On June 21st, eleven Venus sisters attended a virtual clinic presented by sports nutritionist Lauren Capone, M.S. from Flatirons Integrative Health & Nutrition on how female cyclists of all ages can better fuel their bodies, before, during, and after rides, as well as for health and longevity as we age.
Much of the discussion centered around how women’s complex hormone interactions call for different nutritional input and timing than for men, as the female sex hormones are more sensitive to the stressed state. The best way to prevent hormonal imbalance and to maximize our training adaptations, Lauren said, is to have “energy in the tank.”
She emphasized that ingesting protein (preferably from an animal source, such as whey, because of its higher bio-availability, or if plant-based, then with supplementation of branch chain amino acids) was the most important thing we can do, because our bodies are less able to utilize the protein we do get as we get older. Protein is also a necessity to maintain muscle mass. The best time to ingest protein is before and after a ride, with fuel during a ride focusing on whole food, low-fiber, higher-carb options.
As an example of a whole-food, easy-to-eat fuel for our rides, Lauren gave us this recipe for protein energy bites:
We hope to have Lauren present more clinics in the future on this subject; but in the meantime, the video of the June 21st presentation is available on the Member Dashboard page of the Venus website.
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