Beetroots, mustard, and chocolate milk can make you go faster

You are what you eat. That is a sentence you have heard a few times already in your life. Your diet is important and it does matter what you put in your mouth at the dinner table – especially when you are training. Protein is great for the muscles and carbohydrates are great for longer training sessions. However, did you know that there are a few things that will be almost as efficient as doping?

The mustard plant contains natural steroids

The mustard plant contains the same materials that makes anabolic steroids efficient, but without all the drawbacks. The specific type of steroid the mustard plant contains, is called the Brassinosteroid. Studies from North Carolina State University in the United States of America showed that mice that was given mustard increased their protein synthesis, which means that it increased their fat burning and muscle power compared to mice that did not get any mustard. That means that you can build up stronger muscles in the same amount of time, along with lowering your amount of fat. For any bike rider that can be a massive gain, especially in hilly races.

Beetroots will increase your endurance

However, if you are not a big fan of strong tasting stuff like mustard, there are other solutions. Beetroots are another fine example. They do not help you with building muscles, but will give you some extra stamina that can make you intensify you training sessions. A study from Exeter University in the United Kingdom showed that a group of younger men who was given beetroot juice were able to train for a 16% longer time, and could cover the same distance 2% faster compared to not getting any beetroot juice. Their blood pressure were also lowered by drinking the beetroot juice. Speculations are that the Oxygen absorption in your body lowers when given Nictric Oxide from the beetroot juice, giving your body an extra amount of Oxygen in surplus for when needed. It is like a car with 99 octane petrol will always be able to go longer and faster on the same amount of fuel, than if it was given 92 octane.

Chocolate milk will make you recover faster

But that is just something you can do when you want to. Another thing you can, which probably most will like, is that after each training session you should drink a glass of chocolate milk. Studies from James Madison University found out that low-fat chocolate milk was superior to any carbohydrate beverage when it goes down to getting the muscles to recover as fast as possible. The studies found that the 13 males that were tested had lower levels of creatine kinase than the people who did not drink chocolate milk after each training. Creatine kinase is an indicator of muscle damage, so the lower the level of creatine kinase is, the more recovered are the muscles. Milk alone is also efficient, but the chocolate milk got some extra nutrition’s that will lower the recovery time even more. Recovered muscles are very important in order to get the maximum out of your next training session, and if you do not make your muscles recover, you will not gain any additional muscles until they get to recover probably. 

Nevertheless, what is your routine? Do you do anything like this at all? Do you have any additional types of food that also will make you a stronger athlete? Please tell us in a comment below!

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/beetroots-mustard-and-chocolate-milk-can-make-you-go-faster/

The Best Way To Recover Between Training Sessions

Only the professional riders got masseurs to take care of their sore body after a hard race, so how do a normal rider get the maximum out of the rest between training sessions? A good recovery also means a more efficient training, and some of the best sporting athletes around the world sleeps up to 12 hours a day in order to recover the best way.

Of course normal people with a normal job and life can’t even get close to that amount of sleeping, so we have gathered a few nice tips below here to get fresh legs as fast as possible:

Eat after training

The first 20 minutes after training is especially important, because there is a window where the nutrients have an easier path to get out to the muscles and make them recover easier. Especially food with proteins and carbohydrates are very important to get immediately after a long and hard training session. For example drink some hot chocolate, since it contains high numbers of both proteins and carbohydrates.

Lift your legs

If you can, place yourself in the couch for about an hour, with the legs lifted higher than your heart (same procedure to minimize swollen feet). It will help with oxygen to get to your muscles.

Ride on your bike to the job

The day after a long and/or hard training session a small and easy ride to and from work will actually help your legs become fresher. If you ride in low gears without pushing yourself, you will increase the blood circulation in the sore muscles, without making it worse. Actually, the increased blood circulation will make your muscles recover faster.

Keep a log of your training and recovering

If you really want to analyze everything, you can keep a log of how much you have trained, along with how much and how well you have been sleeping at the night. In addition, what your resting pulse is at the morning together with your morning weight. If you are tired, losing weight or have a higher pulse, it can be a sign of overtraining which will mean you should lower your amount of training sessions.

If you have more tips, please share them in the commentsection below!

Written by René

Read more: http://www.cyclingtipsonline.com/news/the-best-way-to-recover-between-the-training-sessions/