Ken C. M. wrote:
:: Roger Zoul wrote:
::: Ken C. M. wrote:
::::: Marz wrote:
:::::: Ken C. M. wrote:
::::::: I have come to the certain conclusion that this is a bad thing.
::::::: I have done it a couple of times now, and have not had a very
::::::: good experience with it. This morning I had time. I got up
::::::: made a cup of coffee, checked email and such, and the weather
::::::: wasn't perfect but not raining and not to chilly. So I headed
::::::: out for a /fast/ ride. I have a route that is not too long,
::::::: long enough where I can get a decent workout. Its about 12
::::::: miles and I can usually average
::::::: 15.5 mph or so. Today managed
::::::: 16.0 mph but when I got home my stomach was not liking the ride,
::::::: or more correctly stated not like the ride on an empty stomach.
:::::::
::::::: Ken
::::::: --
::::::: The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when
::::::: it gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new
::::::: one without shocking the entire community. ~Ann Strong
::::::
::::::
:::::: You bonked out. You stomach ran out of food to metabolize and
:::::: your body had to switch to stored fat to fuel your cycling.
:::::: Sometimes your body will continue to attempt to metabolize food
:::::: you don't have which can lead to a slight feeling of nausea.
:::::: Some people bonk train on purpose, I do sometimes, to burn more
:::::: fat and improve endurance. The idea is to head out on an empty
:::::: stomach, cycling at 60% max for about an hour (never more than
:::::: 90mins, or so I've read). In theory your body will be burning
:::::: stored fat while you ride.
::::::
::::: Yeah that /slight feeling of nausea/ is sort of how I would
::::: describe it. That and a hungry feeling combined. I have heard
::::: that term /bonked out/ before but never really understood what
::::: was meant by it.
:::
::: Bonked out is what happens when you deplete glycogen stores from
::: the muscles and liver. It's not just that you're hungry or out of
::: energy, because you body has plenty of energy stored. Simply
::: eating the wrong foods (like on a low-carb diet) or starting in a
::: glycogen-depeted state can lead to bonking out quickly if you do
::: the right kind of activity. Frankly, I don't think you bonked out,
::: as when you do you're so lacking in energy that it's even hard to
::: pedal.
:::
:::::
:::::: It's a training program that must be approached with caution as
:::::: it can have negative side effects, like your body will begin to
:::::: burn muscle mass if you ride for too long without food.
::::::
::::: Which is why after a moderate to intense ride, usually have a whey
::::: protein shake. I have heard that protein is very important to
::::: build and maintaining muscle mass.
:::
::: For recovery, a 4-to-1 ratio of carbs to protein is claimed to be
::: good.
:::
:::::
:::::: If you do want to bonk train always eat something as soon as you
:::::: get home, preferably something with protein.
::::::
::::: See above.
:::::
::::: Thats pretty interesting info. I clearly did not like the
::::: feeling. I have experienced it before, and it's not a very good
::::: feeling.
:::
::: You can store about 2000 kcals of glycogen in your muscles, so it is
::: possible to ride a good long way and hard before bonking. However,
::: it really does depend on your daily diet and the type of activity
::: you do. A good carby meal the night before can prevent bonking
::: provided you don't ride too hard for too long. Intensity and
::: duration both play a part in the equation. Ride easy and you're
::: tend not to use much glycogen (and you can go longer without
::: bonking). Ride hard and you use more (which brings on the bonk
::: quicker). Ride easy and you tend to use more fat for fuel. Ride
::: hard and you tend to use less fat for fuel. The body sort of has a
::: sliding scale - hard <--> glycogen, easy <--> fat, while engaged in
::: exercise.
:::
::: Eating something carby during your ride can help, too. That Gu
::: stuff comes to mind.
:::
:::
:::::
::::: Ken
::::: --
::::: The bicycle is just as good company as most husbands and, when it
::::: gets old and shabby, a woman can dispose of it and get a new one
::::: without shocking the entire community. ~Ann Strong
:::
:::
::
:: Well I guess without a medical exam by a medical professional, its
:: hard to say exactly what the feeling was, but in my experience, I
:: don't ride very well on an empty stomach, although thats not quite
:: true, as 16mph average on that route is one of my fastest recorded
:: times for that ride. But it was a nasty sort of feeling when I got
:: home, and was definitely glad when I had my protein shake and the
:: morning bagel.
::
I would guess that perhaps you were drained in terms of your glycogen
stores, but you know your typical diet better than anyone. Fasting or
undereating for a few days or heavy exercise during the preceeding days
while not eating many carbs might have left you somewhat depleted. Who
knows for sure. Certainly, a carb hit prior to riding will give you more
go-juice!
I follow a low-carb diet during the week (I'm a type 2 diabetic) in winter
and always must have some carbs before, during, and after a ride (and my
rides almost always have some hard parts (hills & going fast on flats) and
some easy parts) to avoid the bonk. A piece of meat just won't work.
I find if I don't eat anything prior or during the ride, then I'm good for
about 30 miles before bonking. So if I'm not home before that point, I'll
bonk on the bike and getting home because a real struggle.