New & Keto Cycling Testing

#1

Greetings all,

I’m new and just signed up to the forum and wanted to say hello. I’ve been Keto off and on since 2012 and about 50lbs lighter since then :slight_smile: I’ve been into cycle touring for the last couple of years doing mainly short tours of 3 days or so averaging 50 miles per day usually.

In the past, before doing a short tour I have dropped out of Keto out of convenience if I’m honest. Also because I just didn’t know if I could perform the 50 mile days and find snacks/food to get me along on tour. This site has really changed my perspective and so I wanted to sign up and express my gratitude.

I’ll now be training again this summer, wearing heart monitor, staying keto and researching snacks/foods to carry along for upcoming short tours. I just wanted to say thank you guys for sharing your experiences and information here. It’s been a great help and encouragement to read of the successes.

I’ll be trying to document my experiences as well to perhaps help others that are trying to do similar and I hope to share some here as well.

Kind Regards,
Captain Bob

(LeeAnn Brooks) #2

Once you’re fat adapted, id push the limits of training fasted. There are marathon runners who do it fasted and at least one ultra runner that I’ve read from who does it almost completely fasted with very little additional energy sources. Your body will use its fat stores as energy.
I would take things like a baggie of macadamia nuts or some Keto granola with you just in case, but see how far you can go without needing it.

#3

I’m looking forward to reading about your experiences.

(What The Fast?!) #4

Hey there! I think you’re our second Captain Bob around here, isn’t that right @Capnbob???

There are several cyclists on the forums, including me! (And @ianrobo who’s a bit of a pro.)

Expect some decrease in performance at first, but once you’re fully fat adapted, cycling is a breeze on keto! You’ve done keto before so you likely have some solid metabolic flexibility already. All the best!

(ianrobo) #5

I wished I was a pro ha ha !!

but @CaptainBobyou have a HRM, which one out of interest but look at MAF … you do not say how old you are ?

There is an whole thread on MAF here and it really is a game changed IMHO

(What The Fast?!) #6

Did I tell you I had my V02 tested?? I scored a 46.8!!! I was ecstatic with the result!

(ianrobo) #7

So you should be !!! Won’t guess your age but that puts you on the boundary of superior fitness of any age over 30 !!! For reference mine last measured was 52

(What The Fast?!) #8

Wow, that’s awesome! Can I get your opinion on something? Do you think I’d still benefit from MAF training? I’m going for weight loss mainly, though the weight loss should impact my power to weight ratio too. :slight_smile:

(ianrobo) #9

well weight loss is always great for cycling if you can keep the power …

OK about MAF I would say definitely YES unless you are a sprinter !!!

I guess it goes back to what I always say and what is your aim for cycling ?

Mine now is to go longer and obviously faster and MAF is perfect for that with the old interval session thrown in.

(What The Fast?!) #10

okay cool, so my TYPICAL rides are heavily in Zone 4 & 5 heart rate zones. I was riding about 100 miles a week but I am now reducing my volume because it feels like the more I ride, the more my weight stalls. (Odd, I know.) I wonder if I do slower rides that aren’t as heart rate intensive, if that would change things.

My goals for cycling are definitely to get faster and stronger. I’m doing weight training and reformer pilates for strength. When I did my V02 test, it was clear that my legs gave out before my heart rate, so I know I need to gain power. But I guess doing MAF would still help with speed. What do you think of doing 1-2 MAF sessions with one day of “balls to the wall” or interval training?

#11

Thanks,

Yeah I have a Polar heart rate monitor with the strap, sensor on the chest that talks back to a watch type display. I’m 47 and now 190lbs. Just getting a little info now on MAF but basically I did a 20 mile ride the other day and focused on keeping my heart rate around 135. I must admit this was harder than I expected at first but then I got in a rhythm and was successful at it. It basically went fine. I felt good, and didn’t have any issues of feeling weak or bonking so to speak. I had 5 almonds at mid point, and 5 or 6 almonds at the end, but not because I was feeling bad or anything. I did drink along the way, and had a bit of electrolites with a Nuun tablet. I also had a bit of himilayan rock salt at mid point as it was a hot day (96 degrees F)

Anyhow, I had a great experience so far and I’m going to start extending the rides and watching the heart rate, etc. Any suggestions is appreciated.

