Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2022 i Cycling Plus

British Columbia-based outdoor apparel brand 7mesh specialises in designing clothing made for the very changeable western-Canadian weather. That’s why we think this brand should be on your radar, as these guys, just like us in the UK, are no strangers to wet, cool conditions for plenty of their riding year. The Glidepath pant was developed as an all-season alternative to the brand’s award-winning mountain bike shorts. These trousers are somewhat different to hardy mountain bike shorts, however. They’re made using a lightweight, looped-back yarn that not only wicks away sweat quickly but also feels nice and soft inside. Add four-way stretch and a durable water repellent (DWR) treatment into the mix and you have a pair of cool-weather trousers that perform well and look great. Shape is important too, and…

Rob wrote The Bluffer’s Guide to Cycling and 50 Quirky Bike Rides, and collects international End to Ends. Check out his new website: e2e.bike Valentine evidently didn’t care about cyclists. In Wikipedia’s catalogue of patron saints, his remit only covers beekeepers. In fact, cycling has no saintly stewardship. St Christopher, despite his general travel portfolio, only looks after motorists. Typical: drivers hog the resources. Nevertheless, it’s time for the annual Valentine’s challenge: find a cycling-related card that isn’t (a) one you’ve used before or (b) tasteless. Cards in shops are usually too twee (couple on a tandem, anyone?). Cards online have a wider choice. There’s every variation on ‘I love you (more than/as much as/but not as much as) I love cycling’. Good luck judging that one right. Some sites…

REACH The horizontal distance between the centre of the bottom bracket and the centre of the head tube. A longer reach lowers your ride position, a shorter reach means you sit more upright. STACK The vertical distance between the top of the head tube to the centre of the bottom bracket. Taller stack means a more upright ride position; lower stack means a lower (racier) position. ETAP SRAM’s electronically controlled gear system. The name comes from the brand’s original mechanical ‘double tap’ system, now eTap, as in electronic tap gear changes. AXS SRAM’s development from the original eTap brought app control and customisation to its electronic drivetrains. Oh, and it added a 12th gear, too. THE RATINGS EXPLAINED EXCEPTIONAL A GENUINE CLASS LEADER VERY GOOD ONE OF THE BEST YOU…

Gravel riding can mean anything from traversing the world carrying your life on your bike, to racing at full-on road speeds across unmetalled roads on lightweight bikes with big tyres, to hammering singletrack trails keeping pace with your mountain bike-riding mates. Prime’s Orra bar falls squarely into the racing category of gravel, though I was more than happy riding singletrack with it on my bike. It’s a full-carbon bar with an 18-degree flare to its compact anatomic 114.3mm drop, short 76.5mm reach and short bottom length of just 133mm. The flare pushes the width out from 44cm, measured across the hoods, to 55.4cm at the base of the drops. This results in easy, confident handling, keeping you riding in the drops for longer because you aren’t being forced into a…

The Sherlock is sold as an anti-theft GPS tracker designed specifically for bikes. Weighing just 38g, it’s compatible with drop handlebars, and fits inside the bar with the end concealed by a cap. It pairs with its own app and is charged via a micro-USB in the device. You activate it through the app when locking up and you’ll be alerted if the bike moves, allowing you to track its whereabouts. You can customise the frequency of the location ‘ping’ to suit you or prolong battery life. Set-up is straightforward: the slim tube flexes slightly, making it easier to fit and, once the end cap is on and bar tape secured, it can’t be seen. Once it’s paired with your phone’s app, you have the option to create a bike…

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY www.buysubscriptions.com/BIKEMAINTENANCE2021 or call 03330 162 138 and quote ‘Bike Maintenance 2021 Print 1’ Lines are open Mon to Fri 9am-5pm. Overseas please call +44 (0) 1604 973 746 UK residents receive FREE UK postage on this special edition *Prices including postage are: £9.99 for UK subscribers, £12.49 for Europe and £13.49 for the Rest of the World. UK calls will cost the same as other standard fixed line numbers (starting 01 or 02) and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances (if offered by your phone tari). Outside of free call packages call charges from mobile phones will cost between 3p and 55p per minute. All orders are subject to availability. Please allow 28 days for delivery.…

