Carbohydrate loading and hydration -
Simple carbohydrates are foods lacking fibre, such as fruit juice and sweets. Complex carbohydrates contain fibre, such as oatmeal and whole fruit.
Carbohydrates are rated on a scale called the glycemic index GI , which represents how quickly a carbohydrate-containing food increases blood sugar levels after ingestion. Low glycemic foods include green vegetables, most fruits, beans and whole grains. High glycemic foods include white rice, white breads, and white potatoes.
We will discuss that in the next section. resistance training and aerobic needs oxygen to produce energy, e. endurance training exercise. Maximising glycogen stores can reduce fatigue during both anaerobic and aerobic exercise. However, most of the promising research shows results in aerobic, endurance-based activities.
Carb loading for short-duration activity Very few studies have investigated the impact of carb loading on short-duration anaerobic performance. A study in male basketball players found no difference in peak power after seven days of carb loading following a four-week low carbohydrate diet.
However, after seven days of carbohydrate loading and replenishing glycogen storage, peak power returned to baseline. This means carbohydrate loading following a four-week low carb diet is effective at recovering baseline anaerobic power, emphasising the importance of glucose availability for optimal performance.
Another research study looked at the impact of carb loading on jump squat power and found no improvement. So, we can conclude carb loading is not necessary for anaerobic, short-duration exercise but the amount of glucose available at the start of an activity is an important factor.
Carb loading for long-duration activity The effects of carbohydrate loading on long-duration endurance exercise have garnered much more attention in the research world. In other research based on individual running race times, carbohydrate loading failed to improve times for 10km and 25km treadmill runs.
However, carbohydrate loading prior to a 30km cross-country run and a 30km treadmill run limited fatigue in well-trained athletes. Therefore, carbohydrate loading extends the time to glycogen depletion in running events longer than 30 km , ultimately allowing athletes to maintain race speed for a longer duration and improve race times.
It appears endurance activities greater than 90 minutes support the practice of carbohydrate loading as an effective strategy to improve performance and exercise capacity. Gender differences There appears to be some discrepancies between women and men using glycogen stores during activity. Women tend to have lower resting muscle glycogen concentrations, which can impact the benefits of carbohydrate loading.
Research has shown large differences in these benefits when comparing males and females. Knowing this, it may be beneficial for women to increase total calorie and carbohydrate ingestion during the loading phase to maximise glycogen stores. An important factor to consider for carbohydrate utilisation during endurance exercise is the glycogen availability beforehand.
Skeletal muscle has the ability to increase the amount of glycogen stores through training and diet. However, this does not happen overnight and needs hours of high carbohydrate intake to occur.
While carb loading tends to favour performance benefits for endurance events greater than 90 minutes, it is just one dietary manipulation method in the tool kit for athletes.
Athletes should plan their carbohydrate intake based on sport-specific and goal-specific outcomes. Overall carbohydrate intake is important pre-, post-, and possibly during events lasting longer than 60 minutes physical activity.
Another benefit of adequate glycogen availability for endurance exercise is improved skeletal muscle repair and recovery. Higher glycogen stores improve post-exercise muscle recovery.
Different results are likely contributed to small sample sizes, sport-specification, and population e. Further, protocols for carbohydrate loading differ in research and practice. This article explains carb loading, discusses common mistakes and gives recommendations for how to do it properly.
Carbohydrates are a very important source of fuel for your body. During many types of exercise, your body uses stored carbs to provide you with energy 1.
In the body, carbohydrate stores are called glycogen. This glycogen is mostly found in two places: your liver and muscles 2. Carb loading is simply a nutritional strategy to increase the glycogen stored in your body above its normal amount 3. This typically involves several days of eating more carbs than usual while also decreasing exercise to reduce the amount of carbs you are using.
The number of carbs you can eat ranges from 2. If you weighed pounds 70 kg , that would work out to — grams of carbs per day 3. People often use carb loading before certain athletic events or competitions because of the importance of carbs as a fuel source during exercise 4.
Specifically, it may be appropriate for exercise that leads to large decreases in the amount of glycogen in your muscles, such as prolonged biking or running 5 , 6. In these types of exercise, fatigue can occur when glycogen levels get too low 7.
However, it is probably not effective for shorter durations of exercise or types of exercise that involve short bursts of activity, including weight training 7 , 8 , 9.
