About a week or so back, I did a short article on Calories. Just a recap, Calories are units of energy. Today, we will discuss how to get energy, particularly going slightly into more details on Carbohydrates.
How do our bodies obtain energy? What do they require? Through our consumption, our bodies can obtain energy from carbohydrates, protein and fats. Carbohydrates, in essence, is the fuel for our body. They can be found in most of our staple food such as rice, wheat, potatoes, etc. I guess that's the reason why in all our meals,whether Asian or Western, we usually have a big portion of rice or potatoes. Without them, we will lack the necessary fuel to perform our everyday activities properly.
Scientists and Nutritionists have found that our body can only store a certain amount of energy. It can be stored in the blood, liver and the most of it, in the muscles. So if you run a very long distance, you get your energy from these three places. What happens when carbohydrates are depleted? Your body starts to feel really tired, legs get heavier and perhaps cramps will set in. How do we prevent that or last longer during the race? A means is through Carbo-loading, or sometimes known as Supercompensation.
The aim in Carbo-loading is to try to store more carbohydrates in the muscles. I think the theory is that by having more carbohydrates, especially more than you would normally use, there would be excess. With such excess, it will be stored in your muscles, and maybe the liver as well. If we can store more carbohydrates, means we can last longer during the race. Last longer means potentially less pain. :) So how do we do it? Well I have come across two different schools of thoughts. The first is to eat a lot of carbohydrates a few days before your race. The second is to starve your body of carbohydrates a week or so before the race and about a day or two before the race, stuff yourself full of carbohydrates.
I have been practising the first method for a few marathons. Perhaps it is psychological but I believe it does work for me. What I did was to begin eating more carbohydrates about 5 days before the event. So I ate more rice. I also ate 2 bananas after each meal. Why bananas? I think bananas are a great source of energy (carbohydrates). If not, why do they keep giving it during the marathons? So that's how I followed the first school of thought. By eating more carbs.
The second school of thought is a Starve and Stuff technique. Starve your body of carbs then follow it by stuffing the body of carbohydrates. It is believed that by starving the body of carbs, the body is essentially craving for carbohydrates. It will be desperate to have carbohydrates in its system again. When the stuffing begins, it is believed that the body, now that is rejuvenated with the reintroduction of carbohydrates, will take in more and more carbohydrates than it normally would. This would result in more carbs in the muscles in the event that a starving event occurs again.
So that's how you do carbo-loading. Which is better? I have no idea. I was planning to try the second method but I couldn't. Perhaps I will try it at another race some time in the future. Anyway, I have already begun on Method 1. Four more days to Sundown. Oh well...
How do our bodies obtain energy? What do they require? Through our consumption, our bodies can obtain energy from carbohydrates, protein and fats. Carbohydrates, in essence, is the fuel for our body. They can be found in most of our staple food such as rice, wheat, potatoes, etc. I guess that's the reason why in all our meals,whether Asian or Western, we usually have a big portion of rice or potatoes. Without them, we will lack the necessary fuel to perform our everyday activities properly.
Scientists and Nutritionists have found that our body can only store a certain amount of energy. It can be stored in the blood, liver and the most of it, in the muscles. So if you run a very long distance, you get your energy from these three places. What happens when carbohydrates are depleted? Your body starts to feel really tired, legs get heavier and perhaps cramps will set in. How do we prevent that or last longer during the race? A means is through Carbo-loading, or sometimes known as Supercompensation.
The aim in Carbo-loading is to try to store more carbohydrates in the muscles. I think the theory is that by having more carbohydrates, especially more than you would normally use, there would be excess. With such excess, it will be stored in your muscles, and maybe the liver as well. If we can store more carbohydrates, means we can last longer during the race. Last longer means potentially less pain. :) So how do we do it? Well I have come across two different schools of thoughts. The first is to eat a lot of carbohydrates a few days before your race. The second is to starve your body of carbohydrates a week or so before the race and about a day or two before the race, stuff yourself full of carbohydrates.
I have been practising the first method for a few marathons. Perhaps it is psychological but I believe it does work for me. What I did was to begin eating more carbohydrates about 5 days before the event. So I ate more rice. I also ate 2 bananas after each meal. Why bananas? I think bananas are a great source of energy (carbohydrates). If not, why do they keep giving it during the marathons? So that's how I followed the first school of thought. By eating more carbs.
The second school of thought is a Starve and Stuff technique. Starve your body of carbs then follow it by stuffing the body of carbohydrates. It is believed that by starving the body of carbs, the body is essentially craving for carbohydrates. It will be desperate to have carbohydrates in its system again. When the stuffing begins, it is believed that the body, now that is rejuvenated with the reintroduction of carbohydrates, will take in more and more carbohydrates than it normally would. This would result in more carbs in the muscles in the event that a starving event occurs again.
So that's how you do carbo-loading. Which is better? I have no idea. I was planning to try the second method but I couldn't. Perhaps I will try it at another race some time in the future. Anyway, I have already begun on Method 1. Four more days to Sundown. Oh well...
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