Contribution of carbohydrate feedings to endurance exercise performance

In an effort to determine the effects of carbohydrate feedings on exercise performance, ten male subjects performed intermittent exercise on an electrically braked cycle ergometer for a total of four hours. At the end of the four hours exercise, subjects performed a timed sprint ride to exhaustion. During the experimental trial, subjects ingested a total 172 g of solid carbohydrate. Repeated carbohydrate feedings improved the time to exhaustion at the end of the exercise, and consequently produced higher blood lactate levels. During the exercise, less muscle glycogen was used with carbohydrate feedings. Carbohydrate feedings, therefore, spare muscle glycogen during endurance exercise and improve sprint performance at the end of such exercise bouts.Thesis (M.A.