Increase Endurance with Carbs and Fats
The data on fat storage may have no practical value for endurance athletes because the authors were not able to show that the extra fat stored in muscles increased endurance. This is probably because there is almost an unlimited amount of energy available from a person's own body fat. Changing the percentage of fat use from body fat to muscle fat would not increase energy sources and therefore would not increase endurance.
Carbohydrates are another story. Normally there is only a small amount of carbohydrates stored in the muscles, liver and bloodstream. Storing extra carbohydrates in muscles is beneficial because when a person runs out of stored muscle sugar, his muscles hurt and are more difficult to control. In the 1940s, Per Olaf Ostrand showed that a high carbohydrate diet for several days before athletic competitions helps a person store more sugar in muscles, which does increase endurance. Since then athletes have eaten high-carbohydrate diets before competition and often have pre-race pasta parties. Subsequent studies showed that highly-conditioned endurance-trained athletes can maximally fill their muscles with sugar just by eating their usual meals and cutting back on their heavy workloads for a few days before competition.
Related Tags: running, endurance, racing
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Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports -- and the FREE Good Food Book -- at http://www.DrMirkin.com
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