TYPE Direct drive MAXIMUM POWER 1350W MAXIMUM SIMULATED GRADIENT 12% WEIGHT 13.08kg CASSETTE INCLUDED No NOISE 69dB The Zumo feels very stable under load and its noise levels are very good With an RRP of just £449, the Elite Zumo is one of the cheapest direct-drive smart trainers available. The Zumo comes almost entirely assembled, with the exception of the three support legs, and, with its integrated handle and low 13.08kg weight, it’s also not too difficult to move around. The legs simply need to be bolted in place using the two included hex keys. Unlike Elite’s Suito and Direto, the Zumo doesn’t come with a cassette, so you’ll need to supply your own. But it does a fine job of replicating the premium user experience you get with pricier…

TYPE Direct drive MAXIMUM POWER 2000W MAXIMUM SIMULATED GRADIENT 15% WEIGHT 21.4kg CASSETTE INCLUDED Yes NOISE 68.2dB The X5 is a direct-drive trainer with a modern design and impressive spec. It’s easy to assemble, with this bundle having a Shimano/SRAM compatible cassette, trainer mat and sweat guard. It connects to Zwift with ANT+ or Bluetooth, has a maximum power of 2000W and can simulate gradients up to 15 per cent. In simulation mode, in-game gradient changes are replicated quickly and the 6kg flywheel contributes to a very realistic ride feel, with very good inertia. A few times, though, the power spiked briefly before realigning. It was also a little unstable under load. HIGHS Quick set up; ride feel LOWS Occasional power spikes; no built-in cadence sensor WE SAY… Easy to assemble…

TYPE Direct drive MAXIMUM POWER 2000W MAXIMUM SIMULATED GRADIENT 20% WEIGHT 21.3kg CASSETTE INCLUDED No NOISE 61dB The H3 is top of Saris’s smart trainer range. Reducing noise levels was one of Saris’s top priorities and at just 61dB at 20mph (on an iPhone app), it’s very quiet. Ride feel is good, with the 9kg flywheel contributing to a very realistic experience. At 21.3kg, it’s also a very solid platform, and while this makes it quite hard to move around, Saris has included a handle, which makes things easier. The H3 is capable of 2,000W power and 20 per cent gradients. Power figures were within the claimed +/-2 per cent accuracy, more than enough for most. At £599, it’s also very competitively priced. HIGHS Very quiet; realistic ride feel; power…

Tom Marchment (co-founder) With decades in the cycling industry and a drive to make the best products for real riders, Tom’s the driving force behind The Rider Firm. Peter Marchment (co-founder) Engineering-driven and a dedicated cyclist like his brother, Peter works with Tom to produce a formidable combination of enthusiasm and technical proficiency. Matt Barnard (Cairn product manager) Mr Cairn, in short! Looks after everything from product design right through to marketing and PR. And he’s a lot better at both of those than he gives himself credit for! Has an impressive CV working across Hoy bikes, Pinnacle and plenty more besides. Dan Hicks (engineer) Primarily an engineer for Privateer, thanks to his proficiency in suspension kinematics and geometry, but with the new 3D scanning/printing hardware, he has also become…

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY www.buysubscriptions.com/ridefit22 or call 03330 162 138 and quote ‘Ride Fit 2022 Print 1’ Lines are open 8am-6pm weekdays and 9am-1pm Saturdays Overseas please call +44 (0) 1604 973 746 Subscribers to Cycling Plus magazine receive FREE UK postage on this special edition *Prices including postage are: £9.99 for subscribers, £11.49 for all other UK residents, £12.49 for Europe and £13.49 for the Rest of the World. UK calls will cost the same as other standard fixed line numbers (starting 01 or 02) and are included as part of any inclusive or free minutes allowances (if offered by your phone tari). Outside of free call packages call charges from mobile phones will cost between 3p and 55p per minute. All orders are subject to availability. Please allow 28…

What did the Romans ever do for us? A lot, actually. Money, roads, wine, evidently rabbits (but not nettles, which is a myth) It’s a grey, cool, damp day. To the soldiers on the Wall this must have felt a gloomy margin of the world Local food is central to my cycling enjoyment. I don’t just mean one-offs, like when I had a scone in Scone, cheddar in Cheddar, or York ham in Ham. I mean on-the-go eating culture, the new everyday tastes that colour a trip: night-market stews in Taiwan; south-Indian thalis; rainbow-hued Colombian roadside-snack sweetcorn; deep-fried Mars bars in Scotland… So when I cycled Hadrian’s Wall, a popular 85-mile coast-to-coast route across wild Northumberland from Carlisle to Newcastle, I just had to do it Roman-style, consuming food and…

