The Importance of Carbohydrates for Athletes

Carbohydrate supplements are the key to improving performance. Imagine your muscles are like a sponge but instead of holding water they hold muscle sugar (glycogen) and water. This ‘muscle fuel’ is your primary energy source, like petrol in a car’s fuel tank. Carbohydrates are the main energy fuels your body needs, and uses them to convert into muscle glycogen and also drag water into the muscle. This is what enables the human body to perform physical exercise.

A glucose molecule

• You can divide your carbohydrate regime into before, during and after exercise.

Many athletes believe that taking carbohydrates during exercise is the way to improve performance. However, glucose in the blood is not nearly as effective as glycogen stored in the muscle tissue. Therefore you need to already have a good store of carbohydrates in your system in order to optimise each and every training session that you do.

Whether an athlete is training or competing there are three factors which are important to know, get right and act upon: The correct carbohydrate mixture for

optimum performance The correct concentration of the mixture for

optimum performance The correct time to take the above for

optimum performance.

When you have exhausted your muscles through exercise and your muscle glycogen levels are depleted, your body will then start to burn muscle – a situation that needs to be avoided because obviously performance will drop. Eventually the body will burn fat but not fast enough for this to be of any use to an athlete. It is therefore of the utmost importance that you have carbohydrate calories to burn to spare the muscle both during training and competition. This will put you in a good physical and mental state of mind after training – if you can leave your training session on a high you are far more likely to look forward to the next one.

• Maltodextrin is most widely used as an energy source and causes less digestive problems than traditional foods such as bananas and dates. Alone they are not the perfect solution. As soon as you’ve finished an intense training session you also need instantly absorbed simple carbohydrates (sugars).

• The best simple carbohydrates are dextrose monohydrate (glucose) and fructose (fruit sugar).

The best carbohydrate supplements will use all three energy sources (not including ‘booster’ type products delivering substances such as caffeine to your system – these usually only require one) – we are talking energy fuels for providing sustained energy in training and competition.

Muscle glycogen can be used for energy straightaway but blood glucose (from carbs taken in from drinks/food whilst training) has to undergo a chemical conversion before it can be used. Maintaining high levels of muscle glycogen between one training session and the next is vital so as soon as you finish a training session begin immediately taking on carbohydrates.

What type of carbohydrate should I use? A combination of complex and simple carbohydrates - the best are maltodextrin (complex), dextrose monohydrate (simple) and fructose (simple).

A fructose molecule

If a carbohydrate drink is too concentrated it will cause dehydration

If a carbohydrate drink is too weak it will be no more effective than plain water as a carbohydrate source.

The consensus is that the best concentration for in-race drinks is 3% - 8% concentration.

For example, 100g powder in 1000mls water is 10% concentration so 30g – 80g powder in 1000mls water would provide the desired 3-8% concentration (so there’s quite a bit of leeway).

What about the concentration of the mixture?

The concentration of carbohydrate drinks is critical and can cause severe problems with both performance and health if you get it wrong – this is why we advise against gels where you are simply guessing your water intake alongside using the gel during training and can very easily get the carbohydrate:water intake ratio very wrong.

The amount of carbohydrates needed depends upon training intensity and bodyweight. Runners tend to need more than cyclists as they use more muscle mass doing their sport, cross country skiers for example, use even more. The best guideline to use is that if after a week you have gained weight cut back slightly on the carbs, if after the same period you have lost weight bump up your carb intake, until you find the correct level for you.

How much do I need?

The amount of carbohydrates needed by an athlete varies greatly. Studies have shown that glycogen levels even out at 650g per day but Tour de France cyclists have been known to use 900g per day with no weight gain, and triathletes 1200g.

The rule of thumb for in-race drinks is that you will burn off between 40g to 60g of carbohydrates per hour and you will use up water at the rate of 750ml – 1000ml per hour (even more on a hot day).

Do not use solid foods at all during training or competition as they will reduce performance.

Sip your drinks frequently (every 10 to 15 mins or so) to ensure you keep an adequate intake of carbs and water coming into your system.

Sipping will also prevent you feeling thirsty – if you do feel thirsty you are already dehydrated and it can be impossible to come back from this in-race.

There is no substitution for sound nutrition – ensure muscle glycogen is continually replaced with small meals containing complex carbs throughout the day.

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