Losing your mojo

I'm with Dan on this. With anabolic stuff it's important to get enough protein... but that's easy with nice, real food and you get all the other minerals and vits you'd miss with science food. Veggies, fish, whole grains etc all keep your gut healthy and balanced (which can be tricky if all weekend is spent noshing on sugars).

Re caffeine. Well it helps you to keep burning cals... but stops some people from sleeping. I'm possibly a freak as I need some sugar before sleep and caffeine is no problem.

I find sci-mx doesn't sit well with me, it's still sitting in my stomach hours later. I take Reflex microwhey or ON hydrowhey. Without the casein and lactose it digests much better for me. But I get a lot of free/heavily discounted stuff so price doesn't come into it.

Not that I'm the model of speed and power or anything, but it makes a difference to my recovery.

Still feel like a moody poo sometimes though and dont feel like riding... Tends to be more weather dependent than anything else.

I got this stuff because it was recommended by a pal who has legs of steel and the ingredients are supposed to be both well formulated and high quality:

http://www.torqfitness.co.uk/nutrition/torq-recovery

Only used it a few times so far and have little experience of sports drinks but will be interesting to see if it makes a difference. £27 for 1.5 kilos though so not cheap.

I drink a couple of pints of milk as soon as I get through the door. I'm not convinced I need a load of added protein powder to aid recovery and always thought it would just lead to bulking up. Anyone know if that's the case?

Beans, toast and eggs after a shower has always done me right.

I drink a couple of pints of milk as soon as I get through the door. I'm not convinced I need a load of added protein powder to aid recovery and always thought it would just lead to bulking up. Anyone know if that's the case?

Beans, toast and eggs after a shower has always done me right.

No, protein alone wouldn't bulk you out. To put on muscle mass you need to work your muscles different to the average cyclist, ie really heavy weights and few reps. Carbs are then needed to give you the energy to grow, and protein is the building blocks of that muscle.

The reason someone might not want to drink milk straight after an exercise is to do with the type of proteins in milk. Milk is mostly casein which is slow to digest (great for late night because it will feed your muscles during your sleep). Most sports nutritionists agree an ideal narrow window after exercise for protein to be digested, which requires faster, simpler proteins to achieve (isolates)

Have you heard about interval carb loading? I kid you not. Based on a paper's assertion that the 3mins post exersice is an efficient window. It involves short bursts of spinning/eating.

I'm out. That shit's not civilised.

^^ Good info, thanks. So, in terms of real food, what's a good source of isolates?

As far as I understand, isolates are processed. Whey, which is a byproduct of making cheese, is broken down into simple proteins.
So in real food you're looking for what digests easiest and quickest with the least fat, so turkey, chicken, meaty fish like tuna and egg whites.

Recovery drink = pint of ale.

Htfu

Tom, 'fast' protein is whey, which is indeed a byproduct, hence why powder with milk is great after a ride. It's hard to get whey in real food (I think)

I had my recovery drink, then washed it down with a bacon roll, a mini apple pie and three large bottles of Effes.

Am I doing it right?

I used to feel really grotty the day after long rides, until Skully recommended pork pies - pastry-encased meaty recovery goodness. I have never looked back (or had a protein shake).

Doing it right: KT
Doing it sort of right: ügrü

closeenough.jpg

I used to feel really grotty the day after long rides, until Skully recommended pork pies - pastry-encased meaty recovery goodness. I have never looked back (or had a protein shake).

Wasn't that just Skully telling porkies again?

Skully is a renowned exercise physiologist and coach - literally no-one I know is keener than he is on dressing up in lycra, shaved legs gleaming, and heading out into the wind stern faced and ready to suffer.

True, Skully with his stern face on:

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/ROBERT-HARROP-CBD16-ERBERT-BASH-STREET-KIDS-BEANO-DANDY-FIGURE-BOXED-/00/s/MTYwMFg5MDA=/z/nDgAAOxyOlhSwI0V/$_35.JPG

My Mojo is really kicking in at the moment.

I had a brief few weeks where I really (and I mean really) got into beer but now I'm back into cycling again. It's pretty good, eh?

Horses for courses, innit. If I only had simple carbs (beer, toast, crisps) I felt rotten. If I had some protein I felt alright. I like food too much (and spend too much time cutting weight for racing) to waste calories on something I don't want to eat

Bye bye!

WAC

Take it easy @hippy. Drink a beer?

Recalibrate, reassess. Don't even look at your bike. Do something entirely different for a few days.

I'm going for a RUN(!) tonight then I'll read one of those books I never get to.

take a couple of venafalaxine tabs every day and you won't lose your mojo.

Hippy

Are you just tired of performing on a regular basis? What's the thinking? I mean you've acheived bigger things than most mere mortals here or otherwise. Has it become a chore? Once you've seen Everest is a stroll in Cumbria just a bit meh?

Please, tell me which Botswanese bank account can I deposit my funds.