High Fat Low Carb Diets

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.

Does Beet Juice Really Make You Faster on the Bike?

Research into the performance boosting potential of beets goes back a decade [1, 8]. From effects on cardiovascular disease [15] to repeated-sprint performance [14], our knowledge of how beet juice impacts the body has continued to grow. Most of us are familiar with the decade old claim that beet juice improves cycling performance, but how exactly does it work?

Staying Hydrated on the Bike: Does It Even Matter?

Hydration advice can be confusing.  Over the last 20 years, strategies have ranged from “drink to maximum tolerance” to “ intentional strategic dehydration”.  In this article we’ll take a closer look at the spectrum of hydration research then draw from science to create basic guidelines for your next race.