Home trainers are the perfect solution when weather conditions prevent you from training outside... and also during lockdown periods!They're a good way to work on your technique, speed, strength... do high-quality workouts and follow a programme whatever the situation.
During home trainer sessions, it is essential to stay hydrated to make up for fluid losses. Indeed, the fact that it is an indoor activity does not mean you should forget good nutrition and hydration practices, on the contrary!
Read on for more details about how to do it right :)
a) Why drink?
On your home trainer, there is no wind, no time outs, no downhills during which to recover and your body is active throughout the session. You sweat a lot, which is why it is essential to stay hydrated to make up for the loss of minerals.
b) What to drink
Several options are available, depending on the duration and intensity of your session:
-> For a session lasting up to 1 hour you can opt for water and/or Electrolytes.They keep you hydrated and compensate for the loss of minerals.
-> For sessions lasting longer than 1 hour or short, intensive sessions, it is recommended that you drink an isotonic drink to make up for mineral losses and to give you energy.
This will prevent the afternoon slump if you do your session at lunchtime!
To find out more about isotonic drinks, see our advice and our products:
Available in powder or tablet form, energy drinks are different to electrolytes. We explain everything in this video:
c) When to drink
Home trainers make you thirsty! We recommend that you drink regularly: approximately every 5 minutes.
After a long and/or intensive session, remember to have a recovery drink to rehydrate and replenish on carbohydrates and proteins, essential for rebuilding the muscle fibres that have been damaged by exercise!
You should drink it within half an hour of finishing your session.
To find out more:
Tip: for an enjoyable session, set up the home trainer in a ventilated room, that is not overly heated. Don't hesitate to open the window to ventilate the room and avoid the risk of overheating and dehydration. Failing that, you can use a fan.
a) Why eat?
When you do a long session on the home trainer (over 1 hour), you burn calories and a drink is no longer enough to compensate for losses. You need an energy intake to anticipate the 'bonk', and that involves nutrition.
So if you have a smart home trainer and you're setting off to climb Mont Ventoux, you better plan some provisions!
b) What to eat
If you want to avoid the bonk, prepare energy bars, fruit jellies, almond balls, bananas or whatever you like to eat during your session.
c) When to eat
You can eat an energy bar when you feel the bonk coming on or before a long period of exercise.
How to spot the bonk Whenever you feel your pedalling rate slowing down, your strength decreasing, your heart accelerating or if you feel demotivated, tired or the onset of cramps, it means it's time to eat!
To find out more, watch our video the secrets of nutrition and hydration for high-performance sports practice:
Now that you know all about how to stay hydrated and fuelled up during your home trainer session, I'll pass the floor over to two home trainer enthusiasts.What are their habits? What products do they consume? Here is their story:
~
- 2 bottles of water
- 3 bottles of Hydra >> ISO
- maybe a protein or cereal bar on the side
and a lot of water over the next 3 hours especially if I've done 3 hours... but that's only happened once”.
JILL, a runner who became a home trainer enthusiast during the 1st lockdown:
“General principles: I've set up my home trainer in my garage as I don't have a fan. This allows me to stay cool and not "pollute" the house with my practice (smell of sweat, noise etc).
For short sessions (up to 1hr 15min), I do them at lunchtime. I eat a fruit jelly before starting to avoid an energy crash. I drink plain water to stay hydrated.I drink plain water to stay hydrated.
For weekend sessions (1hr 30 min to 2hrs depending on my motivation): I generally start 30-45min after breakfast so I don't need any nutrition at that time.However, I hydrate myself during the session with an isotonic drink (Aptonia Hydra) and I leave an almond ball or fruit jelly to hand in case of an energy crash”.~
Tip:
If you don't have a smart home trainer, you'll find free training sessions on the Decathlon Coach app!
And if you are already connected, don't hesitate to join the VanRysel club on Strava.
Have a great session!
As a sport enthusiast, I did dancing for a long time before discovering triathlon, which became a real addiction right from my first race! I am a fan of Sprint and Olympic distances, and I like the variety that this sport offers both in terms of its practice and the environment in which I can grow. Triathlons offer interesting challenges to look forward to with pleasure as the key!