Simply
put, carbohydrate loading is basically just giving your body extra
fat to store.
To
increase their endurance just before an event, some athletes follow
a diet and exercise regimen called carbohydrate loading. Recent
research shows that this is no more effective than cutting back
on your workouts.
Sugar
and fat are stored inside of muscle cells to be used as fuel during
exercise. When a muscle runs out of its stored sugar, called glycogen,
it hurts to use it and you will find it very difficult to coordinate
muscle movements. The more glycogen you store in a muscle before
you exercise, the longer you can exercise that muscle.
Carbohydrate
loading means to do a long workout seven days before competition
to use up your stored muscle sugar. On the next three days, you
eat very little carbohydrate, and for the last three days, you
eat regular meals plus lots of extra carbohydrates: pastries,
bread, fruits, pasta and vegetables.
Several
studies show that trained runners can load their muscles maximally
with glycogen just by cutting back on their workouts for three
days and eating a little extra food. Exhaustive exercise three
or fewer days prior to competition will not increase endurance
beyond that. Carbohydrate loading does not increase endurance
unless you are a highly-conditioned athlete. Eating extra carbohydrates
will not store extra muscle glycogen unless the enzymes in muscles
are primed by regular hard exercise. Carbohydrate loading in non-competitive
athletes stores extra fat.
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