Session 1 AEROBIC BLAST “Improvements in aerobic endurance and efficiency are the aim here, as you’ll be working at moderate intensities below lactate threshold,” explains Adam Daniel of Wattbike. “By maintaining this effort for a long time, but with minimal recovery, your body will improve its aerobic capabilities to enhance your power output at low to moderate levels of exertion.” Total session time 56 mins Warm-up 10 mins ramp @85-95rpm 2 mins @50% of FTP 2 mins @60% of FTP 2 mins @70% of FTP 2 mins @80% of FTP 2 mins @50% of FTP MAIN SESSION 2x18 min blocks @85-95rpm, with a 4 min rest in between each set at 50-60% FTP. Block 1 – 5 mins @75% FTP, followed by 1 min @80% FTP. Repeat for 3 sets.…

Taking time out of your busy work day to relax by using a meditation app, going for a scenic walk or reading a book will refresh your mind, restore some perspective and reduce stress levels ready for when you next get on your bike. And remember that not every bike ride has to be about performance gains: a gentle lunchtime spin to the shops or a ride along country lanes will calm your mind ready for when you return to your desk. “Exercise in your lunch break can have significant mental benefits too,” insists coach Connor Murphy. “Spending an hour riding easy is going to be great for your mind and your body.”…

The Protone originally debuted on the heads of Team Sky’s riders back in 2014. Now, seven years later, it’s still the Italian protection specialist’s most loved design but it’s had an upgrade to meet the new WG11 standard. The WG11 test is a tougher new test designed for bicycle and equestrian helmets, and is created to address the rotational forces that affect your head in the event of a crash (the sort of accident that MIPS technology – multi-directional impact protection system – is designed to help with). Standard helmet tests focus on square-on impacts, but real accident data shows that most crashes include an angled impact. So the helmet is designed to move with the impact and not against it, reducing the jarring forces that can cause more serious…

This jersey is designed for milder, potentially damp conditions when it’s not quite chilly enough for a full winter jacket but you still want a bit of protection. The main body of the jersey is lined with a warming brushed-thermal fabric plus a Polartec fleece-lined collar. The front panel and fronts of the arms are made from a windproof and DWR-coated (water-repellent) fabric that does a great job of keeping out the damp in light drizzly conditions. The fit is roadslim without being pro-fit tight and, since Altura is UK designed, the sizing comes up as expected. It’s very strong on details, too, with three rear pockets that are capped to keep your stuff dry. A fourth zipped security pocket also sits on the right flank of the pockets. A…

TYPE Wheel-on MAXIMUM POWER 800W MAXIMUM SIMULATED GRADIENT 6% WEIGHT 8.49kg CASSETTE INCLUDED N/A NOISE 68dB The Flow Smart is easy to assemble, beginner-friendly and very compact The Tacx Flow Smart is one of the cheapest entries into interactive indoor cycling, with fewer compromises than you might expect. It has a modest spec and basic design but comes from a brand with a strong reputation for producing top-performing smart trainers. While it doesn’t compete with pricier options on paper, in practice it offers an enjoyable and immersive indoor cycling experience for an attractive price. As with other wheel-on smart trainers, the Flow Smart is louder and does report power with less accuracy than direct-drive models. It’s worth noting the Flow Smart doesn’t ship with thru-axle adaptors, only a 130mm quick-release…

TYPE Direct drive MAXIMUM POWER 1500W MAXIMUM SIMULATED GRADIENT 10% WEIGHT 23.6kg CASSETTE INCLUDED No NOISE 60dB If you’re looking for a direct-drive smart trainer, but can’t face the prices of some of the higher-end models, the Flux S might be the one for you. It’s easy to set up, simply requiring you to attach the legs with the supplied Allen key, but there’s no cassette in the box. With its 6.7kg flywheel, it has a good ride feel, but there is a ceiling of 1,500W power and just 10 per cent simulated gradients, which might occasionally be limiting for stronger riders in comparison to other trainers. The only other niggle is that it doesn’t fold up for easy storage as the legs are fixed in place with bolts. HIGHS…

