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Carbohydrate for sports
The use of carbohydrate for sports has been well-known for several decades. The amount and timing of carbohydrate intake depends on many factors, including the duration, intensity and type of exercise. Roles of carbohydrate in sport As seen in the previous article, the main role of carbohydrate in the body is the production of energy. During exercise, this can translate to: In the time between training or competition bouts, carbohydrate intake is important to: The amount of carbohydrate an athlete requires during and around exercise depends on several factors: It is important to mention the fact that the individual factors listed above can change with habits. When it comes to…
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What is glycogen?
Glycogen is how our bodies store carbohydrate. It is predominantly stored in our muscles and liver and provides the glucose needed for exercise, particularly the high intensity type. What is glycogen? Glycogen is a branched polymer of glucose used as fuel storage. Plants store glucose in starch, we do it in glycogen (1). Most glycogen in the body is located in the muscle (~300-700g) and liver (~100-200g) (2, 3). Each gram of glycogen is stored in our muscles with 3-5g of water. Therefore, carbohydrate loading will lead to weight gain (3, 4). Roles of glycogen Some of the roles of glycogen include: Fuel source, providing carbohydrate to working muscles (2,…
