05/04/2019
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I cannot overstate how important nutrition is for your performance on the mountain bike. It is so so so important. Heading out for a ride on a bowl of cereal and finishing with a pint and a burger just won't cut it if you are serious about improving your fitness on the bike.
Here's 5 nutrition tips every mountain biker needs to hear :
1. It's not just about what you eat before or during a ride
Way before you worry about what you eat before and during a ride, you need to look at what you eat day-day. Your day-day nutrition sets the foundations of having the energy and motivation you need to ride and the proper recovery between rides and workouts.
2. You can't out train a bad diet
If you have a few pounds (or a few stone) to lose, then you need to look at your nutrition first. You literally can't out train a bad diet. You could train twice a day, everyday, but if you out eat your calorie burn you are going to see zero results. Nail your food first.
3. You probably don't eat enough while you ride
Most riders don't eat enough on rides over 2 hours. I'll often see riders head out and not eat anything for 2 or 3 hours. After a couple of hours their energy is starting to dip. They are getting demotivated, grumpy and really starting to flag. They start to make silly mistakes and their performance bombs. They think it's a fitness problem. It's often actually a food problem. Eating every 30-40 minutes goes a long way to stopping this and keeping energy levels consistent.
4. Hydration needs more than just water
For proper hydration you need to take electrolytes in with your water. When you sweat, you lose salts from your body. You need to replace these. If you don't you can be prone to cramp, dipping energy and poor performance. Add electrolytes to your water on rides anywhere north of 90 minutes (or on every ride if you live in a hot country)
5. Everyone is different and there are no quick fixes
Finally - everyone is different. I released a nutrition guide for mountain bikers at the beginning of the year. A theme I repeat over and over throughout is that everyone is different! What works for your mate Tom, might not work for you. He might work great on a super low carb diet, you may be the opposite. Everyone is so different. It's important you understand the basics of nutrition and then start to play around with them to suit you!
Finally...there are no quick fixes or magic pills. Great nutrition is not about superfoods, amazing supplements or crazy diets. It's about real food...consistently.
If you are a keen mountain biker I really recommend you learn more about nutrition. Riders spend hours researching the best tyres, the best bike setup and the greatest new trend...but how much time do they spend on mastering their nutrition? At the end of the day, you are the motor that powers your bike. You need to fuel yourself properly to get the best results.
Check out my nutrition guide 'Stupidly Simple Nutrition for Mountain Bikers' and I'll show you exactly how to do this. It's already helping hundreds of mountain bikers all around the world, will you be the next?
Learn more about it here :
https://mtb.fitness/products/stupidly-simple-nutrition-for-mountain-bikers
