Carb load in sports

Endurance athletes may mobilize carbohydrate (glycogen) stores before particularly intense competitions or challenges above normal. They benefit from the superior compensation method. However, you can only benefit from this phenomenon if you exercise for at least 90 minutes or more. It is also known under the terms carbohydrate loading, carbohydrate loading, glycogen loading and supercompensation (glycogen). But what foods are suitable for carboload


Before a competition or planned workout, training is deliberately reduced and carbohydrate intake is more intense (up to 80 percent of energy intake). Due to this "overloading" of storage, a certain level (cadence) can be maintained for a longer period under the required load. Fatigue and exhaustion are delayed. Charging your carb batteries won't make you faster! Warning: Carboloading is also not suitable as a permanent diet

Notice
Before starting carbohydrate loading, it is not necessary to completely empty carbohydrate stores due to particularly stressful loads

This is how carb charging works

Training Reduction: Approx. Intensive training is deliberately reduced one week before competition. From now on only very low load modules.

Continue to eat normally: For now, continue to eat normal food, that is, mixed food with about 50 percent of energy from carbohydrates, which is equivalent to 350 grams of carbohydrates / day.

Loading Phase: In the two to four days before a contest, people eat a very high percentage of carbohydrates. 70 to 80 percent of energy should come from carbohydrates, i.e. 8 to 10 g of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per day, which corresponds to a minimum of 500 g of carbohydrates per day.

Rest phase: One day before competition, no training is allowed. This rest phase ensures optimal glycogen storage. Muscle glycogen can increase two to three times during this resting phase.

Suitable carbohydrate sources: Complex carbohydrates from starchy foods such as pasta, rice, potatoes, muesli, mixed breads, etc. Caution with whole grain products: Large amounts of nutrients can be managed by carbohydrate loading, so whole grain products are only suitable to a limited extent as they satiate very quickly. In general, on carb-loading days, only a little fiber should be eaten, as digestion problems can sometimes occur. You also risk not consuming the required amount of carbohydrates. To achieve the necessary amount of carbohydrates, for example consume mashed sweet fruits, drinks or bars that are rich in carbohydrates and low in fat.