bicycling how to drink water healthily what and how much
At the 'Arithmetic Health' forum held by Toutiao on November 29, a set of official data clearly showed the main focus of people's attention on health-related content. In the statistics, we can see that 'water,' as one of the most basic needs for human survival, leads the top ten nutrition rankings by a wide margin. Our daily lives are inseparable from water, and during exercise, our need for water increases significantly and becomes more specific.
Many times, such as during outdoor cycling, long-distance cycling, or amateur training, the intensity is usually high and the distance is long. At this time, choosing the right drinking water to carry can adequately replenish the body during prolonged, high-intensity physical exertion.
We know that professional cycling races are extremely intense. Cyclists have to complete 100-200 kilometers daily over several days or even nearly a month, with an average speed of over 40 kilometers per hour. With such a large amount of physical exertion, teams place great importance on the nutritional supplementation for their cyclists. The preparation of drinks and the way water is consumed are also very particular. For cycling enthusiasts, the beverage formulas and drinking methods of professional teams serve as an excellent guide to health.
In September this year, Bass Cat participated as media in the Tour of Guangxi, a world-class road cycling race, and learned about the logistics of many top international professional teams, including the preparation and consumption of drinking water.
On the logistics support vehicle of the best team at the Tour of Guangxi, BMC, the staff introduced me to the drinking water provided to athletes at various stages of the race, which mainly includes three types: mineral water, sports drinks (self-prepared), and carbonated drinks.
BMC team's self-prepared sports drink
Before the race starts, cyclists usually drink a moderate amount of mineral water or sports drinks according to their personal preferences, but they generally avoid carbonated drinks to maintain a good physical state, drinking just enough to not feel thirsty.
During the race, cyclists' physical energy is heavily consumed due to the high-intensity cycling, and sports drinks are needed to replenish energy. Each team uses different sports drink powders; for example, the BMC team uses PowerBar powder from the USA, while Team Sky uses Science in Sport (SIS) powder from the UK. However, regardless of the brand, sports drinks during high-intensity cycling replenish electrolytes and sugars for the cyclists. Team nutritionists also add appropriate amounts of sugar and salt to the sports drinks for further nutritional supplementation.
Nutritional content table of PowerBar sports drink powder used by the BMC team
Cyclists consume a large amount of sports drinks during the race to quench their thirst or replenish their physical energy, and the team provides water replenishment throughout the race. They even assign a participating cyclist to act as a 'water carrier,' carrying water bottles to distribute to other cyclists, highlighting the importance of water in high-intensity sports like cycling.
After the race, athletes also choose their drinking water based on their habits. The team provides mineral water, the sports drinks used during the race, and carbonated drinks to each cyclist—yes, you read that right, carbonated drinks! I specifically asked the BMC team's logistics staff why such a criticized drink is provided to professional athletes. The answer was that after high-intensity cycling, athletes need to replenish a large amount of sugar, and carbonated drinks serve this function.
However, the team only allows cyclists to drink carbonated drinks in moderation after the race and absolutely not in excess!
In daily cycling, we can also choose drinking water according to the beverage combinations used by these professional teams. But note that if your cycling intensity is not high, such as daily commuting or short-distance steady cycling with low physical exertion, it is better to stick to mineral water or boiled water. Regular excessive intake of sports drinks and carbonated drinks when your body does not need a large amount of electrolytes, sugars, and salts can burden your kidneys, affect your bones and teeth, and even lead to obesity.
Therefore, when choosing drinking water during exercise, we should refer to the standards of professional teams and reasonably match them according to our actual situation, making cycling a true partner in health.