Cycling Recovery Tips

Cycling Weekly

You've finished your ride so what should you do next? In this video we detail the best post ride tips and tricks. Including what food you should eat after your ride and what stretches you should do.

Transcript

00:00 We've all been there. We get back from a long hard ride and we just want to stuff our face with junk

00:04 food and take an earned rest on the sofa. It may not be the best idea for not only your recovery

00:09 that day but also for your injury niggles further down the line. With all that in mind,

00:14 here's our top tips for all the things you should do immediately after your ride.

00:18 You're back from your ride and the first thing you'll probably do is head straight for your

00:33 fridge looking for chocolate, cake, toast, it doesn't matter, whatever it is you're probably

00:39 going to want to eat it. If you can get ahead of your nutritional strategy before you even leave

00:42 the house that can be key to your recovery. Therefore getting ahead of your post-ride

00:47 routine before you even head out can be key. Preparing a protein recovery shake or a protein

00:53 bar that you can eat immediately after your ride will mean you avoid any other less nutritious

00:58 alternatives. Lastly you may have initially topped up your recovery stores with a protein shake

01:04 and fluids when you got back from your ride but it's also key to have a balanced meal within a

01:09 few hours of your ride to complete that recovery process. You should look to consume a meal which

01:14 is lean in protein such as eggs, chicken or tofu alongside complex carbohydrates such as rice or

01:20 pasta and fats such as avocado. Depending on the type of session you have ridden, after a hard

01:26 ride a cyclist should look to consume one gram of carbohydrate for every kilogram of body weight

01:32 along with 20 to 30 grams of protein in their recovery meal.

01:35 [Music]

01:37 Now our next tip is even more crucial in the warmer summer months as keeping on top of your

01:49 hydration levels is key after every long ride. One way to understand how much water you have

01:55 lost through sweat is to weigh yourself before and after your ride. Studies have shown that even low

02:00 fluid losses can significantly affect your ability to ride. A two percent drop in body weight due to

02:05 sweating for an 80 kilogram rider this would be 1.6 kilograms will impair performance noticeably.

02:11 Therefore replacing water and lost salts with an electrolyte drink after your ride will mean

02:16 your body can begin recovering sufficiently and maintain other normal bodily functions.

02:21 You can also tell how dehydrated you are through the color of your urine. If it's running dark it

02:26 means you need to drink more water whereas if it's running quite clear it means your hydration levels

02:31 are back to normal.

02:32 You've begun your refueling and rehydration process and you've out the shower all clean but

02:43 there's one thing that you should do which will really tip the scales in your favor when it comes

02:48 to your recovery and that is a good cool down. This can be done in a few different ways you can

02:53 either foam roller or we just carry out a few basic stretches after each ride and here are

02:58 Cycling Weekly's top four stretches you should do after every ride. Lying down bend your upper leg

03:04 so that your foot is up towards your glute. Use the same hand on that side to pull the leg at the

03:09 ankle closer and you should feel a stretch across the front of the quad. Hold for 30 seconds on each

03:15 leg rolling over in between. Take a big step forward with your right leg keeping the knee

03:25 directly above the ankle. The knee of the left leg should be resting on the floor. Put your hands on

03:31 the ground either side of your foot a bit like a sprinter in the starting blocks. Hold for 30

03:36 seconds on each leg return to the start position before repeating on the other side.

03:44 Sit on the floor with both your legs outstretched. Extend your arms by reaching forward and bending

03:49 at the waist as far as you can whilst keeping your knees straight and your back straight. Be

03:54 sure to stretch until you feel a gentle pull in your hamstrings. If you feel any pain you

03:59 should stop the exercise. Hold this position for 30 seconds and repeat.

04:08 Lie on your back and slightly bend one leg. Raise your other foot up onto your bent leg and rest it

04:14 on your thigh. Then stretch forward threading your arm through your legs to hold on to the back of

04:18 your knee and pull it towards you. Hold this stretch for 30 seconds and then swap to the other

04:24 leg and repeat. Those are our top tips what you should do after every ride. Do let us know in the

04:31 comment section below what advice you'd give to your fellow cyclists. If you've liked our video

04:36 give it a thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe to the Cycling Weekly channel.

04:40 Until next time though, we'll see you then.

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