training on water only

[Henley 1]

I do all my training rides (even up to 5 hrs) on water alone. There is this theory that doing so encourages your body to burn fat instead of awaiting the next gulp of sugar juice. I do take some concentrated stuff alone in tablet or syrup form and revert to those when I run out of fuel at bonking levels.

Of course I take serious recovery drinks immediately after the ride.

Does that make sense?

Thanx

[Warren911]

Interesting....going to follow this one......

[deanbean]

Have a look at the LCHF thread. Lot of chaps doing the same there.

[GaryvdM]

You may want to also have electrolytes and branch chain amino acids (BCAA) in your water. The electrolytes to stop dehydration, the BCAA will stop muscle loss.

 

Not sure about 5 hr rides, but I have recently started doing this for my 2hr week day rides.

Edited February 19, 2014 by GaryvdM

[quintonb]

I ride up to 3 hrs on just water, have done so for the past 20 or so years I have been riding for. Anything over 3 hrs I train and race on red grape juice, mixed half with water and a pinch of salt. Salt takes the sweet taste away and also helps with faster absorbsion. Never had an issue is all the years. I have spoken to 2 dietitians about red grape juice versus the fancy energy drinks, both say it's as good.

I would say 4 to 5 HR rides you may need at the very least some electrolyte replenishment.

 

[LOOK695]

I ride in the mornings on an empty stomach and easily manage 2 hours rides on only water

[Kranky]

I just suck the moisture from the air.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Nick.

[TALUS]

I dont know whether the question should be "can this be done?", but would I perform better if I did take "sportdrink". I rest my case with the guys that race for a living.

[Rapunzel]

Depends on the intensity of your training ride. Lower intensity allows you to use fat as a fuel source whereas high intensity uses mostly glycogen (which will give you roughly 1.5 hours of quality riding before you need to consume carbs).

[Henley 1]

LCHF thread???

 

any links to more on this topic on HUB and Internet?

thanx

[Oufy MTB (Roadie)]

water all the time unless the ride is longer than 3 hours.

 

race days, energade, water, GU, potatoes, Super C and a koeksister if there is

[V12man]

Riding on water only would probably impair your ability to train at max efforts at some point - this would be very relevant if you were using high intensity training methods using power. There is some evidence that just tasting something sweet can raise your output levels in a measurable way.

 

But if you are not using HIIT and are training well within your aerobic threshold, then should not make much impact at all - provided you are not training 5 hours a day every day.

[igknot]

Training on water only?

 

If you can ride a bike on water, You dont need to train. You have it sorted already.

[Skubarra]

I train and race on water only, I take along a few GU's if I feel I need a little bit extra

[Red Zone]

Did three hours on water quite happily this morning, just over half a bottle in fact. Had a banana before I started and an jungle energy bar at around 2 hours. You can normally get buy on what is in your system for 3 hours of base training. A three hour tempo ride may be a bit much. You are really making a choice to take calories in on the bike or before / after

[scotty]

I just suck the moisture from the air.

 

You can use your real name Chuck Norris.