Thanks,
Captain Bob

(ianrobo) #12

so if the majority of your rides are in that Z4/5 HR you are stressing your body SOOO much and no wonder weight loss is difficult as you know stress is NOT good.

I would personally go tot he 80/20 formula I use roughly, thats 80% at MAF and 20% ‘efforts’ over a week.

so this is me over the last month which includes long events with high average HR

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I really think that is the best way and would be even more Z1/2 without events

(ianrobo) #13

excellent stuff and perfect but have you tried fasted rides Captain ?

This is how I built up from 90 min ones to now being able to do 7 hours at fairly high HR and my MAF is 135 then

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(What The Fast?!) #14

I’m thinking that’s exactly what’s affecting my weight struggle. The irony of “calories in, calories out” is that I’m clearly disproving that on a regular basis. I’m definitely burning more than I’m eating, but it doesn’t seem to matter.

I WAS thinking that it’s just that I wasn’t eating enough calories…because of the high percentage of times in Zone 4 & 5, I thought maybe my body was just hanging on to calories and that I needed to eat more. But…now I’m eating around 1900-2000 calories a day, and still nothing. I thought maybe I needed more protein as well - I have about 100lbs of LBM, and was eating 60g or so of protein. My DEXA shows lean moss loss (and even with the variances in testing, I’m at least staying stagnant…even though everyone says keto is muscle sparing). ANYWAY, like I said - I’m reducing the amount of high intensity riding I’m doing and replacing with weight training. I’ve been doing reformer pilates (the advanced machine that’s super tough) for a few months now as well.

It’s all a big experiment, but it’s very very frustrating that my body just won’t seem to give anything up, regardless of my physical activity.

I will 100% implement this 80/20 formula. I’ll post a screen shot of my (current) typical workout weeks below.

Also, @ianrobo I have tried fasted riding and my performance is God-awful.

(What The Fast?!) #15

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#16

I’ve not tried riding fasted yet, but I’ll give that a try as well. Usually my rides have been afternoon starts, but I’ll have some morning rides here soon I’m sure and I’ll give it a go. That’s great info, so thanks for sharing. I’ll also be documenting some of this in videos just for others over time. I don’t know if I’ll track as detailed as you all do, haha. But maybe something in my journey might help someone else as well.

I’ll keep you all updated :smiley:

(ianrobo) #17

OK only you can judge that BUT if you are really that bad you can not be fat adapted and this is where people get confused. Being in Ketosis is only the step to fat adaption, fat adaption is then all about using those ketones for energy @PaulL can say more than I can. But you should be able to comfortable fasted rides. Remeber mainly at Z4/5 is carb burning so no wonder you feel awful on fasted rides !

(What The Fast?!) #18

Well I’ve been keto for a year and a half and I’m for sure fat-adapted. I’ll have to try lower intensity rides to see if it makes a difference. My AE threshold is very high, based on an RMR test, so (allegedly), I should still be burning fat well into the 160’s.

I dunno, I also think there’s something crazy going on with my body that isn’t allowing me to tap into stored fat (even though my fasting insulin is less than 2.0) because I literally haven’t been able to keep off even one pound of fat loss in 17 months. I’m currently getting ALL the things tested. I did some genetic testing as well and am experimenting with some different supplements.

It’s been a journey, that’s for sure.

(ianrobo) #19

it is very strange as the ultimate test are fasted rides and how you feel during and after …

So I do think as Brad Kearns says slow it down and go longer and be better for your health in general. I trust MAF 100% now and really think for people like us in this forum we have to do it even though it may be strange for a while.

(What The Fast?!) #20

Alright, I’ll do some MAF training! I’m going to use 180 - minus age plus 5-10 beats, since my V02 is high. Do you use 180-age or do you add some beats?