What is ‘periodized nutrition’ and what are the benefits for cyclists looking to fine-tune their performance?

Research has shown that you can improve fitness by periodizing your nutrition with your training, matching your diet to your daily workload

Male cyclist following a periodized nutriton plan
(Image credit: Future)

Periodized training is a familiar concept to most cyclists, but far fewer apply the principles of periodization to their cycling nutrition - and they may be missing a trick.

To recap, the principle underlying periodized training is the idea that you work on one specific element of fitness (e.g. aerobic endurance, speed, strength, power) at a time before moving on to the next ‘phase’.

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