My Biggest Battle as a Pro 

The amount of content coming out lately has been amazing Alex! Keep up the great work!!!

Brilliant video, so much useful info crammed into a short video. Thank you.

Excellent content as usual, thanks. Please keep it coming 🙏

10:00 @jessiecoyle sugar water is awesome. Saves a ton of money in gels. Great video.

Amazing man. Keep it coming!! I have also struggled with this same issue. This video provided some amazing insight!! Cheers!

That was very helpful. Thank you Alex. That will help out considerably, hopefully, for my future events this summer. 🙏

Thank you alex! I struggled with some of the things you mentioned, it will help alot!

A brilliant video Alex, just pure useful content delivered very clearly. Thank you.

Thanks for sharing this... I had the same problem, hope I can solve it with your tips

Really excellent video dealing with a phenomenally complex subject. Alex, you nailed it!

Thank you for sharing your hard earned knowledge.

Thanks for the video that was very helpful

Alex - Fabulous video. Well done and please keep the great working going.

So relevant to me just now! I have an appointment with a sport’s nutritionist tomorrow. What you’ve just said has just shown me how chronically underfuelled I am! Cheers Alex!

Hi Alex, just wanted to tell you how much your professional insights are valued by us in the cycling community. Love your detailed and a bit nerdy videos. The type of information that is not available elsewhere. Thanks a lot and good luck on the bike going forward.

Extremely helpful for me, a fellow big(ger) guy on the bike. Always struggle to get down to what I feel is a competitive weight coming out of winter. I think the shift in what you consider "a day" to be is pretty brilliant.

This has helped me a lot. I still struggle with managing weight but after watching this and applying some of what I learned here one of my worst problems (unexplainable, relatively frequent bad legs) seems to be gone or close. And I haven't really lowered my training volume or intensity. If anything, both are up. Keep up the good vids!

Proper advise from a down to earth guy....thanks Alex.

Extremely interesting Alex! Thanks

great approach and info; would love to know how well this translates to running

Thank you, makes a lot of sense.

This is amazing. I'm literally doing all of the things wrong you talked about in the start of the video. I think the tracking apps kind of mentally push you into that pattern once you ad your workouts and you see your calorie allowance go up.

Thanks Alex, that was great.

Really excellent guidance.

Alex, I am a runner more than a cyclist, but the tips work the same. I hired a nutritionist a couple years ago, it was a game changer. I thought I knew what I was doing, but found out I was wrong. My big goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon..I had 19 years of getting ever so close, but failing by a minute to seconds each time. First year with the nutritionist, qualified with 3 minutes to spare and did it again the next year..

I watch and listen a lot of bodybuilding and strength science and have to say that Alex's tips are really good. The final one of not feeling hungry is the key. Once that gets nailed weight drops on it own. I've been in weightclass sports and in general been able to get to low bodyfat-% quite easily. However with cycling the workload can vary a ton from each day so it's really hard to stay consistent and i don't get to such leanness as i used to. When i did other sports i didn't have massive 4-5 hour training days. Intuitive eating doesn't seem to work when it comes to cycling, at least for me.

super info , love the idea about keeping protein and Fat stable but vary the carbs

This is the best explanation of cycling nutrition I've heard.

Very clear video. I use Veloforte already. If you’re in contact with them could you suggest a bit less packaging and recovery shakes and energy drinks in a tub? I love their stuff but find the bars far too hard especially in cold weather. Esp love Doppio caffeine gels and the attivo drink. I wonder if you could help clear up how to be accurate -ish with BMR as a starting point for finding calories needed. I’d heard it’s not as simple as looking at an app or something because it depends what your body is currently used to. Also do you find your garmin (or whatever you use) to be accurate in calories burned? I’d love to see what happened if the whole peloton was asked to gain 5kg (everyone) and see how everyone raced a bit less hungry. Have heard some pretty awful stories even from people not counted as having food issues about just how hungry they are. It just doesn’t seem right somehow. Anyway. Very interesting video and as always super clear. The timing thing is really hard if you’re training more than one sport. Hmm.

Super insightful!

This is the best video on cycling nutrition I've ever seen. Absolute awesome! Thank you!

Great video.... What solid foods do you recommend on the go during a long day on the bike to keep cals in control?