TYPE Direct drive MAXIMUM POWER 2300W MAXIMUM SIMULATED GRADIENT 24% WEIGHT 15.8kg CASSETTE INCLUDED Yes Priced between the Suito and top-end Drivo II, this is an update to Elite’s Direto X direct-drive smart trainer, getting a heavier, 5.1kg, flywheel, an increase to the maximum simulated gradient (24%) and a higher maximum power (2300W). It comes with everything you need, including an 11-speed cassette. We wish the legs had a quick-release mechanism for folding them away, but the unit’s lightish 15.8kg weight makes it quite easy to move around. We found the trainer to be pleasingly quiet, with excellent ride quality and accurate power numbers to boot. HIGHS Quiet; excellent ride feel; accurate power; not too heavy LOWS Slow to store away WE SAY… Elite’s Direto XR is quiet, accurate and…

Hunt wheels The flagship brand of the group, with a huge range of wheels for road, mountain, adventure and gravel, and a new focus on developing the best wheels, whatever your type of riding. Privateer The mountain-bike brand is solely focused on building race-ready bikes to go downhill fast. With progressive geometry and lots of clever suspension kinematics, the Privateer range is designed to mix it with the best around at a competitive price. Cairn Electric-assisted gravel bikes built for big adventures or sheer off-road fun. Its two frame roster is very competitively priced. Exciting developments on the horizon. Dissent 133 Tough gloves for the toughest of weather and the toughest of rides. Mobel TRF partnered with this Spanish-owned, and -made, clothing brand to offer custom cycling clothing for clubs…

Norman, 86, is a physiology professor at King’s College London, a former audax champion and author of The Lazarus Strategy: How to Age Well and Wisely One of the major advantages, in my book, of riding a bike, is having an excuse to travel possibly hundreds of kilometres, all with the purpose of eating cake. You’d never think of getting in your car and driving to a café three or four hours away to eat a slice of carrot cake, would you? On the bike, it’s the most natural thing in the world. Just before I get to the thrust of my column this month, a small note on tearooms. I remember visiting Vienna some years ago and being struck by the terrific Art Deco styling. As you sit there,…

01 NEVERSECOND C30 SPORTS DRINK MIX £21.95 A drink with great mixability and a flavour that isn’t overpowering. One serving is 30g but it’s been designed so it can offer 1-3 servings per bottle. Each 640g bag contains around 20 servings. 02 SOREEN LUNCHBOX LOAVES £1.40 These 30g loaves come in multiple flavours (we go for banana) and provide 18g of carbohydrate, 0.7g fat and 1.5g fibre, the latter helps to slow digestion. 03 LUCHOS DILLITOS £13.99 (PACK OF 10) These Columbian energy blocks made from guava are a great fruit-based snack that come wrapped in leaves. Each block offers 34g of carbs.…

DISTANCE 140km/86 miles TOTAL ELEVATION 1181m/3875ft. GRADE First third and last third flat. Mild hills in between DOWNLOAD komoot.com/tour/571026456 GETTING THERE Frequent trains to Carlisle, then 10 miles’ cycle to Bowness. Trains frequently back from Newcastle. WHERE TO STAY B&Bs, hotels, chains and Airbnbs aplenty in Carlisle and Newcastle. Youth Hostel halfway at Once Brewed. WHERE TO EAT Cafe with good bike parking (and free tools/pump) at The Sill Visitor Centre, Once Brewed. LONGER RIDE? Add on the 120km of flat seaside cycling from Ravenglass to Bowness along NCN72. ROMAN RECIPES The Classical Cookbook by Sally Grainger (aka Grocock), British Museum 2012 THANKS Vindolanda Museums Trust; Dr Sally Grocock TOURIST INFORMATION hadrianswall country.co.uk FIND, PLAN AND SHARE ADVENTURES WITH KOMOOT Komoot is an app that lets you find, plan, and…

Romanian Deadlift HOW? Stand feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Hinge forward at the hips, stick out your bottom, arms in front of your legs, keeping your back straight, until you feel a stretch behind your legs. WHY? “This targets the gluteal muscles, hamstrings, quadriceps and lower back to build extra strength,” says Hollie Maskell. Lunges HOW? Take a big step forward with one leg. Bend both knees at the same time until your back knee is nearly touching the floor. Then return to standing. WHY? “This isolates the quadriceps and gluteal muscles, which support the knee and hip joint,” says Maskell. “It will improve your balance, muscle power and coordination.” Squats HOW? Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Stick your bottom out and keep your back straight. Gently bend…

