Hello all,
I have been waking up at 4:30am to get my training rides done. I don’t eat anything before hand and I only have a water bottle on my bike.
Is riding in a completely fasted state ok? I have always been able to finish my sessions but I do struggle. I figure the rides are supposed to be hard.
After listening to the trainer road podcast I was under the impression that riding in this state was ok. However I recently listed to this podcast:
(Inside- tagetted nutrition)
The podcast suggested not training without eating.
I am not sure what I should be doing? If eating something will help, I will force some food down at 4:30am but I am usually really short on time. Will eating make the rides slightly easier? Like I said I do struggle.
Are there any suggestions? What should I be eating immediately before a training ride?
This is not scientific by any stretch, just my experience. I ride early and fasted often. If it’s a sweet spot workout I just have water. If the workout is threshold or higher I put carbs and electrolytes in my water, but still eat nothing. I have a good breakfast immediately after I get off the trainer. If I cannot have breakfast right away I’ll have a recovery drink to take advantage of that intake window. I’ve experienced no ill effects. However, I do find that my b.f. % changes pretty quickly when I train this way.
If your short on time just have something on the bike. Im the hungriest in the morning when I first wake up but don’t have much time either. I’ll have a banana and/or a bar and down a quick cup of coffee while warming up.
Three are opposing arguments to most methods. I’m not against fasted rides but I’m personally not capable of doing a truly fasted ride in the morning.