Carbohydrates for training and recovery
Carbohydrate has become a topic of intense debate and differing opinions. Around the world, it typically accounts for about half of our total energy intake. In fact, surveys show that the best endurance athletes in the world (the distance runners) consume diets that are particularly high in carbohydrates. Meanwhile in many Western countries, media reports state that carbohydrates make us fat and unhealthy, and the most popular current diet books are based on eating plans that are low and moderate in carbohydrate and high in fat. Not surprisingly, many athletes are now confused.
Sports nutrition experts have continued to evolve the recommendations for carbohydrate intake, making it more sport specific and tailored to the individual athlete. However, the importance of the body’s stores of carbohydrate as a source of fuel for the muscle and brain during exercise is still a fact. In many types of sport, low levels of carbohydrate stores are a factor in fatigue and reduced performance. Furthermore, strategies to increase carbohydrate availability have been consistently shown to result in performance enhancements, not just in marathon running but in short duration events too. That is why carbohydrate continues to play a key role in competition nutrition.
The athlete’s carbohydrate needs are closely related to muscle fuel costs of their training. The training load changes from day to day, over the various microcycles and macrocycles in the periodized training calendar, and at different points of the athlete’s career. Therefore, the sensible message is that, rather than having a static dietary intake, athletes should vary their carbohydrate intake according to the rise and fall in muscle fuel needs. Some general targets are suggested, but should be fine-tuned according to the athlete’s energy budget and feedback from performance in training and competitions.
Athletes should particularly target the days or periods with high intensity and/or high quality training sessions to ensure that they have adequate muscle carbohydrate (glycogen) stores to fuel these goals.
A great way to ensure carbohydrate intake meets muscle fuel needs is to include additional carbohydrate in meals or snacks before and after a workout. This means when training time and/ or intensity increase, so should the carbohydrate intake. Consuming carbohydrate during long sessions will also add to the day’s carbohydrate target as well as specifically provide fuel for the workout. Many athletes should take this opportunity to practice competition strategies for eating and drinking during the event. Targets for carbohydrate should be provided in grams relative to the athlete’s body mass rather than as a percentage of total energy intake. Rather than talk about high or low carbohydrate diets we should think about carbohydrate availability relative to the muscle’s fuel needs.
The total intake and timing of the day’s intake should normally be able to meet the fuel demands of a workout (= high carbohydrate availability). In some sessions, carbohydrate stores may be depleted or sub-optimal in comparison to the muscle fuel demand (= low carbohydrate availability). The table above shows that very different amounts of carbohydrate may be adequate for different training loads. Therefore, two athletes could eat the same about of carbohydrate, but according to their training needs, one could achieve high carbohydrate availability whereas the carbohydrate availability of the other athlete is low.
Many athletes do some of their training sessions with low carbohydrate availability – for example, when they train first thing in the morning without breakfast, when they go for a long workout without access to food or a sports drink, or when they reduce their energy intake to reduce body fat levels. This may not be a problem during the base phase of training or on days, when training intensity and quality is low. According to latest research, low carbohydrate availability limited to 1-3 sessions per week can provide an increased stimulus to the muscle to help it adapt to training. However, such strategies need to be carefully periodized into the training program, to avoid interference with high quality sessions. When training more than once per day and
sessions are close together, fast recovery of the muscle carbohydrate stores is essential to ensure quality in the last session. Since the muscle is very responsive to carbohydrates immediately after exercise, athletes should consume carbohydrate rich foods and drinks to stimulate rapid refuelling,
The target of carbohydrate intake during rapid refuelling is about 1 g per kg of body mass per hour for the first 4 hours, with frequent small snacks. The type of carbohydrate is generally less important than the amount, and athletes should make choices based on convenience, palatability, cost, and the contribution these foods can make to other nutritional goals. When it is not possible to meet these carbohydrate targets during the early hours of recovery, the presence of protein in recovery snacks is likely to promote higher rates of glycogen storage than carbohydrate alone. This is useful since post-workout protein intake addresses other goals of recovery eating. During longer recovery periods (24 hours), the pattern and timing of carbohydrate-rich meals and snacks does not appear to be critical, and can be organised according to what is practical & comfortable for each athlete. Carbohydrates can be consumed in liquid form or as solid foods, with same effect. It is valuable to choose nutrient-rich carbohydrates and to add other foods to recovery meals and snacks to provide a good source of protein and other nutrients in the total diet.
Examples of nutrient-rich carbohydrate and protein combinations (contains 50-
75 g carbohydrate and 15-20 g protein)
• 500-750ml Low Fat Chocolate Milk
• 1-2 sports bars (check labels for carbohydrate and protein content)
• 1 large bowl (2 cups) breakfast cereal with low fat milk
• 1 large or 2 small cereal bars + 200g fruit-flavoured yogurt
• 1 cup baked beans on 2 slices of toast or on a baked potato
• 1 bread roll with cheese or peanut butter + large banana
• 2 cups fruit salad with 200g fruit-flavoured yogurt
• Bagel with thick spread peanut butter + 1-2 cups low fat milk
• 300g (large) baked potato + low fat cottage cheese filling + 1-2 cups low fat milk
• 2-3 slices lean meat and veggie pizza
• 2 cups breakfast cereal with milk
• 400 g flavoured yoghurt
• 500-750 ml fruit smoothie or liquid meal supplement
• Thick bread sandwich with meat and salad filling
• 2 cups stir-fry with rice or noodles and meat
Carbohydrate For Competition
In many sports lasting longer than 1 hour, the depletion of carbohydrate stores causes fatigue and a decline in performance over the course of the event. Nutrition strategies that provide adequate carbohydrate can reduce or delay the onset of this performance decline. Strategies include the intake of carbohydrate in the hours or days prior to the event to ensure optimal muscle and liver glycogen stores. Most athletes can normalize their muscle glycogen stores with as little as 24 hours of carbohydrate-rich eating and exercise taper. In shorter duration events, complete depletion of carbohydrate stores does not occur, but an adequate supply of carbohydrate fuel remains important.