The longtime Cycling Plus staffer offers his take on all the comments and controversy on the frontline of the cycling scene By the time you read this, the amendments to the Highway Code that had been proposed by the Department for Transport may well have passed into law, subject to parliamentary scrutiny. The code is a mix of advice, guidelines, rules and mandatory legal requirements for all road users in England, Scotland and Wales and changes to its wording have been under consideration for some time. Cycling UK, the cycling charity that campaigns for the interests of cyclists throughout the country, has called for updates to the code for the past decade and celebrated the latest step forward in getting the amendments they wanted. Foremost in this is new wording…

Sparsely-inhabited Dumfries & Galloway is a land of quiet lanes through gentle countryside of modest lochs, green hills, and farms: arable, dairy, and these days, wind. Climbs are few but long; shallow downhills are many. Cafes and pubs are few, too – take supplies – but friendly, easily-accessed Dumfries (unavoidably the home of Robert Burns) is a great base and a delightful find. ROUTE ONE WESTERN LOOP 61 MILES RELAX IN BURNS COUNTRY Delightful, easy, quiet-roads jaunt. No villages, just the odd farm, until pleasant Castle Douglas (cafes, pubs, picnic by loch). Old Military Road back, downhill with prevailing wind to Dumfries. Last bit on excellent railtrail. GET THE ROUTE komoot.com/tour/585711185 ROUTE TWO GRAVEL LOOP 47 MILES AE FOREST EXPLORER Forest roads, near-car-free lanes, and lochs: gravel bike ideal, chunky…

We were hugely impressed with Zipp’s versatile 303s (awarded five stars in issue 381), which can cope with road riding, gravel and cyclocross. So why would you need the 404 wheels? These are the ones to go for if flat-out, fast road riding is your thing. The key element of the new 404 wheelset is the rim shape. It’s an evolution of the ground-breaking Firecrest’s broader, blunted-edge, deep-section shape. It also adopts the hookless/tubeless-specific rim design from the 303: the hookless rim is much lighter and stronger than a hooked rim. It’s also cheaper, cleaner and greener to make, using solid moulds rather than the one-use silicone moulds required by hooked designs. This means the latest wheels are a whopping £800 cheaper than the old ones! Just be aware, though,…

You could be forgiven, considering their proliferation, for thinking that tubeless wheels are the cycling industry’s holy grail. But Specialized, after winning pro races including the Tour of Flanders with clincher wheels and tyres (the traditional type with inner tube), has launched a new version of its Alpinist wheelset, and it’s clincher only. These climb-friendly wheels are the company’s lightest ever clinchers: our test wheels, including 12mm end caps and rim tape, weighed a seriously light 568g and 689g (1257g total). They’re disc only, spinning on Roval AeroFlange Disc hubs, with DT Swiss Ratchet internals in the freehub, and use DT Swiss Aerolite straight pull spokes. The wheels have a 2:1 spoke ratio, with 24 spokes in the rear and just 21 up front. Minimising mass, the carbon rims are…

Devon-based Nopinz has form in ‘Why hasn’t this been done before?’ moments: its race-number pockets arrived in 2014 and became an instant hit on the time-trial circuit. Collaborations with Bioracer, TT specialist Alex Dowsett, as well as Team Sky and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert have followed. The SubZero range moves away from the company’s aero roots and into the indoor cycling world, again seeking to answer a common endurance-sport problem. Namely, how do you remain at an optimum temperature on the turbo trainer when a cooling fan just won’t suffice? While many brands have created indoor-clothing ranges loaded with Polartec fabric and open meshes, the aerated and breathable SubZero range is the first we’ve seen to embed ice packs into the garments via a series of FreezePockets, which are located between the shoulder…

TYPE Wheel-on MAXIMUM POWER 1500W MAXIMUM SIMULATED GRADIENT 15% WEIGHT 9kg CASSETTE INCLUDED N/A NOISE 75dB The Saris M2 is a relatively affordable, wheel-on smart turbo trainer. The classic A-frame design weighs only 9kg, making it easy to move, and it folds up neatly for convenient storage. For a wheel-on trainer, the Saris M2 is noticeably quiet. It can’t quite compete with the better direct-drive trainers, but it’s not far off. Ride feel is good, if not spectacular – largely due to the fact that it only has a 1.2kg flywheel, meaning it struggles to compete against dearer units – and we also found the power accuracy to be better than the claimed +/-5 per cent, once properly calibrated. HIGHS Light; quiet; power accuracy LOWS Light fly wheel limits its…

