About this Resource
Carbohydrate (CHO) periodisation is where carbohydrate intake is adjusted according to one’s training or competition schedule. The general idea is that, during or prior to competition, carbohydrate intake is high to maximise glycogen availability. Whereas, during training periods, intake is periodically restricted to elicit the purported benefits of ‘training low’.
Grounded in the Research
“commencing and completing prolonged exercise bouts with reduced CHO availability has been suggested as a way to amplify the mitochondrial biogenesis.”
Excerpt from: Gejl, K. D., & Nybo, L. (2021). Performance effects of periodized carbohydrate restriction in endurance trained athletes–a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 18, 1-12.
References
[1] Gejl, K.D. and L. Nybo, Performance effects of periodized carbohydrate restriction in endurance trained athletes – a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2021. 18(1): p. 37.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-021-00435-3
[2] Anderson, L., Orme, P., Di Michele, R., Close, G. L., Morgans, R., Drust, B., & Morton, J. P. (2016). Quantification of training load during one-, two-and three-game week schedules in professional soccer players from the English Premier League: implications for carbohydrate periodisation. Journal of Sports Sciences, 34(13), 1250-1259. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2015.1106574
[3] Burke, L. M., van Loon, L. J., & Hawley, J. A. (2017). Postexercise muscle glycogen resynthesis in humans. Journal of Applied Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00860.2016
[4] Impey, S. G., Hearris, M. A., Hammond, K. M., Bartlett, J. D., Louis, J., Close, G. L., & Morton, J. P. (2018). Fuel for the work required: a theoretical framework for carbohydrate periodization and the glycogen threshold hypothesis. Sports Medicine, 48, 1031-1048. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-018-0867-7
[5] Impey, S. G., Hammond, K. M., Shepherd, S. O., Sharples, A. P., Stewart, C., Limb, M., … & Morton, J. P. (2016). Fuel for the work required: a practical approach to amalgamating train‐low paradigms for endurance athletes. Physiological Reports, 4(10), e12803. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.12803
[6] Anderson, L., Drust, B., Close, G. L., & Morton, J. P. (2022). Physical loading in professional soccer players: Implications for contemporary guidelines to encompass carbohydrate periodization. Journal of Sports Sciences, 40(9), 1000-1019. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2022.2044135
[7] Marquet, L. A., Hausswirth, C., Molle, O., Hawley, J. A., Burke, L. M., Tiollier, E., & Brisswalter, J. (2016). Periodization of carbohydrate intake: short-term effect on performance. Nutrients, 8(12), 755. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8120755
[8] Burke, L. M., Hawley, J. A., Jeukendrup, A., Morton, J. P., Stellingwerff, T., & Maughan, R. J. (2018). Toward a common understanding of diet–exercise strategies to manipulate fuel availability for training and competition preparation in endurance sport. International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 28(5), 451-463. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2018-0289
[9] Mata, F., Valenzuela, P. L., Gimenez, J., Tur, C., Ferreria, D., Domínguez, R., … & Martínez Sanz, J. M. (2019). Carbohydrate availability and physical performance: Physiological overview and practical recommendations. Nutrients, 11(5), 1084. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11051084