Sports Nutrition Carb Loading

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For more details about sports nutrition, training and motivation, visit http://visportsnutrition.ca • Carb loading is an important aspect of sports nutrition and the training regimen of endurance athletes. • Glycogen is the stored energy that your muscles use to perform exercise. Carbohydrate loading OR carb-loading, is a strategy used by endurance athletes like marathon runners, to maximize the storage of glycogen in their muscles. Carb loading will only be useful if your activity lasts longer than 90 minutes. Stored glycogen only helps with endurance; it does nothing for increasing strength so weight lifters will never do this. • The foods of choice are those with a low glycemic index meaning they release glucose into the blood stream really slowly. Examples include whole wheat pasta, breads, rice and potatoes. • A common example of carb-loading is a 7 day method like this one. • Day 1: Train at 75% of max for 90 minutes, eat a diet consisting of 50% carbohydrates • Day 2: Train at 75% of max for 40 minutes, eat a diet consisting of 50% carbohydrates • Day 3: Train at 75% of max for 40 minutes, eat a diet consisting of 50% carbohydrates • Day 4: Train at 75% of max for 20 minutes, eat a diet consisting of 70% carbohydrates • Day 5: Train at 75% of max for 20 minutes, eat a diet consisting of 70% carbohydrates • Day 6: REST, eat a diet consisting of 70% carbohydrates • Day 7: Competition Day • Scientists at the University of Western Australia developed a new approach to carb-loading. Athletes would do light training and eat a normal diet for several days until the day before the race. On this day, the athlete does a very short, extremely high-intensity workout (like sprinting) then eats 12 g of carbohydrate per kilogram of lean mass for the next 24 hours. Research has shown this resulted in a 90% increase in glycogen storage.

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