^OPM^

As a keen MTB'er in his early 40's i don't now have the same fitness/stamina/power as in my youth.

I would still like to improve on where i am at now tho and think maybe i need a bit of help with some supplements.

I don't use anything at moment and nearest i get to upping my protein amount is after each ride i eat a can of tuna fish which from memory is about 36grammes of protein or thereabouts.I don't use anything pre-ride apart from trying to ensure i am fully hydrated before hand and for drinks during ride i tend to either use pure water or water with a pinch of salt in or just orange squash.

Been having a look round various websites as to protein shakes etc and I'm unsure what would be best for me to enable me to ride harder for longer and ultimatly faster/better endurance.

I don't wish to spend mega bucks on anything but on a quick calculation if a single shake works out at less than a can of tune (about 90p) then i will save money also by drinking some kind of shake rather then eating a can of tuna and hopefully it be more beneficial to me as well.

As a quick side note only thing that worries me slightly with some of these supplements etc is that they say don't use if you have had kidney problems-and 6 years ago i had a bad case of kidney stones and don't wish them again.

So any advice on good quality drinks/shakes that would help me with my mtb'ing?

tubbytommy

iTrader: (20)

just start slowly and build up to longer runs, i bought a camelback and use lucozade energy drink (the powdered version)

energy supplements wont turn you into lance armstrong, start with a couple of miles and build up gradually over the weeks.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

You can get powdered energy drinks, I just go for water and eating stuff.

It must work, a lad from work who weight 11 st (vs my 17st) and runs marathons, who constantly makes comments about my level of fitness/weight (banter) joined me on a ride on Weds, he was astounded how easily I could drop him and how he had no answer, the weird thing is, I wasn't even trying, just felt good and we had a tail wind, I waited for him and he arrived panting. I haven't done much cycling recently but it shows that you do get better based on the more you do. I am no athlete and most decent riders would smoke me but amazed how much faster I was than a very fit, bit younger, much lighter bloke.

nik52wrx

My usual intake for riding (depending on mileage) is a banana before i leave, banana mid way and a packet of Haribo's in my back pocket to snack on.
On longer rides i add another banana and some mini mars bars.
For fluids i use Zero Extreme tablets in two 750ml bottles for rides over 25 miles, one bottle under 25 which usually keeps me going.

Nik.

^OPM^

Im not a newbie to mtb i have been riding for about 20 years and think nothing of riding 20 - 30 miles off road at average speed of about 10-12 mph off road.On road but using MTB i can average about 18mph ( thats with off road tyres and on a hard tail).

So tbh not to many folk pass me off road-some times some young whippets come past me and make me look slow but doesn't happen too often where i ride.

I just wish to improve where i am now so i can go faster then i do now.

^OPM^

Sometimes have a banana before my ride or half a tin of cold rice pudding.As for eating when out, once i'm riding i don't like to stop and terrain I ride on doesn't lend you to being able to eat whilst riding.

tubbytommy

iTrader: (20)

i agree with the not stopping to eat, thats why the camelback suits me as you can drink on the move and it doesnt get covered in mud like a frame mounted water bottle.

have something to eat before i leave.

nik52wrx

My riding is mainly road based but even mountan biking a still like a two minute stop just to cram some food in. If going somewhere muddy i'll swap the bottles for my camel back.

I was hoping to get out today but the good old British weather put a stop to that

Nik.

scoobyboy

you got to build it up, how regularly are you cycling? i do 34 miles a day 6 days a week and find i don't need anything now but when i started i did try all sorts of things but i'm sure a lot of it is a placebo effect, just coz you have taken something that is supposed to work you think it does.

Frosticles

iTrader: (1)

I have a good breakfast of either Weetabix or Porridge . Only ever put water in my Camelbak but on shorter rides us High 5 Zero Tablets in my Water Bottle. Maybe a Mars Bar or a grain bar for mid ride.

^OPM^

Depends if weather is good i go out about 4 times a week-but I aint going out on days like this to get soaking wet-not when i can stay in and watch a good film .

Cockney Wideboy

iTrader: (2)

To be honest there isn't a perfect supplement that will get you what your looking for.

By the sounds of it your already doing a lot of riding and your taking a sensible approach to your diet...as you probably know its your entire diet that's key, high protein to help your muscles repair after a hard ride, plenty of carbs to maintain high energy levels, Plenty of iron and vitamins. Every day not just on training days as well as staying well hydrated before, during and after a ride, and plenty of rest, I.e do you have rest days between your rides?

Having an isotonic/energy drink during your ride will help by replacing the salts etc that you sweat out and to give a quick fix energy boost.

I take a whey protein shake after training and riding to up my protein in take as I'm not a fan of tuna...eating a high protein meal does have the same effect really.

One of the most effective things to aid pushing boundaries of fitness is to shock the body...swap a ride for a long distance run...you will be surprised at just how differently you use your leg muscles running and it will be a big shock to your system.

