Proteins, Fats & Exercise: Your thoughts?

Posted on May 17th, 2012 by Andries Lodder

Proteins and Exercise

When athletes do high intensity strength training, then they need extra protein.

True (half true). Strenuous exercise causes low glutamine concentrations, which is important because glutamine comprises 60% of total amino acid (AA) pool. Prolonged strenuous exercise increases protein breakdown and also increases protein synthesis during recovery. Therefore protein stimulates muscle growth and to build muscle, you have to be in a positive (+ ve) nitrogen balance. Due to the high protein intake, extra AA’s are oxidized for energy. To maintain strength, a person only needs 0.9 g/kg/day. For increased strength and lean body mass, they need 1.4 – 1.8 g/kg/day protein. But the average person’s protein intake is approximately 1.5 – 2.0 g/kg/day, which is enough to meet the requirements for most athletes following a balanced diet. This reason why I say only half true. Therefore to improve protein synthesis, the type of protein ingested is just as important as the amount of protein, very important is ingesting the essential AA’s. Amount of intake also very individual specific, doesn’t matter how much protein you take in, if you don’t use all of the protein ingested, the excess will always be converted to glucose and fats.

Endurance athletes do not need more protein than provided in a balanced diet.

True. Only high intensity endurance athletes need extra protein due to increased protein catabolism. The recommended amount of protein intake for high intensity endurance exercise is 1.2 – 1.6 g/kg/day would be sufficient, where as the average person’s protein intake is 1.5 – 2.0 g/kg/day. Therefore protein intake is sufficient, but what would improve effectiveness is following a balanced diet including only the essential AA’s which leads to a doubling of the protein synthesis effectiveness.

A high protein diet is a good way to loose weight.

True. Consuming high amounts of essential proteins will increase the synthesis of protein, when combined with a well balanced lifestyle including daily exercise. Deamination of intracellular AA’s will lead to increased fat synthesis. For individuals with normal renal function, the risks are minimal and must be balanced against the renal and established risk of continued obesity.

To build muscle, CHO and protein must be taken in together during the recovery phase after exercise.

True. During exercise, glycogen depletion takes place and muscle breakdown occurs. Recovery is important for the restoration of muscle and liver glycogen stores, replacement of fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat, and the regeneration, repair and adaptation processes following the catabolic stress and damage caused by the exercise. Supplementation directly after exercise will increase protein synthesis, contribute to a + ve nitrogen balance, increase the fat oxidation rate as well as increase muscle glycogen storage.

Fats and Exercise

Why does regular low-intensity exercise stimulate greater body fat loss than high intensity exercise of equal total caloric expenditure?

Endurance training increases the capacity of the carrier molecule to transport free fatty acids (FFA); therefore the muscles of regular trained individuals can take up more FFA at the same FFA concentration in the plasma. During high intensity exercise and adequate carbohydrate (CHO) reserves, CHO is preferred as fuel source. But at low intensity exercise, FFA supplies up to 80% of total energy required, therefore a higher rate of fat oxidation. High intensity exercise causes increased levels of lactate concentration in the blood, which also contributes to the inhibition of FFA oxidation.

If the average person stores enough energy as body fat to power 120hrs exercise at marathon race pace, why do athletes often experience impaired performance towards the end of a marathon performed under high-intensity, steady-rate aerobic metabolism?

At low intensity exercise, lipolysis supplies sufficient enough FFA to meet the muscles’ energy supply. During high intensity exercise, lipolysis is markedly suppressed and the FFA oxidation is diminished due to increased concentrations of lactic acid produced. The average person is not as well trained as a marathon runner, and therefore his body will react different to high intensity exercise. Comparing both athletes above mentioned, when running at the same pace, the average person would work at a much higher rate and a have much higher energy expenditure than the trained marathon runner. Therefore at the same pace, the marathon runner would use less oxygen than what the average person would use. Therefore the average persons would have a higher lactic acid concentration in his blood which suppresses FFA usage for energy, and therefore be using more CHO as an energy source. To conclude, by comparison, at the same pace, the average person’s oxygen consumption (%VO₂) would be much higher than the trained marathon runner, therefore oxygen demands less contributing to a better running efficiency.

Herniated Disc

Posted on May 16th, 2012 by Andries Lodder

Description

You’ve probably heard people say they have a “slipped” or “ruptured” disk in their neck or lower back. What they’re actually describing is a herniated disk, a common source of neck, or lower back and arm or leg pain.

