Carbo-Loading Protocol

Carbo-loading is a simple and highly effective method to ensure that your carbohydrate reserves are at their maximum level before a game. It should be started two to three days before every game.

Carbo-Loading the Right Way

What is Carbo-Loading

Carbo-loading is a technique athletes use to make sure their bodies have as much carbohydrates as possible before a competition or strenuous training event. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy for athletic events lasting between thirty seconds and two hours. In the body, carbohydrates are converted to glycogen which is the fuel that your muscles use for action. By making sure that the maximum amount of fuel is in the body ready for conversion into energy, an athlete can perform at their highest potential both physically and mentally. If done properly, carbo-loading can be a safe, simple and effective means to get that extra edge over the competition.

Protocol for Post-Game Recovery

The following simple protocol can be used immediately after a game or strenuous training to replenish spent carbohydrate stores, begin to prepare the athlete for the next game or training session, help prevent overtraining, and minimize delayed-onset-muscle-soreness (DOMS).

Nutrition for Traveling Athletes

One of the biggest challenges confronting the athlete traveling abroad is maintaining proper nutrition in a foreign country in order to perform at an optimum level. This is difficult for many reasons:

• Large time changes interrupt your normal eating and sleeping cycle.
• Not speaking the language makes finding food and understanding what your eating difficult.
• Travel and game schedules are not organized around your nutritional and rest/recovery needs.
• Lack of familiarity with the host city makes finding good eating establishments a challenge.
• Foreign countries mean foreign foods.

It is essential that strategies be put into place to minimize the impact of travel on an athlete’s food intake. The key to successful eating while on the move is planning and preparation.