In a way you're breakdown is so simple when you take the time to think about it - make sure you're fueled before the ride/workout, make sure you fuel on the ride and make sure you fuel correctly after. I fell into the trap of so often eating less on a 'rest' day then trying to fuel on the ride then getting home feeling like I'd been hit by a bus and eating everything I could find - unfortunately biscuits, and other not so good snacks. Then slowly spiraling into the super tidiness and hunger pangs as I punished myself for over eating by limiting intake and watching my weight bounce all over the place, then ultimately failing on rides and workouts! As per you're advice I eat to perform because nothing boosts me more now than going on a 60 mile ride hitting new PB's and power achievements and arriving home happy, satisfied and still able to play with the kids, instead of worrying about my 'weight' and being too knackered to enjoy my home life. Great videos really enjoying them.

Great info Alex! I did pro bodybuilding for a long time and that’s all we did was fuel pretty similar with fat and protein and cycled carbs around training. When I got into endurance cycling I had a hard time getting nutrition right. Your video is super helpful and easy to digest good starting point for anyone :)

This is a great video, thanks for putting this together. Do you vary carb 1g/kilo body weight intake based on workout type? (Straight Z2 endurance, tempo/threshold, Z5-Z6 intervals etc?)

I stoped breathing for a second as you Said „i weigh everything what‘s coming out“ 😅

Plus, you had to ride a bike in race situations. It never ceases to amaze me how much dedication is required to be a professional rider.

Can you make a video of how to pace a tt, to go as fast as possible. A break down of how to analyze the rute, and than plan the power/pacing strategy?

thanks Alex!

Golden stuff.

Thank you Alex Thank you for the food news.💪🌮☘

The biggest struggle is this for me. I’m 192cm and 90kgs currently (85kg when at my best) and if I go below 85kgs I struggle on longer days without inhaling food. I will never be a climber but I love the fast flatter rides

This is super helpful

Great stuff

This is the biggest adjustment I've had to make becoming a cyclist from being a wrestler. Dieting is a constant in both, but I've been taught previously to learn how to train while starving yourself and eating as little as possible to get by. Learn to suffer and work through it, basically. Doesn't work at all in cycling since performance is so heavily reliant on fuel, and you can't make up for that with anything, I'd always just have terrible training sessions. The biggest wakeup call was trying to do a fasted 3 hour ride and 15 minutes left I went hypoglycemic and almost passed out.

The best eating advice I have ever received is "eat to train don't train to eat".

I sit EASILY at 59-63kg at 6ft tall and wondered why so many WT riders would hit me up for nutrition tips. Some very big names as well. At the start I would ask them 'Why would you ask me a youtuber for tips when you have all these team nutrition gurus for help?' the answers were always the same - their advice doesnt work, they have no idea what its like to do epic miles, they are tubby themselves etc'. I could have got you skinny as me for sure Alex. You would have even more power output too. Problem with talented riders is they dont know what its like to be 'slow' as genetically they got lucky. So they perform a lot in 'spite' of their bad habits vs because of them. Then you have talent like Pog who are using some of my protocols and writing cycling history. These kids smash in the sugars just like I recommend. They snub their noses at the CICO mindset that the fat DS's try to drum into them. CICO mindset just kills performances and moods. No exceptions. Every sport. Every relationship. CICO is a pernicious mental disease IMO. I only rode just on 2000km last year. Ran about 100km for the year. Look how ripped I stay though.

Tips are (missing is the contextual info) 1) track what you eat and eat to suit the calories you need daily, 3 months at a time maybe. 2) dont think about a day being an athelete from when you finish and start training (timing). Eat large days before a big ride. Burn > consumption. 3) Fluctuations in micro intake - ( and micro nutirents - what i think is could use irish moss & seaweed for micronutrients and take a multi-vitamin) 4) on bike nutrition eat what u like and know. need normal food for endurance events, gels etc for races. recovery drink 3 to 1 carbs to protein. 5)Eat to suit climate, hot weather you need electrolytes, cold weather need more carbs Thanks Alex, v useful. Do you think how you eat matters too, chewing 15 times before swallow, especially if in a race.

Very cool intro!

how light/heavy do you go on carbs when performing just aerobic training? zone 1/2?

Really struggle eating on the bike, whether it be gel, chew, solid or drink. Could be that most of the time I’m in the moment and completely forget about eating and drinking and then really struggle to keep up with others on the ride. 😂 I love Veloforte products in the main but hated their drinks for some reason.

Excellent

Hi Alex please could you tell me the make off your wrist bands supports you wear in this video my arms need a bit of support on the zwift they look ideal for what I need

Great video, no nonsense just facts from someone that’s been there first hand 👏🏻 Out of interest, was 75kg your ideal race weight and if so how did you determine that weight ?