Disks are soft, rubbery pads found between the hard bones (vertebrae) that make up the spinal column. In the middle of the spinal column is the spinal canal-a hollow space that contains the spinal cord and other nerve roots. The disks between the vertebrae allow the back to flex or bend. Disks also act as shock absorbers.

Disks in the lumbar spine (low back) are composed of a thick outer ring of cartilage (annulus) and an inner gel-like substance (nucleus). In the cervical spine (neck), the disks are similar but smaller in size. A helpful comparison is a jelly donut: its thick outer portion represents the annulus, while the jelly is similar to the nucleus.

A disk herniates or ruptures when part of the center nucleus pushes through the outer edge of the disk. To continue with the donut analogy, the jelly pushes backwards toward the spinal canal. This puts pressure on the nerves. Spinal nerves are very sensitive to even slight amounts of pressure. Pain, numbness or weakness may occur in one or both legs.

Risk Factors

In children and young adults, disks have high water content. As people age, the water content in the disks decreases. They become less flexible. The disks begin to shrink. The spaces between the vertebrae get narrower. The disk itself becomes less flexible. Conditions that can weaken the disk include:

Improper lifting
Smoking
Excessive body weight that places added stress on the disks (in the lower back)
Sudden pressure (which may be slight)
Repetitive strenuous activities

Symptoms

Lower Back: Low back pain affects four out of five people. Pain alone isn’t enough to recognize a herniated disk. See your doctor if back pain results from a fall or a blow to your back. The most common symptom of a herniated disk is sciatica-a sharp, often shooting pain that extends from the buttocks down the back of one leg. It is caused by pressure on the spinal nerve. Other symptoms include:

Weakness in one leg
Tingling (a “pins-and-needles” sensation) or numbness in one leg or buttock
Loss of bladder or bowel control (If you also have significant weakness in both legs, you could have a serious problem. Seek immediate attention.)
A burning pain centered in the neck

Neck: Like pain in the lower back, neck pain is also common. When pressure is placed on a nerve in the neck, it causes pain in the muscles between your neck and shoulder (trapezial muscles). The pain may shoot down the arm. Sometimes the pain causes headaches in the back of the head. Other symptoms include:

Weakness in one arm
Tingling (a “pins-and-needles” sensation) or numbness in one arm
Loss of bladder or bowel control (If you also have significant weakness in both arms or legs, you could have a serious problem. Seek immediate attention.)
Burning pain in the shoulders, neck or arm

Treatment Options

Conservative treatment is effective in treating symptoms of herniated disks in more than 90 percent of patients. Most neck or back pain will resolve gradually with simple measures.

If you suffer from the above, don’t delay, go seek advice from a medical practitioner near you!

A Bitter Sweet SA Track Champs by Jean Spies

Posted on May 11th, 2012 by Andries Lodder

I guess most people in life would not be bitter about a national champs where you dominate. But the question is am I normal? I highly doubt I am.

This is my story about a 5 day “tour” of my national champs as well as tour Durban just put in for good measure.

It all started two weeks before the champs with a training camp. This camp was held in Ballito, the main objective for this camp was to prepare the riders doing the team pursuit, get them running as a unit. As for the rest of us we were there to train as a unit to increase the level of fitness and speed before the champs.

The day before SA champs the team drove up to PMB to see, feel and ride the track. On that specific day the track was super fast. The air temperature was good and times were fast.

Day 1

The first day consisted of the first three events of the omnium. The first event up was the 250m flying qualifier in this event I ended up 3rd.

The next event was the 40km point’s race; I managed to get into the decisive move of the race with Nolan Hoffman. The two of us managed to lap the field in the event. I ended up 3rd in the race as the race works on a points system, this put me tie for 2nd place in the overall standings. The final event for the day was the elimination. I did most of the pacing in this event, keeping the speed as high as possible to make the event easer for my team mate Nolan. I ended up 5th. This put me into 4th place over all.

Day2

The final 3 events of the omnium.

First up was the 4000m individual pursuit, I had a good ride but started too hard and this cost me. But I still managed to go under the 5 min mark and get 2nd in the event. This put me into 3rd overall 1 point behind 2nd place so the final 2 events where critical.

But this is where the bitterness comes in….

Next up was the 15km scratch race. The event started off hard, and eventually settled down. I realized it was going to end up in a bunch sprint, 150m from the line my rear wheel pulled skew and my chain came off thus I couldn’t finish the race. And just like that my medal hopes are gone…

The final event was the 1000m TT, I had nothing to lose. I put in a big effort. Managed to ride a PB time of a 1m 8s this put me in 2nd place. So at the end I managed 4th overall. Very disappointed but I guess that’s how the cookie crumbles.

