Keep Away the Common Colds!

Omar Villanueva from the Philippines has been having problems with catching colds and wants some advice. He rides on-road and off-road and takes his vitamins, so here is our advice on a healthy life

Question:
Hi I’ve been receiving a lot of cycling tips from you guys, and it was a great help from all of you. I have been into cycling for more than ten years; I have a MTB and a road bike. My question is every time I ride hard I always get cold. I take up multi vitamins and 500mg of Vit C everyday. Do I need to double my dosage? Or is there some kind of diet specifically for cyclist. I live in a tropical country the Philippines were almost all year round is summer. Thanks for the help and a Happy New Year guys.

Hi Omar,

Glad you find our tips helpful, that’s what we are here for!

You say you are taking 500mg of Vitamin C, so you can up it to the full 1gm if you like, some say your body cant store Vitamin C, so any excess will be lost in your urine, the only problem with this is that it’s a bit of a waste of money. The best Vitamin C is calcium ascorbate which is highly absorbable and non-acid, so it is kinder to your stomach. There are many other herbal cold remedy and preventative “medicines” available, too many to list here!

Some of the most important cold preventions are common sense.

Never sit around with sweaty clothes on as your body will get cold, always shower and change as soon as you finish your training.
Never stand talking with your training partners after a ride, go home and freshen up.
Stay away from other people for as long as you can after a ride, up to around a half hour, as your immune system is weakened and you are prone to catch any germs that are in the air.
Always keep yourself clean, wash your hands regularly as this is one of the main causes of spreading germs.
Always clean cycling clothes.
Protect your chest from any wind, if it’s hot on the way up a hill it’s bound to be colder on the way down due to your speed and the wind chill factor.

If you eat well and rest well you should be fit and healthy, it’s always a good idea to have a blood check from time to time to see if you are low in any minerals and to make sure everything is as it should be, also a visit to the dentist is advisable as a tooth problem can cause many other different problems, not just in your mouth.

Good luck Omar and I hope this all helps?

3 Responses to “Keep Away the Common Colds!”

Brandon August 17, 2009

My LBS suggested I get Shimano SPD pedals since I was new to clipless. I commute to work about 21 miles round trip on a road bike. My feet start going numb sometimes 1 mile into my ride. Other days I’ll go the 7 miles with no numbness. I can handle the numbness in the summer but in the winter, the cold mixed with numbness…Ouch! I keep my shoes semi loose at the toes, concentrate on spinning/using up-stroke, but no consistent relief. I wonder if the problem is the pedal/shoe. Should I be using the more standard cleats such as the SPD-SL on a road bike? Are SPD cleats specific to mtn bikes or are they interchangeable? I don’t want to buy new shoes/pedals and still get foot numbness. Numb in Glen Burnie Maryland

Michael James August 17, 2009

My friend,all the answers are correct if you are allowing one simple thing…REST AND RECOVERY. I train with a racer (I dont race yet) who is in Pro level shape at 41 years old yet is is alway sgetting sick. Once I heard his weight training routines I realzied he was not getting enough recovery. The reason Pros use drugs is not to perform better, it is to recover so they can hammer their bodies the next day and the next. Older athletes need an extra day of recover (light work or none) to be able to hammer again. NEVER do 2 hard workouts back to back, even young bodies need to recover. YOu get better not with the training you did today, its the recovering you did after wards. (Good luck,Michael

Chris August 17, 2009

I think this guy in the Philippines means he feels cold on the bike when riding.I suffer also.Even on a hot day, when sweating under my jersey and knicks and also my socks, my knees and feet are always cold.