fat burners and lots of cardio

[mattjf]

I am looking to take a fat burner, either LS7 or Hot-Rox to drop some weight. I am a cyclist doing a lot of cardio (over 10 hours a week). The reason for wanting the weight loss is the less weight is easier to haul up a mountain. I'm not looking for muscle building in the lifting sense.

Anyway, is there any dangers with fat burners and high amounts of cardio? I know a lot of people that lift tend to minimize cardio.

-Matt

[.V.]

If you are doing enough cardio you shouldn't need a fat burner.

I know you aren't interested in bulking up, but some extra muscle should make you stronger and able to ride better too shouldn't it?

And yes, I know that smaller muscles have more endurance because they use less oxygen up and so don't tire as quickly before you even go there. But if you are putting in that many hours, building the kind of muscle that will slow you down shouldn't be a worry.

I guess if you want to burn off a bit of fat, just cut your carbs back gradually until it starts to burn off. Remember - excess carbs turn into excess glycogen and glycogen that doesn't have storage space in the liver or muscle cells will be stored on the body as saturated fat and cholesterol.

[mattjf]

It's actually interesting, but the strength requirements for cycling is very low. Even sedentry people can generate the forces required for cycling. The problem is doing that thousands of times. If you look at photos of Michael Rasmussen, the king of the mountain in this years Tour, he looks like a sickly cancer patient. He looks very thin and frail.

I know just doing lots of riding will help drop it, but I have some races coming up and need to drop it quickly. A difference of a few pounds can mean a race if the course is right. There's a reason the pro's spend so much time trying to drop even grams off their bikes.

-Matt

[.V.]

Here is a quote from beachbody.com talking about Lance Armstrong's diet. How he cuts his carbs back off season to keep his weight from going up so he doesn't have to lose too much before the season starts. Then increases them during the season to fuel the racing. I think he raced in the tour de france this last time between 3 and 5 % body fat.

I don't know much about biking, but if you want to be a good bike racer, I can't think of a better example to follow than his.

From Beachbody.com

In the winter, he eats far fewer carbs because he isn't burning so many calories. Because high performance isn't necessary (i.e., no races), he will train his body to more efficiently burn fat for energy but restrict his carbohydrate intake. This comes in handy during the race season when he needs to hold onto glycogen stores as long as possible. So by withholding some carbs (he still eats some and never approaches anything resembling an Atkins approach), Lance trains his system to be more efficient.
During the season this will change and he'll add more and more carbs as the races get more intense. Your body will not function at its highest level without carbs (which you know if you've read almost anything I've written). So as Lance starts to race, his diet becomes more carb-oriented. During the Tour, Armstrong may consume up to 1000 grams (4,000 calories) in carbohydrates alone. Carmichael says, "If Lance tried to race on a low-carb diet, he'd die."