In today’s Journal Club we’ll check out a brand new paper examining caffeine, coffee, and riding a bike as fast as you can. Does coffee improve your cycling? Should you stop drinking coffee in the lead-up to an important event in order to boost your caffeine sensitivity and performance on race day? Let’s find out.
Today I’m kicking off a new blog segment called the “Journal Club.”
In the Journal Club, we’ll examine a single research paper that holds significance to you as a cyclist. Whenever possible, I’ll select open-access research and include a downloadable link to a personally annotated PDF so you can dig into a full-text version and follow along.
In today’s Journal Club we’ll check out a brand new paper examining the performance implications of a Low Carb High Fat or “keto” diet. Is going “keto” likely to improve your cycling? Let’s find out.
Training low-carb is one of the hottest topics in cycling but should you actually do it? Topics in this post include a rationale for carbs, current recommendations for carb intake, a rationale for restriction, periodized nutrition, and a few practical suggestions to apply to your training.
Can beet juice actually make you faster on the bike? The short answer is yes. Topics in this post include an explanation of how beet juice works to improve performance, recommend dosage and timing, varying quality of beet juice products, road blocks to beet juice effectiveness, and practical recommendations for using beet juice in your training and racing.
How important is it for a cyclist to stay hydrated? Topics in this post include a brief look at the historical perspectives on hydration, conflicting hydration research, and a host of practical suggestions for developing a customized hydration approach to apply to any bike race or event.
One of the surest ways to improve your cycling performance is to focus on getting leaner. This post offers a brief explanation for why getting lean can be so difficult for cyclists in addition to offering up three specific strategies for how to improve your body composition.
One of the surest ways to boost your cycling performance is to drink coffee. This post offers up a detailed look at how coffee/caffeine works, how much you need to drink to boost performance, when to drink it, considerations for who might not get a boost, as well as practical tips for making sure your coffee habit is paying dividends on the bike.
This post outlines how to fuel with carbohydrate before and during your rides. Topics include pre-ride nutrition, current recommendations for fueling during rides, and practical suggestions for how to make sure you’re always matching your fuel to the demands of your ride or race
Many cyclists don’t eat enough protein. This post takes a closer look at why the RDA isn’t enough for cyclists, covers current recommendations for quantity and quality of protein, while covering a few practical solutions to make sure you’re eating enough protein to adequately fuel your riding and racing.