Day 3

Saw the start of the normal events. My first event up was the 4000m individual pursuit qualifying round. I started too hard, and that cost me a lot at the end. Unfortunately or fortunately I qualified 4th this, put me into the ride off for 3rd and 4th place.

In the final I started dead slow, I was crawling for the first 2 laps, slowly increasing the speed. At the end I managed to win the ride off, the bronze, my time in the final was the fastest of the evening. I was happy with this but if I road that time in the qualifier I would have been in the gold medal ride off, so yet again a bitter sweet.

The next event and last one for the day was the 15km scratch race. This race was extremely fast. We had an average speed of 57km/h I raced as aggressively as I could constantly get in the moves. 10 laps to go in to a move, we got quarter of a lap. We held the gap but got caught 2 laps to go. My team mate Nolan won the race. We were happy with the final result.

Day 4

The next morning up early for tour Durban. I ended up on the front of the bunch chasing for 45km, our team won yet again.

That evening it was time for the 40km point’s race. This I knew was going to be fast and hard. I knew my legs where getting lethargic from all the racing so I would not be as fast as needed to contend the sprints so I decided to see if I could get into the break. I tried with everything I had and at every opportunity but to no avail I managed 6th in this event.

This marks a close to another track season for me. I am happy with taking a medal home in an event that I am not known for, but I’m also sad that I did not get better results in the other events, especially the omnium as it is an Olympic event.

ABSA Cape Epic 2012

Posted on April 12th, 2012 by Andries

As I said in my April Newsletter that I will be adding some pics of these crazy guys.

Congratulations Ben and Daniel of team JAG Foundation from CycleLab for coming 57th overall with a time of 41hrs 42min and 13sec. Here are the pics.

Compression Socks

Posted on April 3rd, 2012 by Andries

Compression Socks

By Andries Lodder

To wear, or not to wear, that seems to be the question on most endurance athletes’ minds.

If you don’t have the time to read through the whole article, the quick answer is to stick to wearing them for recovery only. These socks may help you recover after a hard workout or race with a little less muscle soreness (the same thing you can do for free with ice!).

If you want to know more in detail about it as well as why I say so, read on.

Compression socks have hit the market, and we see all the pros out there wearing them. So why shouldn’t we? Keep in mind that most pros get paid to wear them.

The reported benefits of compression socks range from increasing cardiac output and venous return during exercise to decreasing blood lactate levels and heart rate during recovery. All these finding has been made by the manufacturers them self.

Most studies found out there illustrates that they help more with recovery than during training. They also put a huge emphasis on the specific amount of pressure throughout the sock. Basically that means the socks must apply more pressure at the foot, with less pressure as you go up the calf, in order to avoid constricting blood flow and venous return. The latter is also the main benefit of wearing the compression socks.

If you are a healthy and active athlete with no circulatory problems, you do not need compression socks to constrict your vessels to aide in venous return. Your calves work as a muscle pump with each and every step you take. Also during distance running your muscles break down due to repetitive strain put on them. This is all natural and will make your calves stronger with the adaption from your vigor training. Let’s use an example. Say you’ve only been doing long runs with compression socks on, and one day you forget them. Will your calves be used to taking all the strain? Or will you end up with an overuse injury because your calves are used to being artificially supported?

In my view, use them for recovery only.

ILIOTIBIAL BAND FRICTION SYNDROME

Posted on April 3rd, 2012 by Andries

Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome

By Andries Lodder

As a Biokineticist, I know that one of the most commonly occurring injuries among athletes injuries is Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome (ITBFS).

What is it really?

The ITB is the connective tissue band that runs down the lateral side of the thigh and attaches on the lateral surface of the tibial condyle (side of knee). The ITB originates from the Tensor Fascia Latae (TFL) muscle that originates on the side of the hip.

ITBFS is an overuse injury that produces pain on the lateral knee during running and cycling. Pain is generally caused by an unusually tight ITB, the undersurface of which frictions over the lateral femoral condyle. This process leads to friction and inflammation causing the pain.

What causes it?

Typical causes include repeatedly running on the same side of a sloped road, anatomical problems such as bowed legs and differences in leg length or even excessive pronation (flat feet) of the foot and ankle. Lateral tilting of the pelvis and weak or tight gluteal or quadricep muscles are also common culprits.

