Hey there, welcome to the Velo Performance cycling podcast aimed at master cyclists. As an experienced cycling coach in my 50s, I understand the unique challenges faced by master cyclists. Certainly from my own experience, I'm pushing back on age, I lift heavy, regularly include hard efforts on the bike and eat well.

EPISODE 1:
In this first podcast (also on my Youtube channel) I give insights into my coaching practice, what I get the master cyclists I coach to focus on in training and nutrition to keep them strong, fast on their bikes and healthier plus I talk about where I want to go with each episode.

One of my biggest ambitions with this podcast is to empower cyclists and people in their 40s, 50s and 60s to challenge the conventional wisdom that age limits our potential. My interviews with nutritionists, fitness professionals, and seasoned master cyclists who are still killing. Together we will uncover what is possible for all of us when we unlock the evidence, educate and inspire you to continue riding your bikes hard and fast, increase your health span, and live fuller, longer, and more active lives as you age.

So, if you're NOT interested in defying the odds and living your best life, this isn't for you. If however, you are interested in stepping up to push your boundaries then Join me on this journey to challenge the status quo and learn how to stay fit, healthy, fast on your bike and strong well into your 40s, 50s and 60s.


Let's get into it!

Link to extra reading:

Master athletes are exceeding limits

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5149541/

Dietary fat restriction results in more body fat loss

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4603544/

Combining explosive and resistance training

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16287351/

Age associated loss of vo2

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24149481/

Effects of concurrent training

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.01057/full

Optimising strength training

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23914932/

Protein and Leucine

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26402439/

https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpendo.00488.2005

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3183816/

Protein and renal function (No detrimental effect to people who don’t have an existing kidney disease)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1262767/

Creatine

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6518405/

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-021-00412-w?fbclid=IwAR3SFhWwq47K9rqJndT15ikCYanBp9jJTPVRw5mpE9Ojn9MRCF67SgdrxvU

https://sigmanutrition.com/creatine-sarcopenia/

Omega 3 and cell health

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6834330/

In this month's podcast, I speak to Chris Gibson (BSC CSCS EXOS) to talk about why strength training is critical for performance and ageing well.


We cover what you should be doing in the gym, what are the best reps, sets and what forms of strength training are pointless and why.

If you find this podcast helpful please leave a review and share it with your friends.

Thank you. Simon

PS: Right at the end Chris lets us into a very funny story about a concept 2 rower and climbing mountains with it on his back.

Andy is my first inspirational guest on the podcast. At 55 he took on an ambitious challenge to cycle 4 points in the UK cycling 2219 KMS in 7 days training charity for the 40TUDE Org a charity that is doing amazing things to beat colon cancer.


Andy talks about his struggles fitting training around a very busy work schedule, how we made sure he focused on what was important and gives insights into nutrition for long-distance riding.

In this episode, he talks about how he raised a phenomenal amount of money for 40tude.org.uk. Completing this UK challenge is massive enough but wait till you hear how much he raised, it's beyond impressive!


This is a candid and fun chat with a now 56 year old endurance cyclist who is taking on another big bike challenge in 2024.


Link to 40TUDE.ORG.UK = > https://www.40tude.org.uk

Rebecca Guy is an experienced nutritionist who works with swim teams, athletes, and the general public to assist them make the best dietary decisions for peak performance.

Along with providing her customers with the best evidence-based knowledge, she also works more closely with them to help them develop sustainable behaviours that will last a lifetime.

In this episode, we discuss what constitutes a healthy diet and what macronutrients we should pay particular attention to as we age. We dispel some myths and discuss evidence-based health supplements. We also cover perimenopausal and menopausal women's nutrition.

Rebecca was a fantastic guest on this Velop Performance Podcast. It's energising to hear someone discuss food and nutrition in a down-to-earth manner. We both agreed that eating doesn't have to be challenging, constricting, or trendy. Of course, there are some things that we all need to watch out for when it comes to our diets in order to improve our performance and longevity, especially as we get older.

If you wish to get in contact with Rebecca, the link to her website is below

https://www.rebeccaguynutrition.co.uk/

All my best, Simon

In this podcast, I chat with Richie Sheerin about his cancer diagnosis his battle through groundbreaking stem cell therapy getting back on the bike and setting his sights to compete and win at the transplant games in Australia 2023.


This is a jaw-dropping interview about one person's determination to not let cancer beat him and why the bike means so much to him.


I hope you enjoy it and I hope it inspires you to keep on keeping on.


All my best, Simon

In this episode, I go solo and talk about my ethos of coaching, the most important aspects of training all masters cyclists should focus on, discuss nutrition and why its important that masters cyclists need to eat differently than the mainstream media suggest and have a rant about some of the dumbest things I've seen on the internet recently

Body composition changes associated with fasted versus non-fasted aerobic exercise
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242477/
Under an hour training s not affected either way by fasted or a fed state. However, over an hour there are performance advantages of feeding pre-training.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29315892/

The current RDA for protein is 0.8g per kg per day. This is aimed at the general sedentary population and doesn’t take into consideration athletes or older populations exercising to the level we do.

My suggestion is that we should aim for total protein between 1.8g per kg of body weight and as much as 2g per kg of body weight for older athletes. And, as much as 2.2g per kg of body weight for cyclists over 55.

Practical recommendations.

3 meals a day between 0.4 and 0.5g per kg of body weight with a recovery shake post training that’s 0.3g per kg of body weight.

Plus a protein meal/bolus before bed of 0.5 - 0.6g per kg.

Further Reading:

https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-017-0189-4
https://examine.com/nutrition/how-much-protein-can-you-eat-in-one-sitting/

Strength Training

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21638070/
https://europepmc.org/article/med/1886483

Training and master athletes https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2375571/

DNA Nutrition
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/personalized-nutrition-the-latest-on-dna-based-diets/

Blood Type Diet
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140115172246.htm
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23697707/

Training in a fasted state

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/21051570/?i=6&from=/29315892/related
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/29315892/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5407976/

Dietary protein
https://www.mysportscience.com/post/2017/10/18/dietary-protein-requirements-for-older-athletes

Weight and metabolism as you get older

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/surprising-findings-about-metabolism-and-age-202110082613
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abe5017

In this episode, I interview Louise Harris who took on the challenge of breaking the world record cycling from Lands End To John'Ogroats and back to Lands End. This is a fascinating chat about her adventure, how much money she raised for Galgos Del Sol and some of the challenges she faced along the way. Her account of hallucinating when riding deep into the night is candidly inspiring.

Lous Charity Page To Save The Spanish Dog Breed Galgos
https://www.justgiving.com/page/lejogle2023?fbclid=IwAR3zdLm8ZKJ0_2FBWT6FutdhlKDHDwdcgv1VJkrijVcPC39A6qn0AoCD8jk

In this episode, I talk to Velo Performance coach Sue Allen our Menopause Specialist coach about how to effectively train through Menopause to stay fit, and maintain performance and energy levels. In this episode, we also talk about nutrition and what female cyclists should be focusing on to look and feel stronger and more energised.