Thursday, December 1, 2016

CARBOHYDRATES AND THE ATHLETE
Carbohydrates are one of the most essential nutrients needed for an athlete’s diet. They are vital to achieve peak performance during physical activity because they maximize and optimize performance and recovery. 

Athletes need to continually load and reload muscle glycogen stores.

Research shows that muscle glycogen is the primary fuel, followed by fat, used by the body during exercise. Low muscle glycogen stores results in muscle fatigue and the body’s inability to complete high intensity exercise. The depletion of muscle glycogen is also a significant factor in acute muscle weakness and reduced force production. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise decreased glycogen stores, so the need for carbohydrates is high for all types of exercise during the energy phase. 

There is strong evidence from several studies indicating that carbohydrate feeding during exercise of approximately 45 minutes or longer can greatly improve endurance capacity and performance.

Next time we will discuss which food are excellent sources of carbohydrates for athletes.

Learn How To Fuel Like An Elite Athlete

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