Summary Your body stores carbs in the form of glycogen. Carb loading is a strategy to increase your glycogen stores and improve exercise performance. There are a few different types of carb loading, but all strategies involve increasing the number of carbs you eat and temporarily decreasing the amount you exercise.
Each of these programs is designed to be completed in the days immediately prior to an athletic event or competition. Here are several specific protocols that have been developed over the last 50 years You also reduce exercise on day four and perform no exercise on days five and six.
Throughout these six days, you gradually decrease the amount you exercise. During days four to six, you only perform 0—20 minutes of exercise per day.
At the beginning of the three days, you perform one exercise session until your body is exhausted This program is identical to the classic three-day program, but you do not perform the exercise session at the beginning.
Instead, you simply do not exercise for three days, while increasing the number of carbs you eat Research on this program used a carbohydrate intake of 4. This would be about grams of carbs if you weighed pounds 70 kg.
You do not exercise for one day, and you consume a high-carb diet of about 4. Summary There are several specific carb loading programs.
The major differences between them are their durations and the amounts of exercise they include. All programs use a short-term high-carb diet while temporarily decreasing exercise. Before you start a carb-loading program, there are several common carb-loading mistakes you should be aware of.
Research has found it can be beneficial for exercise lasting more than 90 minutes 3. However, there may be no benefit for slightly shorter durations of exercise, including events lasting 60—90 minutes 7 , 8.
Some research found that carb loading with 3 grams per pound 6. Other studies showed that carb loading did not improve performance during high-intensity cycling lasting less than 20 minutes 14 , While fat can be part of a balanced diet , it may be beneficial to limit how much of it you eat during carb loading Eating too much could cause weight gain or leave you feeling sluggish.
Some people make the mistake of choosing foods that are high in both carbohydrates and fat, rather than just carbs. For example, many desserts such as chocolate, ice cream and cookies fall into this category, as well as creamy pasta sauces and buttery breads.
Checking the nutrition information of foods you eat can help. Eating high-fiber foods could also be detrimental. Although fiber is part of a healthy diet , too much fiber during carb loading can cause stomach discomfort in some individuals Carb loading is a unique time when it could be better to choose white bread or pasta over whole wheat.
During this time, you should probably also avoid high-fiber foods like beans. Overall, it may be best to choose lower-fiber carbohydrate sources to avoid the possibility of fullness or stomach discomfort during exercise. Another possible mistake is not knowing if you are eating the right amount of carbohydrates.
Without recording what you eat, you may be eating too much or too little. Experts often recommend that people who are carb loading eat 2.
Recording your food intake can help you make sure you are eating the right amount 3. However, if you eat more carbs than necessary, you may have changed your diet too much or simply eaten too many calories.
As your experience grows, you may not need to do this anymore. However, it is a good idea for beginners. The days before your event or competition are important, and having an upset stomach due to unfamiliar foods can spoil your experience and exercise performance.
Because of this, you should choose foods that are familiar to you — in addition to being high-carb, low-fat and low-fiber. If you are considering using carb loading before an upcoming competition or athletic event, there are a few things you should think about.
Before you launch into carb loading, consider whether the type and duration of exercise you are doing requires it. If you will be performing exercise lasting more than 90 minutes without breaks, such as running or cycling, you may benefit from this nutrition strategy.
If your exercise is shorter or involves many breaks, such as weight training, carb loading is probably not necessary. If you record all the food you eat for several days using a food-tracking app or the nutrition labels on your food, you can calculate your current daily carbohydrate intake.
Then you can divide the grams of carbs you eat each day by your weight to compare your current intake to carb loading recommendations. For example, if you weigh pounds 70 kg and you normally eat grams of carbs per day, then you are consuming 1.
People who are carb loading may eat 2. That said, experts often recommend a more limited range of 3. Based on these recommendations, you would need to eat approximately double the amount of carbs you would normally.
Avoid choosing foods that are high in both carbs and fats, such as desserts, pasta with creamy sauce, pastries and similar items. As discussed, carb loading programs can last from one to six days.
It may be a good idea to start with a simple program lasting between one and three days. For example, you could simply increase your carb intake to around 3. You could also practice several different types of carb loading during training and keep notes to decide which helped you feel and perform your best.
Generally, it is best to experiment during your training rather than right before a real competition. That way, you can decide what will work best before your big event. Lastly, it may be best to focus on familiar foods during carb loading.
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