Influence of Different Amounts of Carbohydrate on Endurance Running Capacity Following Short Term Recovery

This study examined the effect of ingesting different amounts of carbohydrate (CHO) during 4 h recovery (REC) from prolonged running, on subsequent endurance running capacity when subjects were fully rehydrated. Nine men ran at 70 % V˙O₂max on a treadmill for 90 min (T1), followed by the REC and a run to exhaustion at the same speed (T2) on two occasions. Thirty minutes into REC, subjects ingested 50 g of CHO from a 6.5 % CHO-electrolyte solution (CE) on both occasions. Thereafter, subjects ingested either the same CE or a placebo (PL) every 30 min for the first 3 h of REC. The total volume ingested was equal to 150 % of the body mass lost during T1 which achieved rehydration during REC in both trials. Higher blood glucose and serum insulin concentrations (P < 0.05) were observed during REC in the CE trial. Nevertheless, similar run times were achieved during T2 in both trials (CE: 56.9 ± 8.1 min and PL: 65.4 ± 7.8 min) (± S.E.M) (NS). Therefore, these results suggest that ingestion of 50 g of CHO immediately after prolonged exercise, and rehydration with a placebo solution, results in a similar endurance capacity, after a 4 h recovery, as ingesting 3 times more CHO (∼ 167 g CHO) over the same period.

Key words:

Carbohydrate supplementation, prescribed drinking, energy metabolism, endurance running.

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