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Post Ride Refuel

Endorphins are high. You've uploaded your ride to Strava. Now, it's time to think about your post-ride refuel. After your ride, you’re feeling tired and your performance has taken a bit of a hit. The question is, how do you recover and become even fitter as a result of your recent ride?

There are many things you can do for recovery, but today we’re going to dial in on nutrition.

LUCA

The 4 R's

The 4 R’s are an evidence-based framework to optimise your post-exercise recovery. It's a great way to remember what to do after you finish checking your Strava segments! By following the 4 R’s, you’re maximising your recovery and adaptations from exercise. All you have to do is remember to do the following:
● Rehydrate
● Refuel
● Repair
● Rest

  • REHYDRATE

    One could argue that replacing lost fluids is the most important step. The question is, how do you know how much you have lost? There are so many factors involved that it’s almost impossible to guess. You as an individual, your ride, and the conditions, all have a part to play. Our best advice is to use data. Measuring your weight pre- and post-ride will be the most accurate way to assess your fluid status. Your weight difference before and after the ride shows your fluid loss. For quick rehydration after your ride, consume 150% of the weight lost over 4 hours. 1 kg of body mass equates to approximately 1 L of fluid. So, if you lose 1 kg during your ride, you should aim to consume 1.5 L of fluid over the 4-hour period after your ride.

  • REFUEL

    The bit we all look forward to: carb consumption! You have every right to smash some post-ride carbs. It’s essential to aid glycogen replenishment and to fuel the immune system and tissue repair. After a ride, it takes about four hours to digest carbs. They are then absorbed into muscle and liver tissues as glycogen. To maximise glycogen synthesis, eat 1.2g of carbs per kg of body mass per hour for 4 hours after exercise. This is the current sports nutrition recommendation.


    You might be looking at this and thinking, "Whoa, that’s a lot of food!" For a 75kg person, that would equate to 90g of carbs every hour for 4 hours; that’s 360g of carbs! But keep in mind, this is for OPTIMAL recovery. We would only advise this if you had another big ride that day or the following. A better approach is to calculate your daily carb intake. Then, eat most of those carbs around your ride. Daily carbohydrate recommendations are as follows:
    ● 5-8g of carbohydrates per kg of body mass each day to maintain glycogen stores.
    ● 8-12g of carbohydrates per kg of body mass each day if training at high intensity for longer periods.

    Once you’ve figured out your daily intake, divide it into pre-, intra-, and post-ride nutrition. You can then distribute the remaining carbs throughout the rest of the day. Ultimately, the best way to find your ideal carb intake is to experiment. Find the best way for you to perform and recover.

  • REPAIR

    During exercise, you are essentially causing your muscles to break down. In order for you to recover and progress from that workout, you need protein. The International Society of Sports Nutrition says the best post-exercise dose of protein is 0.5 g per kg of body mass, or 40g.
    What does high-quality protein mean? Also known as complete proteins, they have a high digestible value. They have a high amino acid profile, including leucine. It is one of the most important amino acids for muscle protein synthesis. Examples of complete proteins are chicken, fish, milk, quinoa, eggs, cottage cheese, and protein powder.

  • REST

    An often underrated area of refuelling is pre-sleep nutrition. We all know how important sleep is for recovery. But we don’t ever consider how our nutrition might impact our sleep. Eating 40-48g of casein ~30 mins before bed can boost recovery and protein metabolism. To maximise your recovery, this could greatly improve your refuelling strategy.

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Key Takeaways

Post-ride, use the 4 R's framework to maximise recovery:
● Rehydrate: Consume 150% of the weight lost over a 4-hour period after your ride.
● Refuel: Eat 5-8 g of carbs per kg of body mass daily to maintain glycogen stores. If
training intensely for longer periods, eat 8-12g.
● Repair: Consume 0.5 g of high-quality protein per kg of body mass, or an absolute figure of 40g post ride.
● Rest: Consume 40-48 g of casein ~30 mins before bed. Like we mentioned, these absolute figures are to maximise recovery. Sometimes, we don't want to measure our nutrition. We want to chat at the coffee shop! That’s not an issue at all; you can still make some conscious choices in the café to aid your recovery. Prioritise hydration (not just coffee), carbs, and protein at the café after your ride. This will help you recover.

We'd love to hear how you re-fuel after your rides! Drop us a DM on Instagram or say hello by email: hello@rideluca.com

 

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Citations

Bonilla, D. A., Pérez-Idárraga, A., Odriozola-Martínez, A., & Kreider, R. B. (2020). The 4R's
Framework of Nutritional Strategies for Post-Exercise Recovery: A Review with Emphasis on
New Generation of Carbohydrates. International journal of environmental research and public
health, 18(1), 103. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18010103
Jäger, R., Kerksick, C. M., Campbell, B. I., Cribb, P. J., Wells, S. D., Skwiat, T. M., Purpura, M.,
Ziegenfuss, T. N., Ferrando, A. A., Arent, S. M., Smith-Ryan, A. E., Stout, J. R., Arciero, P. J.,
Ormsbee, M. J., Taylor, L. W., Wilborn, C. D., Kalman, D. S., Kreider, R. B., Willoughby, D. S.,
Hoffman, J. R., … Antonio, J. (2017). International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand:
protein and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 20.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8
Margolis, L. M., Allen, J. T., Hatch-McChesney, A., & Pasiakos, S. M. (2021). Coingestion of
Carbohydrate and Protein on Muscle Glycogen Synthesis after Exercise: A Meta-analysis.
Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 53(2), 384–393.
https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000002476

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