Maintaining muscle with Long distance endurance

rondog

Hi All,


Ive recently started long distance cycling with a club.Weekly spins of about 100-115km.There has been lots of hill climbing etc lately as we are preparing for an international sportive so we are expending ALOT of energy.

I want to maintain the muscle i have and add an extra bit as i dont want to be skinny or gaunt in appearance.However, with all this cycling im noticing that i am losing muscle while still completing resistance workouts and eating alot of protein in the form of whole foods and multiple protein shakes.

I am not scientifically measuring muscle loss its purely from appearance and others comments.

Ive looked at alot of studies and read articles and although its physiologically possible i cant seem to maintain muscle and seem to be catabolic while completing these cycles

Alf Veedersane

How much has your calorie intake increased by since you started the cycling?

rondog

I know i should be measuring and I will start this week but i havent specifically kept record.I have increased my eating from 4 meals a day to 6 encompassing more protein(eggs,salmon,shakes) and Nuts etc.Im eating when not hungry and eating for the sake of it to keep cals up.
I probably should keep specific records in order to get proper results.

Alf Veedersane

rondog wrote: »

I know i should be measuring and I will start this week but i havent specifically kept record.I have increased my eating from 4 meals a day to 6 encompassing more protein(eggs,salmon,shakes) and Nuts etc.Im eating when not hungry and eating for the sake of it to keep cals up.
I probably should keep specific records in order to get proper results.

Eating more often doesn't necessarily mean you're getting enough on board. Just keep upping the intake until you see theresults you want to.

Tracking it just allows you to have a marker, i.e. "well I ate X cals last week and this and it doesn't appear to be enough. X + 200 it is!"

Zillah

Doing that much activity you would likely need to be gorging yourself to maintain your weight. I struggled to gain weight for quite a while mostly because of a relatively short work commute on the bike (about 100km a week).

rondog

I pretty much am gorging myself on decent whole foods almost to the point that the sight of food annoys me.

I have been advised that the lighter you are and less weight you have is more ideal to cycling and i agree but i dont want to get like some guys i see who solely dedicated to cycling and are walking X-rays.

The cycling isnt competitive but i would like to get to a stage where i have decent bulk but can still manage a 100Km cycle without
struggling.

I have been looking at efficiencies and how the body adapts what its being asked so I will see how things go.

Alf Veedersane

It can be easy to feel full on good food with racking up a big calorie bill so if you track, you'll have an idea of what you're getting on board. It might be the case that you need to switch in a few more calorie-dense options.

Zillah

Bread and olive oil is a thoroughly enjoyable way to get a whole bunch of calories into you. Also, don't forget that sugar is a perfectly fine choice before/during/after exercise.

LuckyLloyd

Yeah, commit carbicide on days you are cycling.

Gummy Panda

Rice seems a popular choice over bread. Could make rice cakes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG7bWKK9G7E

Dates are another easy thing to eat on the bike but like others said, you need to get the carbs in.

ford2600

OP I came at this the opposite way to you.

Last year I did a lot of ultra endurance cycling, started year at 85kgs, finished year at 85kgs. I've done 4 day 1200km events, 450km days, multiple 300km, 200km days etc with generally a minimum of 1000m climbing per 100km so good and lumpy.

Eating back enough calories is easy enough and for me and I didn't really have to think about it; just ate to appetite. I might have an optimally functioning leptin/ghrelin system or it may be I built my diet around eggs, meat, fish, veg, fruit and loads of fat of all types, butter, olive oil, coconut, beef dripping, goose fat etc. I regularly eat 2000 calorie plus meals, without the fat being added liberally it's not as easy. You could also eat lots of nice cake!

I'm now doing strength training, 2-3 times per week with one long spin on bike, 200km plus. I've continued to eat as before just added more protein and carbs as needed, usually post exercise.

As for cycling making people xray lie, that hasn't been what I've seen. I know plenty guys doing circa 10k km plus per year who struggle with their weight

Mellor

rondog wrote: »

I know i should be measuring and I will start this week but i havent specifically kept record.

Wuthout a doubt this is where your main mistake.
Track everything, and Eat more

rondog wrote: »

I pretty much am gorging myself on decent whole foods almost to the point that the sight of food annoys me.

What's a typical day's intake?
You are likely low on carbs and fat.

rondog

Good advice above and i definitely agree on specifically tracking calorie intake.

ford2600,thats some serious distance youre covering there.Id only be doign 100-115 kms on a saturday and 60km during the week.Seperately,id be doing strength training taking in alot of compound exercises,sprints and general resistance work.Im obviously not taking on enough calories.

On Saturday,we headed up to the Wicklow mountains and did 105km spin lots of hill climbs and very tough on the legs.After the Spin i would eat like a horse.Ive started taking Kinetica recovery drink and its worked wonders on my energy levels.Previously i couldnt move for the day and the wife had to take the Kid off but now after the recovery drink im up and about an hour later.

08:30 The next day I had a Banana,Bowl of porridge and a shake.
10:30 Still hungry,had 3 Poached eggs on 2 slices of toast with 3 Rashers.
12:40 Crackers with Humus and Cheddar cheese.
15:00 Another shake with almond milk.
18:00 Full tin of Salmon with chopped tomatoes and mayonaise.
21:00 Fillet steak with sweet potatoes,lots of veg and pepper sauce.

The next day the eating would taper off as my hunger subsides but a reglar day would be

08:30 SHake with Almond milk.
09:00 In work canteen,i woudl have 2/3 poached eggs with bacon and beans.
12:00 Tuna wrap or a coupleof chicken breasts with salad.
14:30 Id munch on nuts for the afternoon
18:30 Dinner which would be lots of lean protein and veg
22:00 Shake before i hit the hay for the night.

LuckyLloyd

Way too little calories and carbs imo. Spuds and rice are your friend.

EmcD123

Carbs are the only thing that let me stabilise my weight when i was doing a lot of cycling last year, that and i ate about 4 times the food that everyone else did when i was actually on the bike, stuff yourself the whole way through the cycle with carb packed organic type bars and nuts and stuff and you wont lose weight even if you have a high metabolism, Do you currently eat much on the bike?

ford2600

Mellor wrote: »

Wuthout a doubt this is where your main mistake.
Track everything, and Eat more


What's a typical day's intake?
You are likely low on carbs and fat.

It may differ for others, but if I want to reduce what I eat, eating protein heavy meals is a great appetite killer.

So like Mellor said up the carbs and fats.

OP your tiredness is probably your body adjusting to a new activity. That'll settle in time.

With your strength training and cycling, don't forget to rest/sleep well and of course stretching/mobility work.

Enjoy Marmotte/L'etape or whatever

Mellor

That's not a lot of food tbh.
Your "eat like a horse day" is about 2000 cals, maybe 2200. The next day is about 1600. As I guessed above, fats and carbs are both low. You got adequate protein, but that isn't enough to prevent muscle loss if your in a deficit.
Tbh, if I seen that diet with no other info is guess the goal was weight loss.

LuckyLloyd

If that's your diet and your activity level is as stated then, yeah, you'll be losing a lot of weight and muscle.