Personally, here is my routine for harder/longer FTP workouts which I’ve been doing a lot lately:
- 15-30 minutes before ride – banana;
- during/after 20-ish minute warmup – gel or 1/2 package of Cliff blocks;
- during 3-minute rest period - additional gel or the second half of the Cliff blocks, eaten near the half-way point of total interval work;
- constantly during the workout – drinking 2-2.5 total bottles of cold Skratch labs hydration mix, 1-1.5 scoops per bottle.
I did the rough math on a recent nearly 2-hour FTP workout (warmup, plus 5x15 or 2x35), in which TR reported I burned 1400-1500 calories. In total, I consumed between 600-700 calories total during the ride. If you count the banana before the ride, I may be somewhere in the 800-900 calorie total to “fuel the workout.” In terms of carbohydrates, it’s probably in the neighborhood of 120-150 grams. Whether I actually “need” that much or not, it has definitely helped to lower the RPE and give me the confidence that I have enough carbs on board to complete the work.