Thanks! I have been looking to get my hands on something like this since I heard about Super Sapiens. So excited to see what is going on inside over the next 4 weeks!
Thanks for the discount!
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Surprised Pink Bike covered this, but here’s their review:
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Made me lol when they suggest this may even be beneficial for DH MTB 3 minute run!!
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Has anybody used the FreeStyle Libre 3 with the free Abbott Labs app to accomplish the same purpose as these sports apps that you have to pay for? I don’t understand why you wouldn’t go that way at a significantly lower cost. Don’t you get the same information? I think the FSL3 is 49 Euros in Germany.
After reading Dr Marc Bubbs’ Peak (which is an amazing book btw), I have noticed that glucose thing was never in my radar and i was already showing some symptoms of not very well managed blood glucose level, especially during intense training weeks.
I decided to invest on CGM (I went for Supersapiens, which was easy to order and all do it yourself and somehow i liked the sport focus of the application.)
After first week of use, what I noticed was very surprising to me. I was significantly underfuelling! my fasted blood glucose readings were well below 55, I am now able to correlate my mood, sleep and recovery with the data i see. My daily average is always below 70 mg/dl which is the impaired recovery level. I am really focusing on this and trying to balance carbs intake around 4+ g/kg-day and still reach to 1.6-2.2 g/kg-day protein intake and leave some deficit. Below some of my high level observations from my own experiments;
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High quality carbs are the best, when i eat unprocessed food i don’t have spikes. I know everybody says that but seeing the response from your body online is a physical proof and helps you to commit for it.
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If my stores are empty, injecting gels or others easy carbs will not give you performance. I was always a thinking, eat less during the day and inject gels or sugar for the rides. That does not work, doesn’t even come close to where you want to be during the ride. It doesn’t look possible to match what your body demands while you are riding.
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Obvious for most of you maybe but it was not so clear to me (I am not a lifetime athlete, started taking sport this serious at the age of 38 and never had any health issue like diabetes so I was never really deep into this), if my glucose level was low, my heart rate was going crazy I was reaching to my limit much earlier than i would expect… and cycling is so much dependent on sugar, as soon as i start going around 200 W (my FTP is 290) it is really noticeable demand and I need to top it up. otherwise I am really challenging my body.
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I hope i am now able to start understanding why i was plateauing on nearly all the metrics. Nearly for a year, same fat ratio, same weight nearly same FTP or even some drops despite increased volume, and also added 4h of weekly strength training. I think the reason is under fueling. In reality i believe i need above 5 g/kg-day carb intake but this is also not helping me with the proper protein intake and a maintaining a little deficit + fat intake. I will try my 4 g/kg day intake and see how it impacts me if this doesn’t work i think i will get some professional support.
I have much more to tell but it’ s too early and i am nothing close to an expert on the topic so please take everything i wrote keeping this in mind. But knowing little about sports, nutrition and suddenly immersing yourself intensity rides and local races makes CGM more valuable as it is giving you some real time data you can judge and roughly manage. If i continue just based on feelings probably i would go nowhere.
Downside of having a CGM? For me the biggest problem is now i am too much focused on it during my rides, if it is an intense ride and if my blood glucose level is not above the performance line i dont push it anymore. i start feeling like “oh, i am not fueled for this intensity” without CGM i would just push through but having this metric in front of you can also be a trap when you want to push yourself.
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Nice review… I’m curious how you solved this, “ If my stores are empty, injecting gels or others easy carbs will not give you performance. I was always a thinking, eat less during the day and inject gels or sugar for the rides. That does not work, doesn’t even come close to where you want to be during the ride. It doesn’t look possible to match what your body demands while you are riding” ?
I work during the morning/day and eat very little, I often get home and try to slam as much food as possible about 30-60 mins before a ride and notice I never feel 100%.
Disclaimer: I am not expert on this topic, below is just what i learned from the books i read or videos i watched.
Clearly everybody has a different metabolism so what works for me may not work for you. There is also one fact, we all are limited on metabolizing carbs, this is why companies are bringing this special mixtures to maximize your absorption. So if you are trying to match 1000 Cal output in 90 minutes, you roughly need to consume and metabolize 170 g/h of carbs. If you can metabolize only 100g/h with special mix you have a major gap, that needs to come from the tank (your reserves). I know, not all energy is supplied by carbs but we are assuming high intensity workouts.
Supersapiens is defining glucose performance zone around 110 mg/dl - 140 mg/dl. When you start your training with an empty tank, you will be low 70 mg/dl level and if you have high sugar demand from the ride, raising blood glucose to such desired levels were extremely difficult for me. It is like suppressing a fire with an empty fire truck and trying to fill its tank from the sink of this burning house.
