Training Wheels
February in Canada. The days slowly start to get longer. No longer does it become pitch black at 4:30 in the afternoon. Sunset is closer to 6pm now. And outdoor cycling will start soon. 5 more weeks if not earlier.
I will be posting on my training plan over the next few weeks. Primarily so that I can look back on what I achieved as part of my indoor base building in anticipation of the outdoor riding season. The updates will be relatively brief but they will cover three areas: nutrition, exercise, stretching. A little more detail in this first post but as my nutrition plan is fairly static and basic, most items will not change day-to-day.
Today’s Nutrition Plan
Breakfast
Calories: 140, Carbs: 14 grams, Protein: 20 grams, Fat: 0 grams
500ml of water
1 cup of Green tea
Strawberry protein smoothie (skim milk, protein supplement, strawberries and ice)
Lunch
Calories: 390, Carbs 52 grams, Protein: 24 grams, Fat: 11 grams
Carrots (2 servings)
Apple
2 slices multigrain bread
Turkey
Swiss cheese
Mustard
1 litre of water
1 cup of Green tea
Dinner
Calories: 733, Carbs: 104 grams, Protein: 45 grams, Fat: 16 grams
Broccoli (2 servings)
Beef casserole
Yogurt
2 slices multigrain bread with strawberry jam
1 litre of water
1 cup of Green tea
Total intake
Calories: 1,265, Carbs: 170, Protein: 89 grams, Fat: 27 grams
This nutrition plan will see total sodium intake of 1,859mg and total fibre intake of 17 grams.
My supplements are pretty simple: 4,000mg of enteric-coated fish oil concentrates — aka Omega-3s — and two high potency multi-vitamin and mineral capsules. Both are sourced from Genuine Health.
Exercise Plan
No cycling today. I know, I know. Shouldn’t a cyclist in training be spinning everyday?
I alternate spinning sessions with core conditioning. I have my regular workout session with my personal trainer this evening. We will work on core conditioning for one hour.
I do not know the exercises for today — my trainer believes in surprise routines over specific routines — but I do know that we will do 6 different exercises with each one repeated 3 three times.
The exercises are very challenging and I usually burn 300 to 400 calories for the hour.
Stretching
This is one area where I have to put more focus. I should be stretching at least 30 minutes a day. I will aim for that target today.
I will update the specifics tomorrow along with an abbreviated plan for the day.
Seriously, 1200 calories? Have you been moved to a prisoner of war camp or did all those vendor lunches catch up to you? (smile)
Probably even a bit worse as the 1265 constitutes gross and not net caloric intake. I was a tad under 900 due to exercise.
I will be hovering around 1300 – 1700 net calories over the next few weeks. I usually trim down to get to my seasonal power-to-weight ratio for the outdoor riding. Excess body weight is the cyclist’s enemy as it wastes energy, slows me down and affects performance and stresses joints.
Most of what I am doing for the next few weeks will target body fat and protect muscle mass. Even though the calorie count is low, I will only do that for a few weeks. I keep the protein count higher to minimize muscle loss.
Might see an overall loss of 5 to 6 pounds over the four week period. Any more than that and I will be taking in a few more vendor lunches 🙂