Just starting, read lots but still have some questions!

[stradam]

I have recently signed up to do a 450 mile charity cycle ride through Central America and am going to start training soon. By the end of my training, I hope to be doing a 30mile ride every other day then a 50+ mile ride on Sundays.

I want a supplement that will aid my recovery whilst training but also that will build muscles and help definition. I am not looking to bulk up massively but will be doing weights to build muscle up top as well as my cycle training for the legs.

I am 180cm tall and 72KG which the doc says is a fraction under weight for my height. In my opinion I have a bit of a flabby belly, I guess from beer as I don’t eat rubbish. So does this mean I have more of my fair share of fat than I do muscle? If so, shall I try to burn this fat of from my belly with just cardio workouts before using supplements and weights?

The shake I reckon I need is Whey Protein, my reasoning for this is it is recommended for Lean muscle as well as Power and Strength. What do you reckon?

Cheers!

[comanight2]

Docs are usually pretty useless when it comes to sports...if your doing long distance cycling chances are your going to be "underweight" by the time your in shape anyway since its mostly a tendon driven sport as i seem to remember (i did a Olympic Distance triathlon recently). Couple of beers wont kill you in this sport either!

Whey protein is a good choice, as would a protein blend be to give you the mix of slow and fast digesting prots! Also BCAA's have been shown to help endurance athletes.

worse news is youll have a hard time shaking el flabo doing just cycling, youll have to eat pretty clean.

[stradam]

Cheers for the quick reply and good advice!!

So, straight on the supplements then as soon as I start training? And cut down calorie and fat intake until the flab has gone. Eating things like Tuna, Brown rice, Wholemeal bread and sweet potatoes is ok to lose the flab right? I can’t eat salad!

This isn't a competitive ride but I would like to be up front not having to kill myself making it through each day and I would like to bulk up a bit so hopefully the supplements and weight training will be enough to put some healthy muscle weight on and reduce my body fat. I have to admit, I have only been looking at the shakes but will look into those other supplements that you mentioned tonight.

Would True whey suit my goals as well or would that be too much bulking?

[dope540]

post up your current diet. supplements only work well if your diet is up to scratch.

[stradam]

Ok,

Breakfast: 2 slices of granary toast with peanut butter

Snack: Banana, Apple or other similar fruit

Lunch: Soup, Chilli (Lean mince fat drain heavily, brown rice), Spag Bol (Lean mince fat drained heavily, whole wheat pasta) or Chicken Stir fry.

Snack: Usually nothing.

Dinner: Same options lunch, Casserole, chicken curry, fajitas or steak and veg

Snack: Usually nothing but maybe Granary wholemeal toast with marmite.

I drink 2 – 3 cups of coffee with 1 sugar and full fat milk a day and drink plenty of water.

Cooking sauces are normal ones, not low fat.

[SpiderDan]

You've already said your a tad underweight I wouldnt go losing anymore.

You're also going to add 140 miles a week biking to your schedule, you're gonna need the calories, dont cut them. Extra exercise will establish a caloric deficit which will help you burn fat.

Whilst its not impossible to burn fat and build muscle the goals do somewhat compete with each other. If I was you I'd start out at somewhere around maintenance calories maybe a little above, see how you get on and adjust accordingly.

Just consider adequate protein (around 2g/kg BW), adequate essential dietary fatty acids and suffcient calories. Building muscle/ burning fat is a real-life experiment you dont know hows it going to pan out until you try. Dont worry about supplements (although I dont consider whey protein a supplement) until you stall, plateau or need some help then you can properly assess their effectiveness.

With regards to leg training i would seriously consider training them with weights once a week, strong legs with strong ligaments will only help in your cycle ride.

[stradam]

This may be a stupid question but what do you mean by around 2g/kg BW?

Is that 2g of protein per every kg of body weight every day? True weigh gives 19g per serving so that means 3 a day would be 57g but by that calculation you gave a would need 140g as I am 70kg in weight?!

[dope540]

yup. try and get most of your intake from whole foods, rather than relying on shakes.

[SpiderDan]

Quote

This may be a stupid question but what do you mean by around 2g/kg BW?

Is that 2g of protein per every kg of body weight every day? True weigh gives 19g per serving so that means 3 a day would be 57g but by that calculation you gave a would need 140g as I am 70kg in weight?!

thats right 2g per kilo of body weight

But thats total protein which would include meat, dairy and really any protein sources not just whey

Just ensure your total for the day is about 140g.

[Frankie]

I found squats and deadlifts helped my cycling so make sure you don't miss them out thinking just riding the bike will be enough (despite what most cyclists say). Lots of people complain about sore backs after riding a long distance but on Sunday I rode 195 miles with no problems and virtually no DOMS after.

I use L- glutamine to aid recovery, but might be worth seeing how you feel before ordering some.