How Carb Loading Works

During long runs lasting longer than two hours the body will use carbohydrates for fuel. It has been established that large amounts of carbohydrates will lead to improved performance during an endurance race. There are many different ways to properly carb load your body, the basic process involves eating a large amount of carbohydrate rich food. By carb loading you will be able to avoid exercise induced hyperglycemia.

The body store carbohydrates in the form of glycogen. Think of glycogen as human starch. Glycogen is very easily broken down by the body to provide energy for all of the biological machines that make up the human body. The body stores this glycogen in the liver and in muscles. Of course, with exercise you essentially use up all of these stores and are left with hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar. Muscle glycogen is committed to be used only by the muscles and your muscle glycogen levels will not affect your blood sugar level.

Surprisingly, the average use of your brain and nervous system will completely annihilate your glycogen stores, in the liver, for that day. How much you train will also affect how many carbohydrates you need to have at your disposal. A better conditioned athlete will use less glycogen to do the same task as an athlete in worse shape. The reason why you should care about this whole liver, glycogen mess is because your glycogen levels are directly related to the amount of fatigue that you feel. Once your glycogen levels drop to a certain point your activity will be running on will alone, and if you keep engaging in the activity even that will not be enough to keep you going.

Following a carbohydrate loading diet will stock your body full of glycogen for competition. The strategy is simple: The sixth day before a major competition, consume a high protein low carbohydrate diet with carbohydrates making up less than ten percent of the total energy, the three days after you consume a ninety percent carbohydrate diet. For all of these six days you should be exercising to the point of exhaustion. This strange regime will make the body hold on to as many of the carbohydrates as it can during the carb loading phase and you will see the results on competition day.

Athletes who use carbohydrate loading techniques will have more fuel for their body to use during the race. However, how their body uses that fuel depends on the conditioning of the athlete.

Source:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/carbohydrate-loading/MY00223 , mayo clinic