What is Carbohydrate loading?

What is Carbohydrate loading?

Most sports enthusiasts would have heard of carbohydrate loading. Carbohydrate loading is a strategy involving changes of training nutrition that can maximise muscle and liver gylocogen (carbohydrate) stores prior to endurance competition, allowing you to work harder for longer. It attempts to prolong carbohydrate as the body's main fuel source and delay the body's reliance on fats. This is because the conversion of fats-energy takes much longer than the conversion of carbhydrate-energy.

Carbohydrate loading is a commonly misunderstood term in sports nutrition, with many people believing any sports person would benefit by "carbing up" and that the way to do this is to over-indulge in carbohydrates in the days leading up to the event. Carbohydrate loading needs to be considered in conjuction with the 

Who can benefit from carbohydrate loading?

Carbohydrate loading does not benefit all athletes. Anyone exercising continuously for 90 minutes or longer is likely to benefit from carbohydrate loading. Athletes competing in sports such as road/tour cycling, marathon running, longer distance triathlon, cross country skiing and endurance swimming would benefit from carbohydrate loading. Shorter time exercises are unlikely to benefit as the body's carbohydrate stores are adequate to cope with the energy demands.
Carbohydrate loading is not a practical dietry practise in team sports, where games are played every 3 or 4 days and adequate refilling opportunities exist. Although it might be argues that players of soccer and AFL have heavy demands on their muslce fuel stores, it may not be possible to achieve the full carbohydrate protocol within the weekly schedule of playing in games


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