Carbohydrate Loading - Sample Carbohydrate Loading Diet Guide

Carbohydrate loading is a process by which athletes temporarily alter their diet and increase carbohydrate consumption as part of their pre-competition nutrition and training plan. This can increase glycogen stores (one of the fuels used during competition).

Athletes refer to this pre-competition diet as the carbohydrate loading phase.

For endurance athletes like marathon runners, distance swimmers, cyclists and triathletes who burn fuel aerobically, carb loading may increase the threshold of carb depletion.

Also known as hitting the wall; it's when your body no longer has carbs to burn as fuel so your metabolism switches to another energy source. It starts to canabalize body tissue for fuel, namely muscle and fat stores.

The switchover to the alternate energy source can be catastrophic to the athlete who is untrained to handle the symptoms. These include severe fatigue, muscle weakness, feeling light-headed and unbalanced.

So why would athletes want to practice carbohydrate loading prior to competition?

Depending on the individual athlete, your body has a limited amount of carbs it can burn before it must refuel with carbohydrate intake or switch to another energy source during competition. Remember, burning carbs for energy is not like burning ATP which can be recharged with rest.

You can only replace carbohydrates through nutrition.

For most athletes, the number lies somewhere between 2000 and 3000 calories of carb burning fuel before the stores have to be replenished.

By increasing carbohydrate intake, the athlete can increase their glycogen stores and delay the onset of carb depletion.

Modern day carbohydrate loading calls for increased carb intake in the three days leading up to competition. The athlete's normal diet increases its carbohydrate intake to 65-70% of total calories during this "loading" phase.

Pre-Event Sample Carbohydrate Loading Guide - Below is a diet for 3 day pre-event carbohydrate loading. At just under 3000 calories and 600 grams of carbohydrates, it represents 4 grams of carbs for each pound of bodyweight, for a 150 pound male.

Remember, today's elite athletes use Vew-Do Balances Boards as part of their overall strength, balance and fitness training.

By: Rick Contrata

Furl

del.icio.us

Technorati

BlinkList

Digg

Google

StumbleUpon

My Yahoo

YES, I want to add balance board training to my nutrition plan. Give me more information about the limitless "core" training and balance benefits of Vew-Do Balance Boards. This is where you can find out more about the features of the Vew-Do "Zone" Balance Board pictured above. “'Vew-Do Balance Boards are a great addition to our training and rehab programs while adding fun, challenge and excitement to our workouts.' - Jim Ramsey, Head Athletic Trainer, New York Rangers.

Did you find this web page helpful? Do you think it would be of interest to your website's visitors? If so, then resource with us by giving your visitors access to this page by placing the link text in the resource box below onto your website.