Another reason may well be that your brain knows your body’s status before the sensor does and if your tank is empty, it is prioritizing vital functions instead of prioritizing your training.
Now, how did i solve this
I am not yet solved it for sure but experimenting, in the book Marc Bubbs was referring to carb intake above 4 g/kg day for endurance athletes and even up to 6 g/kg day. i want to experiment this now by starting from the lower side. I calculated my BMR, total activity based calories and this is around 3000 Cal per day in average.
i am 75 kg,
x 4 - 5 = 300 to 375 g Carbs = 1200 Cal - 1600 Cal (hard days of endurance, higher intake)
x 2.2 - 3 = 165 to 225 g Protein = 600 Cal - 900 Cal (hard days of strength higher intake)
top up to 2500 from the fat and fiber.
I am leaving some deficit (and margin as labels can be up to 20-30 % wrong)
How do i practically manage it: I cook larger batches simply; rice, pasta, couscous, potatoes, beans, meat, chicken, smashing avocados. I spend half a day per week for this bulk cooking sessions and prepare variants in larger size and with a 10 euro kitchen scale i make my portions.
Sorry, longer than you need probably but i want to provoke people with more knowledge than me so if i am doing something fundamentally wrong they can warn me
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I also looked at this, somehow what i understood you need prescription to get a medical sensor. Also not all libre sensors comes with Bluetooth so you need to click on the sensor with your phone to do the readings -i didn’t check specifically the model you are referring to- Also i couldn’t find the sensor for the price you are mentioning from a reliable source. There were some dodgy ads on Ebay kleinanzeigen and the price was around 80 EUR excluding the reader device. I wanted to focus on smooth experience as the topic is completely new to me and to be absolutely honest, I am really really happy with my purchase.
Even if this was 5-10 % cheaper, I would go for supersapiens as app is pretty useful and sports oriented.
I carry my phone everywhere especially while riding given the injury/crash/breakdown risks
participants in SBT GRVL are being given the option to be included in a study so Supersapiens can get FDA clearance in the US…I applied and got in (but I think anyone who applied got accepted).
They are giving us our devices when we get out there and it is a 6 week (I think) study. Not sure there is any benefit to using it at SBT since we will have no historical data / reference. If I see my glucose levels during the race, I will have no idea what I am looking at…but I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out across the length of the study.
Does anyone know what bike computers support Supersapiens fields? it seems that Wahoo does, but Hammerhead does not…I’d be shocked if there is not a ConnectIQ app for Garmin at least.
Any advance tips / insight appreciated.
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Garmin is supported but I can’t find the app in the IQ store. https://supersapiens.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/5476302840727-Garmin-Bike-Computers
I’m a little worried about a new thing before race day. I’m hoping to record the data but absolutely not look at it. I need to read this thread more in depth because I’d be concerned about skin irritation from the patch, etc.
Hoping they just let us take them and install on Monday.
Edit: might need to switch store locales since the US store isn’t on the list.
100%…would have no idea what I am looking at anyway. Hoping to get some info when I pick my supplies up, but there will be plenty of time later to dig into the details.
Seems like they should have gotten us the stuff earlier with the idea of “let us help you maximize your SBT race!”
Hey @Power13 where did you get that info about SBT. We’ve traded messages in the other chat and I’ll be attending but think I may have missed this boat….
Hey Paul…it was an e-mail that I think came from SBT……if not them, then it was from Supersapiens through the SBT mailing list. Both my buddies got it too.
Connect IQ link for Garmin I can see is: Connect IQ Store | Free Watch Faces and Apps | Garmin
But I guess there might be locale issues in terms of availability.
Only Garmin devices currently support the Supersapiens data field, no support for Wahoo or Hammerhead. Also, be aware that for the field to display you need to carry your phone to bridge the connection.
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Yeah, the Supersapiens Garmin app is showing as not available for the US. The phone app needed to be accessed through the Apple TestFlight app, as well.
Maybe they will give us their BT wrist band so we can see the data w/o having to dig our phones out….
The Libre2 holds the data for 8 hours, so it could be that you get hit with the sensor at the start, and then scanned at the end … or at feed stops
To get around the US restriction on the IQ Store:
iOS Settings → General → Langue and Region → Set Region to United Kingdom. Then close the Connect IQ app and reopen.
Could I just use my VPN as well?
Tried that but didn’t work. My guess is the app looks at your device settings, not ip
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No joy…did exactly as noted above, but when I search for Supersapiens in the Connect IQ app, nothing comes up.
I did an easy trainer ride today and could feel a bonk coming on….downed a gel and felt better. Went back and looked at the Supersapiens app after the ride and sure enough….
I just need to figure out a way to see my glucose level on my computer….pulling my phone out constantly to check it is not practical.