great passion but also correct nutrition and right integration at the precise moment it is needed.
Food supplement for cyclists
Cycling is an endurance, resistance sport and in every race or training the athletes undergo intense muscular work and hours of fatigue, aiming to break down both physical and mental barriers. The cyclist’s body, thanks to a good training technique, is used to effort and capable of resisting fatigue, but it must also and always be able to count on prompt integration when it needs it most.
In a cyclist weighing around 70 kg, the nutritional needs during a race or intensity training can be around 400-800 kcal per hour of pedaling. It is therefore important to integrate specific nutrients at different times of the day:
- before the activity to stock up on energy
- during training or in short intervals of a race to recover lost energy
- after the effort to help the body recover better and faster
Before the ride
Supporting correct nutrition, preliminary integration allows the body to reach optimal levels of nutrients, allowing you to tackle physical activity with the right energy. After consuming a meal rich in carbohydrates and low in fat and fiber at least three hours before the ride, we recommend taking a pre-workout supplement in the half hour before the ride.
Designed to guarantee pre-hydration and a good quantity of nutrients useful for optimizing performance, ATP BOOSTER it is one of the best supplements for racing bikes. It is a supplement in liquid vials useful for providing immediate energy and promoting metabolic processes that make it immediately available to the muscles.
During the ride
Supplementation under stress is essential to hydrate and replenish water-saline and energy losses which the cyclist encounters. Hydration is the first fundamental ally during sporting activity to compensate for the loss of liquids through sweating: a flask may be fine in the case of short races, for longer events it is better to opt for ISOTONIC GEL, based on maltodextrins and complex carbohydrates.
Isotonic gel with a delicate blood orange flavour, this innovative supplement from the Sprintade® line guarantees energy and allows the assimilation of complex carbohydrates in a progressive and optimal way, without weighing down the stomach.
After the ride
At the end of a race or a very intense workout, the muscle fibers have been damaged and burn, lactic acid makes itself felt and stress hormones have been released. This is the moment in which the cyclist’s body needs the most care and to replenish all the nutrients lost during the activity. The body needs to be hydrated by drinking abundantly but always in small sips and to start restoring muscle glycogen by taking products or foods rich in carbohydrates. To be able to perform at your best in the next training session, a good recovery strategy is essential.
Best supplements for racing bikes: the Sprintade® line
Sprintade® products , created to support athletes during endurance sports, allow cyclists, both amateur and professional, to assimilate active nutrients quickly and immediately thanks to highly concentrated formulations. Furthermore, the choice of innovative formats such as liquid vials, gel and chewable gums make Sprintade® supplements easy to use and transport even while cycling.