Carbohydrate requires less oxygen than fat to supply energy, which becomes important
during high intensity (anaerobic) training and competitions where oxygen is limited (e.g. middle distance running, rowing and wrestling). We now know that simply putting carbohydrate in the mouth can enhance performance – even if you spit it out again after a few seconds. Receptors in the mouth send signals to the brain that fuel is available and the brain responds by allowing the muscles to work harder. In the absence of muscle damage, the athlete can normalise their muscle glycogen stores with as little as 24 hours of carbohydrate-rich eating and exercise taper.
Carbohydrate Loading:
Athletes who compete in events lasting longer than about 90 minutes may benefit from
‘carbohydrate-loading’ for a few days prior to the competition. This strategy involves meeting the highest targets for carbohydrate intake (9-12 g/ kg/d) for 24-48 hours while exercise is reduced to an easy taper, and allows muscle glycogen stores to be super-compensated above normal levels.
As a result, the athlete should have fuel to exercise longer at their optimal output before they face a performance decline.
One day example of foods providing 630 g of carbohydrate for a carbohydrate
loading diet* (for a person weighing 70 kg with an intake of 9 g/kg carbohydrate).
• Breakfast ( 150 g) = 2 cups cereal with milk + 250 ml fruit juice + 1 banana + 2 thick slices toast + thick spread of jam
• Morning snack (50 g) = 500 ml soft drink
• Lunch (150 g) = 1 large bread roll + 1 medium muffin + fruit smoothie
• Afternoon snack (50 g) = 200 g flavoured yoghurt + 250 ml fruit juice
• Dinner (200 g) = 3 cups cooked pasta 2 cups fruit salad + 2 scoops ice cream + 500 ml sports drink
• Snack (30 g) = 50 g chocolate or dried fruit
(*note that other foods may be added to the meal, such as moderate amounts of protein foods. Many athletes like to follow low fibre eating over their carbohydrate loading days, to ensure that the gut is free of bulky fibre on the day of the event)
Pre-event meal (1-6 h period before competition):
Athletes sometimes find a set of favorite foods to eat in the hours prior to competition that not only provide extra energy during the event, but also feel ‘right’ in terms of curbing hunger, quieting their stomach and being convenient as well as practical. In sports that are not so carbohydrate dependent (e.g. gymnastics, sprinting, ski-jumping, etc), there is no need for extra focus on carbohydrates in the pre-event meal. However, in events involving exercise lasting longer than 60 minutes, athletes are advised to use the pre-event meal to top up carbohydrate stores – especially if the event is in the morning after an overnight fast.
The effect of eating carbohydrate in the hours before exercise is to increase the muscle’s rate of carbohydrate use. Therefore, the pre-event meal should contain enough carbohydrate to compensate for this “priming” of greater carbohydrate reliance. A carbohydrate intake greater than 1 g/kg body mass should achieve this goal, and pre- event meals which enhance performance in longer events generally provide
carbohydrate in the range of 1-4 g/kg. Continuing to consume carbohydrate during the event helps to sustain fuel availability. A ‘mistake’ some athletes make is to eat only
a small amount of carbohydrate (less than 1 g carbohydrate per kg body mass) during the last few hours before exercise and then fail to consume any carbohydrate during exercise. This makes the body more reliant on internal carbohydrate supplies without providing sufficient external carbohydrate to compensate. Depending on the time of day, the athlete’s preferences and the availability of food, an athlete may choose a range of carbohydrate-rich foods and drinks to make up their pre-even meal. The type, timing and amount of foods should be practiced until a successful plan is developed.
Five different examples of foods that each provide 140 g carbohydrate in a pre-competition meal* (2 g/kg body mass for a 70 kg person) are:
• 2.5 cups breakfast cereal + milk + large banana
• Large bread roll or 3 thick slices bread + thick spread honey
• 2 cups boiled rice + 2 slices bread
• 4 stack pancakes + ½ cup syrup
• 60 g sports bar + 500 ml liquid meal supplement or fruit smoothie
(*note that other foods may be eaten at the meal)
Carbohydrate intake during exercise
We have long recognized that performance is enhanced when carbohydrate is consumed during exercise. Benefits include a sustaining of optimum pace, greater time spent at high intensities, and maintenance of skills and concentration. A variety of mechanisms seem to explain this, ranging from the provision of high rates of an additional muscle
fuel to making the brain feel happy so that it makes us feel like working harder. Until recently, we have taken a “one size fits all” approach to carbohydrate intake during exercise lasting longer than 60-90 minutes. However, there is now good evidence that exercise of different duration and intensities requires a different carbohydrate feeding approach. A range of carbohydrate-containing drinks and foods may be able to supply these targets. Sports drinks, gels and bars are easy to consume and readily available. Many everyday foods and drinks such as fruit, juices and soft drinks may also be suitable. The athlete should practice in training to develop a race or event fueling plan. This plan will need to take into account the opportunities provided in the athlete’s event to consume drinks or foods.
That was all about Carbohydrates for Performance Athletes, But Athletes Power comes from Muscle Performance & is detected by one of the most Crucial Macro nutrient that is Protein & so it is the next topic for the Series “Nutrition For Athletes”.
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Author: Gaurav Manjrekar (CPT)
Co-Founder of StrengthTrainingIndia.Com
Nutrition For Athletes : Carbohydrates Carbohydrates for training and recovery Carbohydrate has become a topic of intense debate and differing opinions. Around the world, it typically accounts for about half of our total energy intake.