How can I prevent it?
Make sure that you gradually increase your training load by no more than 10% each week. Alternate training in the form of core stability or cross training on rest days.

For a warm up you can start by stretching the Gluteus Medius and Tensor Fascia Latae muscles. This is very helpful as a preventative measure.

The type of foot wear is just as important. Foot type and motion has an effect so your shoe type needs to be correct. Increased pronation or supination can lead to increased tension in the ITB when running. Check the wear on your shoes and consider orthotics to control motion.

What treatments can I use?

Initial treatment. Because this is inflammatory in nature, ice packs are the effective treatment in the early stages. Apply ice packs to the knee for 15-20 minutes, 3-4 times a day.

Orthotics. Critical to long term resolution is to have an assessment of your posture and lower limb alignment. A correction of a leg length discrepancy is highly effective and can be combined with a foot orthotic to correct either supination or pronation.

Foam rollers. Use a foam roller to roll the outer side of the leg to massage the ITB and surrounding muscles. Specific stretching and strengthening exercises are crucial in treating the underlying cause of the problem. Use the roller against muscle knots with your own body weight to generate pressure.

WEIGHT TRAINING WITHOUT THE BULK

Posted on April 2nd, 2012 by Andries

Weight Training Without the Bulk
By Andries Lodder for TheJogBlog.co.za

As a guy, it gives me great pleasure to write this piece on weight training for the ladies without them getting bulky. Not all guys out there like girls that have a better physique than what they do. The majority of us like the opposite sex to be small and feminine with a hint of some well-toned muscles, just like most magazines portray their cover models to be. Maybe with a little more meat on them will make them more natural and almost perfect. I say ‘almost’ because you can’t see, by just looking, if they are a gourmet chef or not. Just kidding ladies. Back to the topic, before I put my foot too deep in it.

Most women rely solely on cardiovascular exercises and their diets to try and change their body and think that weight training will make them bulky, unfeminine or some other terrible thing. The truth is the only real way to change your physical shape without drastic plastic surgery is through weight training.

Weight training exercises increase bone density and strengthens your joints and decreases the risk of osteoporosis. It also boosts the metabolism helping to reduce body fat quicker and easier. This is due to the intensity and workload your body comes under, causing you to burn more calories, as your body needs more fuel than normal. The increased muscle size also assists with jump-starting your metabolism as they consume more energy. The other important factor to muscle size is all to do with your weight training diet. You will gain muscle and lose fat through weight lifting, but unless you start eating more your body weight will remain the same. Therefore it is more than just a means of sculpting a lean body, it will also give you the confidence to be your best and live your life to the fullest, and look good naked too, obviously.

Now lets get the misconception of weight training out of the way. High reps with very low weight do not tone. They do not strengthen. They pretty much just waste your time. Now get over any pictures of female bodybuilders you have seen and scared you out of the weight section. These women don’t look masculine because of strength training; they look masculine because they take male hormones. If you don’t want to look like them, don’t take androgens. It’s that simple.

When it comes to a weight training program for women, it is similar to a men’s one, consisting of lifting heavy enough weights to fatigue the muscles and stimulate proper growth. Working to muscle fatigue or failure means to the point where you are no longer able to physically lift the weight while maintaining proper form and technique for the exercise. Remember this is the only way you are going to achieve muscle tone and shape and get the full benefits of your weight training routines.

Okay, I’m not going to lie to you. If you are weak and have never done any real strength training, you will see some changes pretty quickly. For example, you’ll need stronger forearms just to hold onto enough weight. The gains you’ll experience will not continue forever. Do not freak out about them or trick yourself into thinking that you will turn into a gym monster overnight. Unless your parents were the weight lifting Olympic champions, the odds are far lower than you think.

Strength training exercises can fit into any lifestyle and don’t need to be complicated and take up all of your time. Improving muscle strength, definition and endurance happens quickly and takes as little as 20 – 30 minutes, 2 – 3 times a week for results to show. The exercises can easily be performed with a variety of equipment including free weights, machine weights and best of all, your own body weight.

It’s essential to workout all major muscle groups so muscular and postural imbalances don’t occur. Compound exercises like squats, bench press, deadlifts, shoulder press and push-ups are some of the best. These exercises target multiple muscles and joints at once, speeding up results. They are the foundation to any effective weight training program.

