It's international marathon season and what more of an appropriate topic than carb loading!
Carb loading is a term thrown around often in the build-up to exercise with many myths and misconceptions around it. Over the past 20 years the research has swapped and changed regarding how to do it effectively, who should be doing and what it looks like.
Let’s dig into the basics. What is carb loading?
Carb loading is a strategy employed by athletes competing in endurance events (over 2hr) to optimise muscle glycogen, the stored form of dietary carbohydrates. It can be done 1-3 days in the lead up to an endurance event and aims to optimise the amount of carbohydrate made available as energy, by increasing carb intake and reducing training (or carb use).
Carb loading is often thrown around as something to do before a footy game, a short fun run or gym session. For these shorter activities a good training diet and a carbohydrate rich snack or meal beforehand suffices in getting you the energy you need to perform, and you can always top up during if you need.