I work a very physical job mon to wed, then easier thurs/fri and have been getting overtraining symptoms from it before I even touch the bike. Which means recovery rides most of the week as my HR is on the floor. I'd equate my work day mon-wed as being as hard as a 150km upper Z2 ride in terms of how exhausted I feel( I very rarely ride over 100km, so150km is a lot for me). I perk up by the weekend and can do some good sessions then, but it's so frustrating missing out on quality training during the week and struggling to progress on the bike . I wonder if I need to fuel my work day as I would if training, as I'm sure I undereat on those days as I only stop for a few sandwiches at lunch. Will try eating more carbs during the work day and see if that helps the energy levels during the week :)

Thanks mate 🤙🚂

Can you speak on steps or process to keep your nutrition down as instants where you would avoid eating or choose to grab a gel? My thoughts is once you lose a meal it's not viable to "catch up" (from overtraining or time really) and say eat two meals in one? I went out Sunday club ride with mild 3% hills, my meal was sitting on top of my stomach... if I push any harder I'll lose my meal? If that makes sense.

Gold.

Does Veloforte ship to France? The products look great.

Thanks for another entertaining and informational video. I wonder if the focus is maybe a bit too much on using powders/gels/bars as food. I see them as pure fuel, not real food. They are essential for very long rides at relatively high intensity, especially for elite competitive athletes, but...the majority of viewers fit in the recreational/lifestyle athlete category. I think their emphasis should be on using 'real' food as much as possible, meaning little processed, fresh, natural (even biological preferably). Especially on shorter rides (up to 3 hours) or rides at low intensity, there is no need to draw all the energy from commercial powders, gels and bars. I think it is more healthy, more economical, better tasting and it also saves a lot of plastic packaging. Suggestion for new topic: making your own energy bars (featuring Chanel, I reckon :) )

thanks for this tips i eat way to low sunday i have a breakfast arround 350 kcal en did a 6.( hour ride on only 400 kcals total total kcals of that dat where 4000 when i burnt on the bike more then 5000 strugling really with al that food

Do you use any app or software to track how much of what you during the day on and off the bike? Or just simple pen a paper

I’ve recently been having some issues in the first couple races of the season with really bad cramping after the first 1.30hr ish, been using 2 bottles with beta fuel and gels as they seem to go down well. Do you think this could be a hydration issue?

As an hobby runner/cyclist who has no business even caring this much about bodyweight and leanness, I've struggled with this exact problem for the last 2+yrs. It's awful...it really is. I'm so tired of weighing and tracking my food intake. I'm so tired of looking in the mirror multiple times per day and thinking to myself "you're abs barely show--you're fat". I'm so tired of opting out of friendly gatherings or parties because I can't control my intake. I'm so tired of having anxiety to go out to eat once every few weeks even...because a friend, girlfriend, or family is visiting me...and of course they are going to want to go out for dinner...I smile on the outside, but internally I'm just wondering how can I fit more training than I should to try to stave off any potential calorie surplus. It's just not a way to live...it's not even close to how we are wired to approach eating or food. If anything, we are wired as human beings to eat as much as we can when we can due to a long, long, prehistory of food scarcity and the really potential threat of starvation. Every single day of my life is a battle to out-train my appetite...and it would be crappy enough if that was all I had to worry about. But, I'm also a full-time PhD student...I live alone and am responsible for my dog...for a lot of other life things. It is starting to really wear on my psyche.

This is quality advice man. Viewing the "day" as recovery drink ---> recovery drink is such a good shift in mindset!

Hi Alex, just found your channel and really awesome stuff I particularly liked the comment on keeping the fat and protein macro constant and just tweak the carbs, makes sense and simplifies it a lot, worthy of a new subscriber 👍. Also the comment about how to consider your new training day starts after you have finished your recovery drink. I do have a question though, after scouring/researching the internet for best part of a year I now make my own drinks, bars and gels as it’s actually easy to do with some know how. That said the topic of electrolytes are somewhat more elusive to pin down can you share any comments you may have on that e.g any rule of thumb in Sodium:Potassium intake other than the 4:1 ratio? Currently I live in the tropics and rides always sweat like a pig so I use as an upper limit 800mg Sodium & 200mg Potassium in 1L (drinking 1L/hr+75-90gm carbs). I actually took the electrolytes volume from Gatorade “Sweat” drink as had no other rule to follow 🤷. Sorry was a bit long message so if you have a moment to comment would be great otherwise no problem & thanks for the info so far 👍

❤

Can we appreciate the intro music really sounds like it says "for frodo"