If you are a first timer, it is advisable to begin a simple full body workout no more than 3 times a week. This will give your muscles enough time to rest and recover from your workouts. Use a weight or resistance that creates muscle fatigue within around 8 – 12 repetitions, aiming for the recommended 1 – 3 sets per muscle group. It’s important that you maintain proper form and technique throughout each exercise to avoid injury and obtain the maximum benefits. Having an expert for the first month or so to take you through your paces and teach you correct techniques and show you a variety of exercises is well advised.

Remember, by staying weak because of how it might make you look is the same as staying uneducated for fear of appearing geeky. Now start hitting the weights!

About Me

My name is Andries Lodder and I am a Biokineticist in trade, and a sports junkie in nature and spare time. If I don’t participate in either cycling, running, swimming, squash, golf, tennis, rugby, cricket or xbox, I love watching ALL sports on TV. I started studying Physiotherapy and later changed to BSc in Exercise Physiology and HMS at WITS University where I had to do all sorts of jobs (like spinning classes, pilates, personal training, massaging, promotions and bartending) to pay myself through varsity and obviously have a great social life. After I passed I went to the student life capital of South Africa, Stellenbosch, where I somehow passed my Biokinetics Honors degree. After only 1 year is Stellenbosch, I moved back to Johannesburg where I started working as a Biokineticist. Along this road I was very fortunate to make some good acquaintances that gave me the opportunity in 2008 to become a fitness instructor for all the SAFA and CAF referees, which gave me the opportunity to travel to Egypt for a fitness instructors course. Later that same year I did the fitness testing of the African referees that qualified them for officiating at the Beijing Olympic Games. In 2010 I started my own Biokinetics practice in Design Quarter, Fourways, called BIO4Me, where I work with athletes, rehabilitating injuries or performance enhancement testing and training. I’m also part of the team ‘Ask an Expert’ for Modern Athlete Magazine and write articles on a monthly basis on exercise and sports specific training for TriAthleteSA Magazine. To be part of my world visit www.bio4me.co.za or check out facebook (Bio4Me) and twitter (AndriesBio4Me).

Visit there webpage for more great reads: http://thejogblog.co.za/?p=484

FUELLING: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Posted on April 2nd, 2012 by Andries

FUELLING

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

BY ANDRIES LODDER for MODERN ATHLETE MAGAZINE APRIL 2012

All athletes around the world, no matter what endurance sport they participate in, always ask the same questions: Am I over or under fuelling during training and events? When and what must I eat before and during? How much should I consume? Is water good enough or should I use nutritional supplements?

All these questions are very important, because all athletes know that what they eat and drink before and during training and events will have an effect on their performance.

Lets separate the two different components: Eating and Drinking as Fuel.

FOOD AS FUEL

Many athletes put a lot of emphasis on eating before their event believing it is the key element to performance, but what many forget is that the food eaten throughout the training week is just as, if not more important. Consuming food and fluid before training should be seen as an opportunity to fine-tune carbohydrate and fluid levels and to ensure you feel comfortable and confident.

When you eat your meal before training, it only becomes useful once it has been digested and absorbed. This means you need to time your food intake so that the fuel becomes available during the training session. The time required for digestion depends on the type and quantity of food consumed. Foods higher in fat, protein and fibre tend to take longer to digest and may increase the risk of stomach discomfort during training; therefore carbohydrate foods are the best. Food is also better tolerated during cycling than running, because of the gut being manhandled during running.

Carbohydrate containing foods have different effects on blood glucose levels. Foods with a low glycaemic index (GI) cause a slower, sustained release of glucose to the blood, whereas foods with a high GI cause a rapid, short-lived rise in blood glucose. It has been suggested that low GI foods could be useful in the pre training meal as they would result in a slower and more sustained release of glucose during exercise maintaining blood glucose levels for a longer period.

It is best to have a meal, e.g. baked potato and cottage cheese filling, baked beans on toast, breakfast cereal with milk, bread roll with cheese/meat filling, fruit salad with yoghurt, pasta or rice with a sauce based on low-fat ingredients, about 3-4 hours before exercise or a lighter snack about 1-2 hours, e.g. liquid meal supplement, sports or cereal bar, or fruit, before training. But it is not always practical to do so during your early morning training sessions. In this case you should opt for a light snack, e.g. a cereal bar or fruit, about an hour before training.

LIQUID AS FUEL

We have come back to the question of whether water is good enough as a replacer for fluid loss or should we have an energy drink instead?

Fluid requirements differ remarkably between athletes and exercise situations.

