April 5 8am Ride Notes

Goal of Sunday’s Ride:

Nice and easy at 60-70%. Listen to Dr. Sprouse, learn a little bit from him and enjoy his videos.

Learn more about Dr. Kevin Sprouse

BUZZWORD TODAY IS: RECOVER in any form. When you hear this get out of your seat and open up your legs a little bit.

Everyone has a different fat max. If you know your fat max then that is the ideal power to ride a long ride at. IF you have a metabolic test, look at the last page of your report and it will tell you your range.

A Day In the Life of Dr. Sprouse at the Tour

  • 5:30-6:00-Wake up and try to get a run in and do a little work
  • 7:30 -Available for team
  • 9:00-9:30 Breakfast
  • Bus ride to start (1-1.5 hours)(pinning numbers, usually pretty quiet-lots of water and food)
  • Prep and set up bottles.-(Fun, music blasting and having a good time)
  • Team Meeting-
  • Physio-tape, adjustments,etc.
  • If there are several mountain tops, I will go ahead with soigneurs and see the team at the top of the climb to pass out bottles and check on the riders.
  • Race-Radio is often in multiple languages so we listen for numbers.
  • Stage Finish-Meet back at the bus, possible drug testing, review race efforts while driving. Sometimes it takes hours to review what happened since everyone is tired.
  • Rounds before and after dinner-checking on athletes talking about physical and mental well-being.

  • What do you monitor?

    • Sleep recovery scores like heart rate and heart rate variability.

    • Urine sample for hydration levels-Look at specific gravity-density of the urine. It is a rough screening that we can do day by day. If it is overly dense then we have them drink an extra liter before the start. Usually they are all ok.

    • Body weight about every three days-We look at skin folds to make sure they are staying healthy.

  • Muscle Glycogen Testing: Muscle Sound (Colorado) -Allows us to look at glycogen stores through ultrasound technology and without doing a muscle biopsy. It is very well accepted as a great estimate of the glycogen levels. Dr. Sprouse travels with a portable ultrasound machine that connects to his i-Phone and allows for multiple assessments on the road. i.e. fractures, glycogen levels, even blood clots.

  • Continuous glucose monitor -allows tracking for 24 hour glucose tracking for about a week.

    • Are you a steady burner or do you have a saw-tooth pattern to your blood sugar levels? Saw-tooth levels are often seen more often in athletes who aren’t in aerobic sports. A level curve at the right level is ideal.

  • Where to from here?

    • UCI is prioritizing Grand tours and the Monuments (Flanders, Roubaix, MSR etc….- Everyone is trying to prepare physically and mentally albeit on a trainer. Many athletes in Europe are having to train inside.

  • How are the teams handling the salaries? It is on a team-by-team basis. Dr. Sprouse isn’t able to comment on this based on his position. This is a sponsor driven industry so as the sponsoring companies are in a vulnerable position, it is unknown at this time what will happen.

Thoughts on moving abroad:

  • Last year, Dr. Sprouse and his family moved to Girona Spain with an open ticket for returning home. This allowed for a “time-out” for the Sprouse family in order to meet the needs of the team and allow for more family time. We were able to be very intentional about our time and how we wanted each day to play out.

    • Slower pace

    • Longer lunch

    • Meetings over a cup of coffee > 2 hours

    • Dr. Sprouse’s sleep score in Spain was 70-80 whereas it had been 30-40 in the US.

    • Upon returning to the US the Sprouse family applied principles from abroad to their US lifestyle.

    • They also kept only one car and walk and ride to most events.

    • Keeping the Girona lifestyle in the US and through the quarantine.

  • Trends from OURA ring and general recommendations for supplements:

    • Looking at specific levels like:

      • Iron

      • B12

      • Folate

      • D

    • Testing is critical in order to properly prescribe supplements. There isn’t any great research that provides a recommendation for “everyone”. It is best to look at what is best for each athlete.

    • Looking at the causes for the deficiency and nutrition plan to help increase it are important first steps, then consider supplementation.

  • Seasonal Allergies

    • Think of it as a bucket of inflammation that your body can handle. If the bucket gets too full and you go into allergy season already inflamed you have a higher chance of having a worse allergy season. Try to go into allergy season in a better position.

    • Claritin (and all antihistamines can also have an impact on heart rate)

    • Flonase nasal spray is also good. IF you can use only flonase or a nasal spray that is ideal.

    • Saline washes or a neti pot to flush the

    • Inhalers

    • Know the timing and locations that trigger you. Start with your regiment 3-4 days before you arrive at a triggering location.

  • Recommendations for training during Covid-19.

    • Outdoor riding and training load. There is not a definite answer at this point.

    • Train and workout

    • Try to get outside when/if possible and safe.

    • Train as if your events are on the calendar.

    • Also remember that the harder and longer you train can suppress your immune system

      • There is a short window right after a very hard/long workout that might possibly create a susceptibility. So play it safe during this window of time.

      • Overtraining is not a good idea at this point and time. We don’t need to push toward functional overreaching right now.

      • Small group rides are a good idea once we are cleared from our Shelter at Home. Leave space when in a pace line so that you are not directly in the draft of the person in front of you.

    • Staying healthy in during Covid-19 as well as when traveling during normal times:

      • Vitamin C

      • Zinc Lozenges

      • Elderberry