Congratulations on making it to the end of your 5th mini-cycle on Riding the Redline. I want you to check in within yourself and see how you feel with your nutrition program and supplementation. These should both be helping you recover when you’re on an intense training program that’s designed to promote lean tissue while burning body fat.
At this point, you may feel a little depleted. If so, then I’m going to recommend that you try a shift in how you consume carbs. This is called “carb rotation,” and there are many ways to do it. But I’m going to give you a simple formula to try. Then, if this works for you, I recommend incorporating it into the rest of this program and into your training protocols as you move beyond Riding the Redline.
So, at the beginning of my program, you were consuming about 40% of your calories from carbs. And then you may have dropped them a bit—going as low as about 33%. I want you to take a look at how many grams you’re consuming each day. Let’s work from the premise that you’re consuming 200 grams of carbs every day—you could be getting in fewer or more, but make adjustments based on the percentages I recommend.
Here’s what I want you to consume for each day on each mini-cycle in terms of total carbs per day if you’re currently consuming 200g of carbs per day.
Day 1 400g (200% of baseline)
Day 2 200g (100% of baseline)
Day 3 150g (75% of baseline)
Day 4 50g (25% of baseline)
TOTAL 800g
Note that the total carbs you consume in any 4-day mini cycle remains the same in total—800 for 4 days in this case. So, you aren’t cutting carbs in total, at all, you’re just rotating them from one day to another. This allows your body to reload on the days when you consume more carbs (and calories) and then get a little depleted as you reduce them through your rest day. You can also shift your rotation so you get in your “load day,” the one where you take in 200% of your baseline, so it’s on your recovery day, priming you for the workout the next day.
HYDRA-CHARGE
To help keep myself hydrated I sip on Hydra-Charge throughout the day. I like to mix up a gallon jug with a daily dose of Hydra-Charge in it and drink it throughout the day, emphasizing the times before, during and after my workouts, or at other times when I feel depleted. Staying hydrated is vital to both your athletic performance as well as your recovery. While you can also drink water, Hydra-Charge contains electrolytes such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, and potassium that help your body maintain fluid balance. It also contains freeze-dried coconut water and is combined with SPECTRA, which contains a blend of fruit, vegetable, and herbal extracts for antioxidant support. Consuming Hydra-Charge makes it easy to hit your water intake because of its great taste.
YOUR TICKET TO RIDING THE REDLINE: While you can sip on Hydra-Charge throughout the day, I recommend getting in a dose before, during or after workouts, or at any other time to support general hydration. I go with 2 servings a day.
TIP: Regardless of whether or not you decide to rotate carbs, I want you to check in with your body and be kind to it today. You’re really deep into a challenging training program, and you need to emphasize recovery. Get in your supps, but also do the things that make you feel good—take a bubble bath, write some poetry in your journal. You know what works for you. Do it, and let me know what that is. Maybe someone else who is Riding the Redline can learn from you! I’ll post the unique recovery strategies that I like best. And keep sending me photos of your progress!
