Ask the Experts - Nutrition

Answers from Andrew Hamilton:

Q. I am a racing cyclist and I find I really lack an explosive kick for attacking in races. I lost a lot of weight last year and I feel I’ve lost a lot of muscle mass, which I would like to regain, particularly in the legs. My endurance is excellent (I can ride 200 kilometres without any problems), but I struggle to go with attacks in races and my thighs feel like they are burning. Should I be doing weight training, or are there any specific intervals I should do? Do I need creatine or whey protein maybe? My diet is very low fat – is this a cause?

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I think you need to take a two-pronged approach to this. Let’s start with training. There are actually three distinct energy systems in the body; the phospho-creatine (PC) system, which provides very high intensity bursts of energy for up to 20 seconds; the lactate system, which can provide high energy output for periods of up to two minutes; the aerobic system, which provides low-moderate energy output almost indefinitely. The energy for an explosive kick is provided by the PC system, while the energy for a sustained high-intensity burst (eg to pull away from the pack during the last kilometre in a race) is provided by the lactate system. You obviously have a very well developed aerobic system, but struggle when it comes to more intense work. The solution is to do some specific training that targets the PC and lactate systems. You may need to reduce the volume of your aerobic work to accommodate this. For lactate training, interval sessions of 1-2 minute intervals performed at 90-95% of your maximum heart rate (max heart rate roughly = 220- your age) will be effective. For PC training, you need to perform high intensity sprinting work – for example, repeated bursts of 10-30 seconds with full recovery in between. Resistance training will help build strength and develop the PC system; squats lunges, leg press and overgear training are the kinds of exercises that would help, though you must ensure a proper recovery the following day by either keeping your training very light or refraining from training completely.

As far as nutrition goes, it’s important that you ensure proper feeding and recovery in order not to lose muscle mass and strength after your longer rides, which can happen all too easily as some muscle protein breakdown inevitably occurs to meet energy demands. The best way to achieve this is to ensure that you consume a high-carbohydrate diet at all times so that you start all your training sessions with muscles that are ‘topped up’ with glycogen (the preferred fuel during exercise). Immediately after all training sessions, you should consume a 2:1 carbohydrate/protein recovery drink, to help replenish lost glycogen and muscle amino acids, and follow this up with a balanced high carbohydrate/moderate protein meal within 1-2 hours. During training, you might want to consider using a carbohydrate drink, or better still, one of the new generation carbohydrate drinks that supply 20% of the energy in the form of whey protein (eg High5’s 4:1 ‘Energy Source’). These protein containing energy drinks have been shown to reduce exercise-induced muscle loss and damage and to speed recovery. An improved intake of carbohydrate and protein before, during and after training will enable you develop and maintain muscle mass and strength, which in turn will help you to develop that explosive kick you’re after!