TYPE Direct drive MAXIMUM POWER 1800W MAXIMUM SIMULATED GRADIENT 16% WEIGHT 18kg CASSETTE INCLUDED No NOISE 70dB Though it sits in the middle of Wahoo’s Kickr range, the Kickr Core is its cheapest direct-drive trainer. Claimed power accuracy is +/-2 per cent and we were very impressed by its ride feel, despite a smaller flywheel than Wahoo’s more expensive Kickr. Setup is easy, with the legs simply needing to be bolted on. There’s no cassette though and you can’t easily fold the legs away for storage – something to consider if you’re not able to leave it set up. If you’re happy with the maximum power and gradient figures of 1800W and 16 per cent, then the Kickr Core is a great option at a decent price. HIGHS Power accuracy;…

FROM THE EDITOR… At this time of year when the weather’s not at its most favourable, it’s sometimes tough to get out on your bike, or even out to the shops to pick up a copy of your favourite magazine. Subscribe today, however, and you’ll soon be hearing the familiar thwack as the latest issue hits the doormat. This month, new UK subscribers will also receive a quality Castelli Squadra jacket worth £70 to help keep out those icy blasts when you can’t sit idle any longer. Sounds good to me. Matt Baird, Editor PLUS ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE OFFERS & COMPETITIONS AS PART OF OUR SUBSCRIBER CLUB! HURRY! OFFER ENDS 17 FEBRUARY FEATURES • Coated ripstop nylon to keep the wind out • Stretch panels • High collar • Reflective…

01 LOOK SMART A combination of the pandemic and materials innovation has helped to boost demand for cycling apparel to predicted global sales that will reach $6 billion (£4.5 billion) by the end of 2031, according to consumer analyst Persistence Market Research. The estimated 5 per cent year-on-year sales increase - from 2021 to 2031 – will be bolstered by a growing demand for smart bicycle clothing featuring in-built technologies that maintain and record location, lap timings and health status, as well as being designed aerodynamically to boost performance. From smart cycling jackets with GPS tracking to jerseys made from bamboo or recycled plastic, manufacturers are innovating their product lines to combine miniature tech with a growing demand for natural cycling products. The pressure to provide ethically sourced cycling gear –…

Ned is the main commentator for ITV’s Tour de France coverage and editor of The Road Book, now in its fourth edition. He also tours his own one-man-show. I have a lot of sympathy for professional bike racers, except for Remco Evenepoel, for reasons that will become clear. I think they have chosen the hardest imaginable sport. I should qualify that: other sports, in fact almost all, require putting your body through extreme stress, wilfully generating pain. The levels of fitness required by boxing, for example, or volleyball, or football (perhaps not golf) are just as demanding as they are in cycling. They’re just different in each case, and arguably more holistic in every other sport apart from cycling. Things have changed, of course. Gradually there has been a shift…

FTP EXPLAINED To find out your FTP (functional threshold power), which will provide the basis for the training zones in this article and is the maximum average power you can sustain for an hour, you can either ride for an hour and use the average power, or ride for 20 minutes and calculate 95 per cent of the figure. These are the six zones in which we’ll be working… Outside bets Upgrade your lunchtime ride outdoors to enjoy maximum gains in minimum time 45-MIN POWER EFFORTS Even if you only have 45 minutes for an outdoor ride, you can still make top-end cardio gains. “The aim of this session is to work into high anaerobic or VO2 max power zones [the maximum rate at which your body can utilise oxygen],…

Eating lunch too early can leave you low on energy for your workout, but having a heavy meal 10 minutes before you train will make you feel sick. Nutritionist Will Girling recommends a two-pronged approach. “Have a breakfast of oats with honey, or chopped banana on toast, about four hours before your session. These are low-GI carbs [which cause a slow rise/fall in blood sugar] to prepare for your lunchtime workout. Then between five and 30 minutes before your workout, eat something low in fibre – which is easy to digest – but high GI to give you energy, like fruit, bread and jam or medjool dates.” Don’t worry if you don’t feel like eating straight after your workout. “A lot of people rush to eat something after a workout,…