# Pre ride and post ride nutrition.



## jarwes (Mar 13, 2012)

Hi, guys Long time lurker some time poster.... I'm 46 years old and trying to add more miles on the bike. I find that after 6 months of health issues, when I ride I am gassed a lot faster than I used to. I know that most of that is lack of fitness and that I did not ride much last year. One of my riding buddies is a full-on gym bro as well. He drinks a prework-out drink that seems to help him. I think it's some kind of GNC brand. Do any of you use a prework-out drink? If so what do you use and how do you like it.


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## NoCanSurf (Feb 19, 2021)

I knew a guy that eat peanut M&M on long rides. Worked well for him. 

but really you don't need any of that stuff. Eat healthy and eat wisely and you'll be ok. If you want to go down that Gym-Bruh route you can... If you're just riding for fun, I'd avoid it. I suggest just plain old water. Maybe something high in protein after a ride...Avoid processed foods... 

These are my thoughts I'm sure there are others with different ideas.


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## 834905 (Mar 8, 2018)

I’ve never messed with any pre ride stuff. Never saw the need for it. The only thing I do besides my normal diet is protein shakes after really long rides or races. Even those I don’t do for performance, I just find I recover better and am less sore the next day.


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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

Sometimes, it just takes time, patience and effort. If you’ve been there before, you’ll get there again.

There’s no way to speed the process up. You need to mentally get over the fact that you were set back. It sucks, but it happens when you’re in pursuit of lofty goals. Set backs are part of the process of moving forward.

Your brain wants you to be in a different place than what your body is telling you. You won’t get far and may hurt yourself again if your body and mind are not working in tandem with each other.

I'm not sure about preworkout drinks. It's a personal choice that works for some and not others. I eat clean (I eat a light snack a couple hours before a ride or long run). I'm more focused on hydration before and during a ride or run. I also train for running marathons which takes care of my cardio and endurance. I find this type of training helps my riding endurance. I am a strong believer in crosstraining. Cross training by definition means training for a different sport other than the primary sport that leads to performance improvements in the primary sport.

There are very few circumstances in which you taking time away from your primary sport to do something else is going to result in performance increases in your main sport. Usually taking away from your primary sport is going to risk causing more of an issue.

If you are looking to improve strength and stability, especially in core then you need to look into weight lifting. I'm not a "gym bro" but I do crossfit several days per week. My personal fitness goal this year is to improve core strength.


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## MudderNutter (Oct 23, 2014)

Definitely don't take pre workout before a ride. Works well for weight lifting, but isn't a comfortable thing to do for cardio. Make sure you're fueling your body and your workouts. Eat something like oatmeal with maple syrup pre ride. During the ride put calories and carbs in your water. I mix my own, but the mix I emulate is maurten 320 (its just expensive). This makes a huge difference to help keep energy levels up during longer/harder efforts. Afterwards have a recovery drink... chocolate milk is a favorite. Lots of companies make great recovery drinks. Cliff has some tasty ones.

A lot of riders have a tendency to under fuel because they are trying to lose weight/fat. You don't want to do this during the workout. Fuel the work!!!


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## dsciulli19 (Apr 14, 2014)

NoCanSurf said:


> I knew a guy that eat peanut M&M on long rides. Worked well for him.


I, too, enjoy peanut M&Ms on my longer rides. If I'm out more than an hour or so I start to snack a little bit during slower sections. 

Also, I've used pre-workout before a ride and other athletic activities with some success, but I think it is one of those things that is best used as an "icing on the cake" of fitness, nutrition, and preparation. I.e. don't think a bunch of caffeine and NO boosters are going to make up for being out of shape, but it might get you up the first hill. Nowadays I prefer to make sure I've got a cup of coffee in me plus a light breakfast if I'm going on an early ride. 

-DS


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## abeckstead (Feb 29, 2012)

Nutrition is a huge rabbit hole to fall down... If you aren't trying to perform at an elite level, keep it simple. 
Don't show up to ride dehydrated.
Don't show up to ride starving. 
Don't eat heavy meals or crappy food before a ride.


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## jarwes (Mar 13, 2012)

NoCanSurf said:


> I knew a guy that eat peanut M&M on long rides. Worked well for him.


 I love Peanut M&Ms as well. I know that any sort of prework out stimulant isn't gonna make up for lack of fitness. I have never really messed with supplements, pre and post work out anything and its so easy to go down that rabbit hole on the interwebs. Thanks for all your insight.. I appreciate it.


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## Lionel_Hutz (Dec 8, 2021)

Might be a little niche, but I've found dried figs are great anti-bonk food for during longer rides, and at least for me don't cause a sugar crash like gels and goo can. Pre-ride I'll fuel with something like wheat toast and peanut butter or steel-cut oatmeal.

Supplement-wise, some pre-workout stuff could in theory help. Bodybuilders like pre-workouts with nitric oxide/l-citrulline for muscle pump but it theoretically improves blood flow generally. But a lot of pre-workout mixes are loaded with stimulants that could play havoc with your HR during cardio.


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## dsciulli19 (Apr 14, 2014)

Lionel_Hutz said:


> But a lot of pre-workout mixes are loaded with stimulants that could play havoc with your HR during cardio.


Some play havoc with your HR in the best of conditions!! Takes me back to the days of the OG formula Jack3d pre-workout supplement. THAT was some good stuff.


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## 3sigma (Jul 8, 2005)

I have found that Red Beet powder works quite well as a pre-ride drink. I prefer the Enduro "Beta Red" drink mix since it also includes the amino acid Beta-Alanine, which has been shown to reduce lactic acid accumulation in the muscles.
For post-ride recovery, a protein shake with some fruit seems to work well for me.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

I don't do anything different form my normal diet before rides. When I was doing some endurance racing, I'd try to get 20-30 miles in before breakfast while only consuming water, and then follow the ride up with a good breakfast. I don't know if it did any good, but I felt like it taught my body to fuel from existing fat stores.


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