Matteo Cigala | Head coach, Cigala Cycling
A continuous glucose monitor (CGM) is a small wearable and disposable device, with a size a bit bigger than a two-euro coin, that monitors your blood glucose level on a continual basis.
The CGM sensor has a tiny needle that is inserted just below the skin. This needle does not go past the fat layer in your arm and is held in place by a protective sticky/glue seal around the sensor. A totally non-invasive device.
Why should you care about your glucose levels?
Have you ever bonked out or felt low while working out, then you have experienced a sugar crash which is not a nice feeling and neither good for a healthy performing body.
When you want to go from point A to B in your car, you need fuel in your car to get you there. The same goes for the body when exercising. The body’s main fuel is glucose which is available is 2 forms.
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- Immediately available in the bloodstream: glucose
- Stored in the muscles and the liver: glycogen
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When exercising, your body has a constant need for sugar meaning you should keep your blood glucose levels always high.
The body is a smart machine that has many ways of doing this:
- Using the circulating glucose in the bloodstream.
- Breaking down the stored glucose from the muscles (glycogen) to the muscles.
- Increasing blood sugar levels by releasing stored glucose from the liver.
Therefore, emptying your stored glucose, marks the end of every high-performance effort. Your stored glucose (glycogen) is your limiting factor to performance. Making your body switch to other forms of fuelling.
Knowing the availability of glucose in real time, can help you maintain a healthy performing body by having a better knowledge of glucose metabolism.
By observing your glucose levels, you will know more about your sugar metabolism. This gives you the opportunity to retrain your metabolism to keep a healthy performing body.
In the next piece, we will tell you why you should care about your metabolism as a cyclist.