Nutrition is the hardest part for me, i suck at making food, and lots of the "good" healthy foods i'm not a big fan of. if the food does not taste good, or go down easely (not having to chew for a min all the time) i struggle alot with it. also on the bike, i can't eat a bar because for some reason i can't breath while chewing (don't ask why, i have no clue at all why!) also too many gels makes my stomach go nuts. if only i could afford to have a "coach" that would fix alot of the problems i think. (having someone telling you eat this and this. drink this and this. and train like this and that!) you know for structure!. i used to be able to keep around 65kg 9% bodyfat and 290w. but then i had a hearty surgery when i was 30 years old (born with a heart defect), my body weight after 1 month in hospital was only 50kg i lost all my strength and basicly had to start all over, even my cardio was down to nothing. my body wight now is 75 kg and 190w ftp after 6 years. basicly at a stand still. on strava i try to keep track of my fitness level on the bike, with it at my bas was around 80. after surgery it was 10. now after almost 6 years of hard work on and off the bike i'm only at 36. so not even half way back. i have had lots of broblems with high Heart rate in training, something that makes me fatigue fast, even on "low intensity" my resting HR has gone from 45 to 70 bpm. so when i get on the bike an my starting HR is 120+ with a max HR of 186. there is not much to go on. an my sones are super small. i have managed to get a good "large" z2, but i have no sort of z1. and from z3-5 is like 10 bpm, makes intervall work super hard. so having a coach would prob help me alot, but that costs a fortune that i don't have! so what can i do? i have thought about selling my bike and just quit so many times. but i love the sport, even though i don't enjoy the rides as much any more. they help my mental fitness alot. do you guys have any suggestions for me? PS. Sorry for the long boring text.

Have you ever tried plain sugar as a drinks mix? Heard it works as well as a sports drink product as it's a 1:1 ratio similar to the maurten mix? Keen to know your thoughts on it, if you have any. Great content btw!

Did you say 5 or 6ooo Cal on a 5 to 6hr training day?

Can you make a video about calories. Like how many you consume and how you calculate that.

I’m guessing on rest days the body is still Revving thinking it’s getting extra carbs from training etc

Just wondering what the suggested fuelling strategy would be for something like a long Z2 ride compared to a high intensity 2 hour training ride. Im guessing 1g carb per kg is a little excessive for the Z2 stuff?

Chrononutrition 🔑

🍪I’ve spent a lot more time recently trying to improve my nutrition timing/quantity/quality right, and I appreciate your insight!

What do you think about Myfitnesspal advising crazy amounts of protein after a normal training day?

This is a very important video, because every time I do a marathon, iron man, and a century 60% of the people is overweight and obese after training for hours and hours

@alex if you typically burned 3000k on the bike, would you then aim to replenish the full 3000k (on and post ride) + your minimum 1800 during that day? thus consuming 4800k of calories total that day? My issue is excessive food cravings post ride in the evenings.

@2:09 SAFA Brian? Cool.

Is it Aethos?..

At 53 / slowing metabolism, I am resorting to hostage tape as an effective strategy. Ice cream is my kryptonite.

The most interesting number, the grams per hour number, got lost in the edit

Alex are you saying to take 20 gels on a 5 hour ride? 4x5?

you should have hired @durianrider....

Bicycle racing is power to weight. For a novice, any exercise program is adequate as long as it is consistent. The main concern is nutrition. Too many newbies are focused on the bike. We all want a shiny new bike with high tech parts. But, this is the least important at the Junior League.

How do you think knowing what you did in the last few years, at the start of your pro career might have changed your role/results/teams? Knowledge is power, literally.

He gets some things rt here But I am amazed how much he gets wrong

Tracking calories is draining.

ever thought of changing your grams of fat and protein, instead of carbs alone?

durianrider?

alex ! thats like about 10 euros per hour to ride the bike !? dont think every one would want to spend that on a hobby

No one's done this..

Great content but your nutritional strategies as a top flight professional aren't necessarily very applicable or relatable to the average MAMIL who are going to be 99% of the viewers of this channel and, I'm guessing, your clients whom you coach. What does the trick for pros doesn't necessarily apply well to Joe Schmo cyclists. To speak to the nutritional challenges of the common (generally already significantly overweight) MAMIL, even with your uber-elite background, is a "transference skill" that many ex-pros don't really master. I hope you'll take this suggestion on board as it's meant with the utmost respect. If this video was addressed mostly to aspiring pros, my apologies. I'm sure the suggestions are spot on.

"help me with my nutrition". Eat less. You gotta be kidding.