The term carbohydrate loading is used to describe everything from the pasta feed the night before a fun run to the overindulgence in foods of dubious athletic value usually associated with some celebratory event. In reality, carbohydrate loading is a research-proven fueling strategy designed to extend endurance in athletes. This article will help you understand how carbohydrate loading works, when to use it and when not to, where athletes typically go wrong, and practical strategies for how to best make it work for you.
Carbohydrate loading is not new. It dates back to the late 1960s, when Scandinavian scientists found that after several days of a low-carbohydrate diet, men in their study had low muscle glycogen stores and less endurance compared to when they consumed a moderate-carbohydrate diet. And when the men consumed a high-carbohydrate diet over several days, glycogen stores in the muscle became supersaturated, and endurance times were significantly extended. The scientific term for this loading of carbohydrate fuel into muscle is glycogen supercompensation, and these studies led to the classic seven-day model of carbohydrate loading — it’s a model you’ll want to avoid.
With the classic approach, athletes began their preparation seven days before a competition. The first 3-4 days were a miserable regimen of exhaustive training and few carbs. Designed to strip the muscle of glycogen stores, the depletion phase worked, but the high-fat, high-protein diet wreaked havoc on the digestive tract. And with an ever-dwindling supply of carbohydrate fuel, exercise was grueling, low blood sugar was rampant, and the resulting fatigue and irritability were overwhelming. But the regimen did the job, and during the subsequent 3-4 day repletion phase, the combination of lots of carbohydrates combined with tapered training resulted in super-saturated levels of muscle glycogen. Subsequent studies have shown that this classic approach to carbohydrate loading extends endurance in distance runners. And when the sport of running caught fire in the 1970s and 1980s, carbohydrate loading became a staple of elite marathon runners, and then, through the trickle-down effect, it achieved popularity in recreational runners.
Source: http://www.powerbar.com/articles/82/Carbohydrate_Loading.aspx
p/s: The beautiful of Islam, siapa kata bila puasa kita dilemahkan? Islam is the way of life! :)
Carbohydrate loading is not new. It dates back to the late 1960s, when Scandinavian scientists found that after several days of a low-carbohydrate diet, men in their study had low muscle glycogen stores and less endurance compared to when they consumed a moderate-carbohydrate diet. And when the men consumed a high-carbohydrate diet over several days, glycogen stores in the muscle became supersaturated, and endurance times were significantly extended. The scientific term for this loading of carbohydrate fuel into muscle is glycogen supercompensation, and these studies led to the classic seven-day model of carbohydrate loading — it’s a model you’ll want to avoid.
With the classic approach, athletes began their preparation seven days before a competition. The first 3-4 days were a miserable regimen of exhaustive training and few carbs. Designed to strip the muscle of glycogen stores, the depletion phase worked, but the high-fat, high-protein diet wreaked havoc on the digestive tract. And with an ever-dwindling supply of carbohydrate fuel, exercise was grueling, low blood sugar was rampant, and the resulting fatigue and irritability were overwhelming. But the regimen did the job, and during the subsequent 3-4 day repletion phase, the combination of lots of carbohydrates combined with tapered training resulted in super-saturated levels of muscle glycogen. Subsequent studies have shown that this classic approach to carbohydrate loading extends endurance in distance runners. And when the sport of running caught fire in the 1970s and 1980s, carbohydrate loading became a staple of elite marathon runners, and then, through the trickle-down effect, it achieved popularity in recreational runners.
Source: http://www.powerbar.com/articles/82/Carbohydrate_Loading.aspx
p/s: The beautiful of Islam, siapa kata bila puasa kita dilemahkan? Islam is the way of life! :)
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