Does Beet Juice Really Make You Faster?
I’ve been fascinated with beet juice for a few years. Most of the time “performance enhancing supplements” come in a special pill (or coffee cup), so how is it possible that drinking some extra beet juice could actually spell more speed on the bike?
In our most recent post on the blog we dive deep into the research on beet juice to answer the question, “Does beet juice really make you faster on the bike”? If you want to head directly to our post please click here. If you’re short on time here are the essentials
- Make sure your beet product contains at minimum 400mg (6mmol) of nitrate
- Consume it about 90m before the start of your ride/race
- For an extra boost consume beet juice in the 6 days leading up to your event
A bit of more about our coach Sam Bassetti (Along with some data geek out)
Our associate coach Sam Bassetti had an amazing year on the bike in 2017 so we wanted to sit down with him and learn what he did differently that might have led to his improved results.
To head directly to the post please click here, if you’re short on time here are a few of the highlights.
- He stopped “doing whatever” on the bike, and started treating himself like a client. This included a reduced focus on total hours and an increased focus on quality and intensity.
- He stopped worrying about his weight, and instead focused on body composition
- He committed to a short and simple core/stability routine that helped to eliminate nagging pains and cramping
In addition to learning a bit more about Sam’s season, I had fun digging in to some of his best race files from the past year.
For all the thousands of data files I’ve looked through, I still love the process of combing through a file and interpreting human effort through objective numbers. Here’s an example of my favorite piece of data from the post.
This is a race file from Sam’s win at the Pescadero Road Race last year. This is a looped course where riders hit the primary climb 4 different times. The overall picture is one in which Sam’s fitness was strong enough to ride the primary climb portion right at, or a bit under this threshold on the first three laps.
What happens when you’re able to ride the hardest segment of the race while still staying under threshold? You give yourself a ton of room to absolutely demolish the final repeat (and take the win). Click on the image to check out some more data from Sam’s season.
Here’s to more beets and greater health in 2018!
Nate Dunn
Founder/Head Coach
Data Driven Athlete