{"id":1492377,"date":"2022-11-04T16:00:07","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.bkool.com\/?p=1492377"},"modified":"2022-11-04T16:29:03","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T14:29:03","slug":"cycling-supplies-and-how-to-prepare-customised-nutrition-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.bkool.com\/en\/2022\/11\/04\/cycling-supplies-and-how-to-prepare-customised-nutrition-bars\/","title":{"rendered":"Cycling supplies and how to prepare customised nutrition bars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How much do you know about refreshments? Let’s see how you can improve your intakes during the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s start off with a bang. Here are the most important factors to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digestive system capacity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Can you imagine coming from a months-long hiatus and wanting to reach your peak performance that same week? If only it were that easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With your digestive system the situation is similar. It takes time and training to handle high amounts of carbohydrate during exercise without discomfort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step is to start with a fully tolerable load and work your way up from there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some possible strategies you can employ to train your digestive system:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Perform runs with high volumes of fluid in the stomach or immediately after eating.<\/li>
  2. Increasing the total carbohydrate content of the diet.<\/li>
  3. Progressive increases in the amounts of carbohydrates\u00a0consumed\u00a0during the\u00a0race.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    And these are the improvements you can make:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Decreased gastrointestinal problems during the race.<\/li>
    2. Tolerate greater amounts of volume in the stomach.<\/li>
    3. Improved performance due to increased energy capacity.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      What about sodium?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Electrolytes, the forgotten ones. Of course, we lose water through sweat when we exercise, but we also lose electrolytes such as sodium. If we don’t replenish the sodium we lose over the long run, we will see our stress, confusion, disorientation and, in short, we will see our performance decrease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Sodium can be replenished during exercise through isotonic drinks or salt tablets, although it can also be present in other forms of food supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      With sodium there are no excuses, as by simply using salt we can replenish our sodium needs. 1g of salt contains 0.4g of sodium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      With or without caffeine?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Caffeine is an interesting strategy for those moments when fatigue starts to set in because it can reduce fatigue and therefore increase your athletic performance. But be careful! This effect is temporary. Using caffeine at the start of a long run could lead to a greater feeling of tiredness at the end of the race if you do not continue to ingest it properly throughout the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In addition, it is important to be aware of the flip side. Excessive use of caffeine could lead to tolerating high doses without achieving the desired effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In short, it is important to control the dosage and number of caffeine intakes you take for the race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      There are different ways of consuming caffeine. Through gels, tablets, drinks or infusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Types of refreshments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Every cyclist has different tastes and tolerances for different formats. Below you will see different types of refreshments that you can consume depending on their texture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n