WEEK

LECTURE Nutrition and Competition Glycogen Supercompensation or Carbohydrate Loading Precompetition Meals Meals During Exercise or Competition Postcompetition Meals

HOUR

11

Glycogen Supercompensation or Carbohydrate Loading

A regimen of diet and exercise training designed to maximize muscle glycogen stores before an athletic event.
* Also known as glycogen loading.

Glycogen Supercompensation or Carbohydrate Loading cont.

Involves depleting glycogen stores by exercising strenously and then replenishing glycogen by consuming a high-CHO diet for a few days before competition (during which time only light exercise is performed). The current practice is to taper down exercise during the six days before competition while progressively increasing the CHO content of the diet to about 550 g per day, or 70% of energy, during the 3 days before competition.

Glycogen Supercompensation or Carbohydrate Loading cont.

A glycogen supercompensation regimen will increase glycogen stores 20 to 40% above the level that would be achieved on a typical diet. Glycogen loading is beneficial to endurance athletes (exercise for >90 min long) but not to those who exercise <90 min. 1 gram of glycogen in the muscle deposits 3 g of water so glycogen loading causes 2-7 pound weight gain & muscle stiffness.

Pre-competition Nutritional Guidelines

CHO loading using moderate (tapering) supercompensation diet. Ensure a CHO intake of about 600 g/day during the 3 days before competition. Drink plenty of fluids during the days before the competition. Avoid foods with a high dietary fibre content during the days before competition to prevent gastrointestinal problems.

Pre-competition Nutritional Guidelines cont.

Eat a CHO rich (60-70%) pre-event meal 2-4 h before a race to ensure adequate levels of glycogen in the liver. Before competitions of long duration, eat semisolid or solid foods such as energy bars or bread, and keep fat (10-25%) and protein (1020%) intake low. Before competitions of short duration, ingest easily digestible CHO foods or energy drinks.

Guidelines For Nutrition During Exercise

Food consumption during exercise is not necessary except for activities of long duration. During intense exercise lasting >45 min, a CHO drink should be ingested. Consume 60 g of CHO per hour of exercise. During exercise of <45 min duration, there appears to be little need to consume CHO. Athletes should consume beverages containing CHO (6%) throughout exercise and not water. Avoid drinks which have extremely high CHO contents (>20%) and those with a high osmolality (>500 mosmol/kg).

Guidelines For Nutrition During Exercise cont.

Large volumes of a drink stimulate gastric emptying more than small volumes. Therefore, athletes are recommended to ingest a fluid volume of 6-8 ml/kg of body weight, 3-5 min before starting competition to prime the stomach, followed by smaller amounts (2-3 ml/kg of body weight) every 15-20 min. High fibre and protein content, and high CHO concentration and osmolality have been associated with gastrointestinal problems during exercise and thus should be avoided.

Post Exercise Nutritional Guidelines

To maximize glycogen storage, it is recommended that during the first 2 hours after exercise, 0.7 to 1.5 g of CHO/kg of body weight (50-100 g for a 70 kg person) of CHO be ingested in the form of liquids or easily digestible solid or semi-solid food. After 2 hours for 6 hours after the event, 25 g/h is recommended. In total, about 8-10 g of CHO/kg of body weight should be eaten within 24 h after exercise; 2/3 from this amount should preferably be high glycemic index foods.

Post Exercise Nutritional Guidelines cont.

It is recommended that CHO sources with a moderate to high glycaemic index are eaten. The addition of protein to the CHO consumed during the first hours of post-exercise may stimulate glycogen recovery rates. The addition of 600-1200 mg of sodium to postexercise rehydration beverages improves fluid retention and the recovery of fluid balance.