Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:30
The effect of altitude on your power output
When you ride your bike in the mountains it will be more difficult when altitude increases. Because of the altitude, your power output will be lower for the same relative intensity. This is caused by the thinner air at higher altitudes. By staying for a longer period at altitude, your…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:29
Skipping a workout: What happens in your body?
Most people exercise to improve their fitness. Occasionally, it happens that you can't train for a few days, weeks, and even months because of injuries, illness, or other activities. We all know that when you train and let your body recover you become stronger and fitter. The opposite is also…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:28
Warm-up and cool-down for cyclo-cross racers
A good warm-up is essential to prepare yourself physically and mentally for a race, so you can optimize your performance. Especially if you're participating in a tough race like a cyclo-ross. Immediately after the race, your recovery and adaptation process starts. A cool-down accelerates this process and can be seen…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:27
What to eat before a cyclo-cross race?
Travelling to the race, the time of the race and the high intensity during the race make it difficult to plan your meals before a cyclo-cross race. You don't want to eat something too close to the race and risk feeling bloated, but you also don't want a poor performance…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:26
Drinking during exercise
During exercise you lose water from respiration and sweating. If you don't replace this water loss by drinking enough your aerobic performance can be degraded. When the water content in your body is lower than normal, your body temperature is less well controlled and an effort at a certain intensity…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:26
Beetroot juice improves endurance performance
Consuming beetroot juice, which contains a lot of nitrate, is a new trend in the world of sports for the past few years. Supplementing with dietary nitrates may improve performance because it enhances muscle efficiency and oxygen supply to the muscles. But it's also a bit controversial because the consumption…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:24
Improve your climbing abilities
Climbing a hill or a mountain is for many cyclists the ultimate challenge, but also for competitive cyclists it is important to have good climbing abilities. It is possible to become a better climber, but there are many misconceptions about how you can train your climbing abilities. Training in the…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:23
Nutritional strategies to optimize your immune system
Athletes engaged in heavy training programs, or in the final preparation for competition, appear more susceptible to infection than the general population. This increased susceptibility to infection arises because of an exercise or training-induced suppression of the immune system. Nutritional practices can help to maintain or improve immune function and…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:23
Improve your cycling economy by optimizing your cadence
Pedalling is such a simple thing that many cyclists never think about it, however a small improvement in technique can already result in major performance improvements and minimize the risk of injury. During a bike ride your legs make thousands of revolutions to turn the pedals around. To do this…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:22
Healthy nutrition for swimmers
Compared to most other athletes, competitive swimmers have more training sessions per week and they often start swimming at a younger age. A good diet is not only important to optimize your performance, but also for improving recovery between training sessions. For young swimmers it is also important to get…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:19
Carbohydrates are an important fuel for athletes
Nowadays you read and hear everywhere that low-carbohydrate diets are the best to lose weight, have a healthy diet, and even can improve sports performance. However, there is no scientific evidence for these claims. On the other hand, there is lots of scientific evidence that a high-carbohydrate diet is crucial…
Saturday, 23 January 2021 10:17
Winter training for cyclists
Road cyclists often have a long season and cover enormous distances. In October are the last major races for the pros and the first races in the new season start in January. For others, the season starts again in March. In this period, the preparations for the new season take…
