Carbo-loading

It’s not uncommon to hear the saying: preparation for a competition starts the day before. This statement is no coincidence. This is because the right nutrition in the days leading up to the competition can optimally prepare the body for the upcoming exertion.

Basics of carbo-loading

The idea behind this process is called the supercompensation model. This is based on the following observation: after the glycogen stores are emptied and then refilled, higher amounts of glycogen can be stored than before they were emptied. This is where the name SUPER compensation comes from.

Thanks to the overfilled glycogen stores, your body has a lot of glycogen – and therefore energy – available for the upcoming triathlon after carbo-loading.

Studies have shown that this can increase the performance of activities over 90 minutes by approx. 2-3%!

Whether it makes sense for triathletes to replenish their stores with carbo-loading depends on the distance. Carbo-loading is definitely recommended for the Olympic distance and, of course, for the long distance.

The development of carbo-loading over time

Carbo-loading became well-known and popular around 1970 thanks to legends such as Ron Hill (European marathon champion). At the time, he announced that he was boosting his performance with carbo-loading – triggering a whole series of speculations and studies.

Since then, attempts have been made to optimize the process.

Originally, the athletes emptied their carbohydrate stores through strenuous training without any energy intake, followed by 2-3 days on a low-carb diet. Only then did they begin to consume very high amounts of carbohydrates.

However, this method was accompanied by a number of side effects. Among other things, there was an increase in gastrointestinal and psychological problems.

For this reason, a “milder” method was introduced in the 1980s. This involved reducing training approximately one week before the competition and gradually increasing the carbohydrate intake. This method was also able to achieve high concentrations of glycogen, which is why further research was carried out.

In the 1990s, there were voices claiming that starting carbo-loading two days before a competition was also sufficient. This realization finally leads us to the current recommendations.

Current guidelines on carbo-loading for triathletes

From today’s perspective, it seems sensible to move away from the original “hard-core” depletion of glycogen stores. Studies have shown that well-trained athletes react significantly faster and better to the depletion and replenishment of glycogen stores than the “average population”.

A shorter and milder loading protocol seems to be sufficient for them.

Und so kann konkret vorgegangen werden

Don’t start your training with full glycogen stores during the last hard training session before the competition.

If this is to be done in the morning, for example, choose a low-carb dinner the day before and a low-carb breakfast before training. Be careful not to confuse low-carb with no-carb!

For example, you could have a stuffed omelette and an egg for breakfast.

During training, you should then consume slightly less energy than normal. However, you should never go without energy completely!

For example, if you normally consume 70g of carbohydrates per hour, you could consume approx. 40g of carbohydrates during “emptying training”.

A suitable carbohydrate source for this purpose would be, for example, the SLOW CARB from MNSTRY (approx. 35g in 500ml). The carbohydrates from the Slow Carb come from ISOMALTULOSE. Isolmaltulose is a mixture of glucose and fructose, which causes the blood sugar level to rise less than pure sugar.

This allows you to complete your final workout without compromising the quality of your training – and still achieve the desired reduction in glycogen stores.

After this training, you can start filling your stores to the limit (and beyond).

The best way to do this is to eat a recovery snack immediately after training. Try to do this within an hour of training. During this time, your body is particularly receptive to the nutrients supplied.

The MNSTRY RECOVERY SHAKE. This offers an optimal combination of carbohydrates and proteins. The carbohydrates it contains are immediately used to replenish glycogen stores and the proteins it contains boost muscle regeneration.

How I fill my stores when carbo-loading

In the next 3-4 days before the triathlon, the training volume and intensity is usually reduced. This plays into the hands of filling the glycogen stores, as less energy is consumed.

In addition, the carbohydrate intake must be increased to 5-8g/kg body weight. The day before the triathlon, this amount should be increased again to 10g carbohydrates/kg body weight.

A 70kg athlete would therefore have to consume 700g of carbohydrates the day before the triathlon.

For this purpose, easily digestible, quickly available carbohydrates should be consumed. Pasta, potatoes, rice, polenta, oatmeal, bananas, raisins or dates are good choices.

It is also very helpful to avoid carbohydrate-rich drinks and/or bars, such as the PORRIDGE BAR for example. The PORRIDGE BAR consists of oats, apple puree, blueberries/raisins and isomaltulose, among other things, and offers a good, easily digestible source of carbohydrates.

Special sports nutrition products such as bars or carbohydrate drinks can be consumed in between meals or when traveling, for example, and thus help to achieve the recommended carbohydrate intake.

Athletes who do not want to eat so much the day before the triathlon can also reverse the protocol. This means: approx. 3 days before the competition 10g carbohydrates/kg body weight are consumed and in the following days up to the triathlon 5-8g carbohydrates/kg body weight are consumed.

It has been shown that after filling the stores with 10g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight, the glycogen content remains high for several days.

The prerequisite for this is, of course, a reduction in training volume and a carbohydrate-heavy diet.

The right carbohydrate intake in the hours before the start

Carbohydrate intake before the start is also important. This prepares the glycogen stores once again for the high workload.

It has been confirmed several times that athletes’ endurance performance can be significantly increased by consuming carbohydrates before the start.

Carbohydrate intake in the preceding hours is particularly important if the start is planned for the morning hours. The overnight “fasting period” means that the liver glycogen is used to supply other organs such as the brain. This depletes the liver glycogen stores and they need to be replenished before the start.

Of course, care must be taken as to how many carbohydrates are consumed during this time so that the digestive system is not overloaded.

There is a simple guideline for this:

• 4h vor dem Start: 4g Kohlenhydrate pro Kilogramm Körpergewicht
• 3h vor dem Start: 3g Kohlenhydrate pro Kilogramm Körpergewicht
• 2h vor dem Start: 2g Kohlenhydrate pro Kilogramm Körpergewicht
• 1h vor dem Start: 1g Kohlenhydrate pro Kilogramm Körpergewicht

Care must also be taken to ensure that the meals/snacks chosen are easy to digest and well tolerated. High amounts of fat, protein and/or complex carbohydrates should be avoided.

For breakfast, you could eat porridge (cooked with water), white rice with honey or toast with jam, for example.

Closer to the start, a banana or specific sports products such as our RIEGEL are a good choice. Also our SLOW CARB is also very suitable for carbohydrate intake before the start/during the warm-up.

SLOW CARB offers the possibility of supplying carbohydrates in liquid form and also provides slowly available energy.

As already discussed, the carbohydrates from the SLOW CARB are released slowly into your bloodstream. This avoids a sudden rise – and subsequent drop – in your blood sugar shortly before the start.

In addition, a liquid carbohydrate source helps you to start the triathlon well hydrated, which is very important for your performance (and health).

You can find everything you need to know about proper nutrition DURING the triathlon (and nutrition during daily training) in this article.

This guest article comes from our nutrition partner Ministry of Nutrition. The new vegan sports nutrition brand provides Laura Philipp and many other top athletes with the power they need for training and competition.

All information on the individual products: mnstry.com