Another good thing for improving stamina is interval training...personally I go to the gym and get on the cross training and do 1minute flat out at a high intensity and then 1 minute slow at a low intensity...I also try and do a spin class once a week.

Or maybe add in a short road ride as well but do it flat out...again just something different.

I think if you change up your riding and training routine and carry on eating well you will start to get the goals your after.

Keep your body guessing.

Jamescsti

I cycle anything upto 40 miles per day on roads and have no need for supplements I generally just have water. I have used free samples of electrolyte drinks which have been pretty good. Never had a need for anything further.

Cockney Wideboy

iTrader: (2)

If your diet is balanced and contains everything your body needs to maintain your lifestyle then as you say there is no need to supplement it...as the name suggests its a supplement, I eat a lot of varied fruit and veg therefore will never take vitamin supplements.

Protein shakes are not vital but they do have one advantage in that you can increase your protein in take without massively increasing fat intake...protein shakes still have a fat and calorie count but it is often less than that of the foods that it naturally occurs in (I'm sure there are a few exceptions to this)

When wanting to make gains in fitness, strength etc then altering your diet is part of reaching your goals, as is the right training. but any diet changes need to be right and balanced for you what you are aiming for. An Olympic rower for example will consume upwards of 6000 calories a day....but its not from eating 600 mars bars. If I had 6000 calories a day I would very quickly become a hipo rather than a rower. If anyone is really keen on altering their diet they should seek the advice off a sports nutritionist.

To the OP, personally I don't think your doing much wrong from a diet point of view (although I'm no expert) so I would certain try changing your training first.

^OPM^

To answer - As to rest days- I tend to weather dependant ride about 2 - 2.5 hours on both sat and sunday then have monday as a rest day then ride tuesday for say 1.5hours, wednesday off then another 1.5 hour ride thursday.

To try and help replace salts lost during riding as i sweat like a pig i add a pinch of salt normally to my drink unless i forget

Reason i thought about all this protein shakes etc was that do they probably work out cheaper then having a can of tuna after a ride, what roughly does each shake work out at per drink as opposed to say 90p on a can of tuna that gives me 36g of protein?

Must admit years ago when i used to race mtb's i did a bit of interval training and did find that effective in upping performance levels in a shortish time span.Think i also did like you 1 minute fast as i could maintain then another minute easy etc but did mine out on bike and after a fairly shortish ride you would be tired fast if you really pushed hard when on the hard minutes.

^OPM^

I guess in all of this what i'm asking would it be cheaper and easier to buy some protein shakes to drink after each ride rather then eating tins of tuna?

If so what did people find good?

If not protein shakes i was on myprotein site earlier and for cycling they was selling things like caffeine pills to give you an energy boost.

^OPM^

Think also i may benefit from something to help repair muscles as after a hard ride i find my legs will ache badly all that night in bed and i end up taking paracetomol tablets to help me sleep-Now at first i could think thats just cause im not used to riding but even after a few months of riding this year it still happens-perhaps its old age creeping up on me.

Cockney Wideboy

iTrader: (2)

I use the precision engineered stuff from holland and barret, I only ever buy it when its buy one get on free so works out at £26 for 1.8kg.

Each scoop (24 grams) contains 17.6g of protein,

So a 48gram serving is equal to a tin of tuna. Based on 1816grams costing £26 it works out at approximately 1.4p per gram of whey powder as 48grams of whey powder is needed to get 35grams of protein then it works out at around 70p so 20p cheaper (assuming my maths is correct)

You could try adding one scoop to your current diet, I.e keep the tuna as well to see if that's aids recovery times, after all protein is needed to repair damaged muscle tissue. To be honest I think your kidneys would be find with one scoop, kidney problems are rare and tend to be in people that have four or five protein shakes everyday (although I'm no expert so if you concerned I would seek professional advice). A 908gram tub lasts me 3 or 4 months so I hardly over do it.

Also do you warm up slowly and then cool down and have a good stretch after each ride? I'm very guilty of jumping straight on my bike, hitting the hills hard then jumping straight off and getting in the car and driving home but it is good to get some good stretches in afterwards.

ChrisB

A milkshake is my choice of post-exercise refreshment (bike ride or long run). Bog standard shakes are cheap, easily available in pretty much any shop and Google turns up studies that report it's as effective as recovery drinks eg here. The For Goodness Shakes milkshakes are nice but pricey unless on BOGOFF at the supermarket.

After a long ride or run, I find a milkshake removes the urge to eat every bit of food in the house.

Jamescsti

If you are getting bad pain in legs what pedals are you using? Are you using cleats? And are they positioned correctly?

^OPM^

Must admit I'm the same i tend to go straight at it full pelt from start to finish and rarely stretch afterwards as i always forget to.
I use spd's but have been for near on 20 years now and its not that sort of pain its a tired pain i get,just that i would of thought my legs were used enough to exercise not to still be aching badly hours later-maybe as i get older i need to stretch now afterwards.

Fantom

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/ar...g-stamina.html

MooseRacer

Drink a pint of milk within 20mins or so of getting home.