All this depends on a number of variables, such as genetics, where some people naturally sweat more than others. Body size plays a big role, where larger individuals tend to sweat more than smaller ones. The more fit you are, the quicker you start to sweat as well as in larger volumes. During hot humid days you will sweat a lot more than on cold winter mornings; as well as the greater the intensity you train at, the higher your sweat rate will be.

Prescribing a general fluid replacement plan is very important. More important though is that the rate at which you ingest fluids should not be more than the rate of sweat loss; therefore your weight should not be increased after your training session. Fortunately, it is easy to estimate your own fluid requirements by weighing yourself before and after exercise sessions. Each kilogram of weight lost is equal to about one litre of fluid. Adding on the weight of any fluid or food consumed during the training session will provide an estimate of total fluid loss for the session. For example, if you finish a training session 0.5 kg lighter and you consumed 1 litre of fluid during the session, your total fluid loss during the session was 1.5litres.

Once you know your individual sweat losses, you can achieve better fluid replacement in future training sessions. Fluid replacement plans will differ from person to person as well as the opportunities for drinking during your event. However, where possible it is better to begin drinking early in your exercise session and adopt a pattern of drinking small volumes regularly rather than trying to drink large volumes in one hit. Most athletes can stomach 200-300 ml every 15-20 minutes, but again this will depend on your exercise intensity.

For all training sessions shorter than 1 hour, it is ideal to consume only water. During this period the body looses mostly water and undergoes very little electrolyte loses. Therefore if your main goal is weight loss, drink only water. If it is performance based, drink an energy drink equivalent in volume to your sweat loss.

Furthermore, electrolytes (energy drinks) should be included in fluids consumed during exercise lasting longer than 1 hour or by individuals during any event that stimulates heavy electrolyte loss. Greater than 1 hour training sessions elicits fatigue, and it is best advised to ingest carbohydrate, which will rapidly be converted to blood glucose (our fuel for energy), which will lead to an improved performance.

WITS Exercise Physiology

Posted on March 15th, 2012 by Andries Lodder

New WITS Exercise Physiology Lab study in Cyclists

by Aletta Esterhuyse

The Wits Exercise Lab has a new and very exciting study on comparing energy drinks ingested during cycling to investigate differences in energy metabolism and of cause cycling performance. This study will help you to understand what is truly the best mix for your racing fuel.

We invite male cyclists or triathletes who match all of the following characteristics to participate:

Competitive male cyclists who are highly trained and include at least 12 hours cycling training per week.
Cyclists who are generally healthy, not on medication and are non smokers
Cyclists aged 18 to 45 years old
Cyclists who are able to visit our laboratory for 5 separate 3 hour visits on a weekday arriving at 10 am (once a week).

The study’s focus is on comparing energy drinks ingested during cycling to investigate differences in energy metabolism and of cause cycling performance. In fact, in our quick releasing energy drink (or high glycaemic index mix) we hope to use very recent updated scientific recommendations that has not as yet been applied to off-the-shelve products. This study will help you to understand what is truly the best mix for your racing fuel.

We intend comparing the following 5 beverages:

Placebo flavoured water
High glycaemic index carbohydrate only (maltodextrin+fructose), i.e. your typical energy drink but with slightly more fructose
Low glycaemic index carbohydrate (isomaltulose), i.e. a sugar used in some drinks such as 32GI and even USN Epic Pro
High GI carbohydrate with added milk protein, casein hydrolysate, i.e. energy drink #2 with added protein (Peptopro)
High GI carbohydrate with added milk protein, whey hydrolysate, i.e. energy drink #2 with different protein source, used in USN Epic Pro

We are looking for ten highly competitive male cyclists to take part. Each cyclist will first will undergo standard performance testing, to determine VO₂max, lactate thresholds and peak power output. Each cyclist will then complete 5 separate experimental trial including a different energy drink during each trail. Each experimental trail will be separated by at least 1 week. During each trial you will cycle for 2 h at a fixed steady-state on our cycle ergometer for assessment of metabolism. This is immediately followed by a 16 km time trial on your own bicycle fitted to our Tacx ergometers that simulates a time trial route with real time video footage of the coarse. The programme we have chosen depicts you as an animated cyclist and looks similar to a play-station game only you have to pedal to get your character to move.

Please let us know if you are keen to be involved. We will start with performance testing mid-April and experimental trials soon after that.

You can either contact them directly or through Bio4Me and you will be provided with more details

Aletta: Aletta.esterhuyse@wits.ac.za

Tanja: oosthuyse@polka.co.za

Andries: send me an email