Friday Reading Report: Carb Loading

Those of us who hang out in the fitness world hear a lot of buzzwords.  Some of them should be brushed off like annoying insects.  Others have uses, in certain contexts.

Take, for example carbohydrate loading.  Before we all dive head first into the cookies, we need to look at what it is and whether it is appropriate for us.

What it is:  a method of maximizing glycogen stores in muscles before a fitness event.  Glycogen is one of the energy sources for muscle and keeping lots handy right there in the muscles helps reduce fatigue and allows the body to use all its energy sources efficiently.

When it is appropriate:  Carbohydrate loading benefits us when we are going to be engaging in an endurance event that lasts 60 to 90 continuous minutes.  Think marathon or century ride, not 5K. 

How to do it:  Over the week prior to the event/competition, we gradually decrease our workouts and increase our carbohydrate intake.  A week before, we do a 90 minute workout at 70% of our maximum and eat 5 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of our body weight.  By three days before the event, we’re doing a 20 minute workout and eating 10 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight.  The day before, we rest and maintain the same level of carbohydrate intake.

Note:  If the event/competition is less than 60 to 90 minutes of consecutive aerobic activity, there is not a lot of benefit to be had.  Taper activity a few days before competition and eat about 70% of your daily calories from carbs over those same few days.

What I Kneed To Know

I am not a doctor.  I am not a physical therapist.  It is beyond the scope of my practice to diagnose or treat injuries.  That is an important bunch of disclaimers to keep in mind.

Many of my clients have knee issues.  My job, in working with those clients, is to help them strengthen the muscles around the knee while keeping them safe and working in a comfortable range of motion.  (Please note:  I make sure that the relevant doctors/physical therapists/other professionals have released folks to work out before we do stuff and I fully respect any limitations they impose.)

The knee is a joint.  That means it is a place where bones come together.  Weight training does not directly train bones to be stronger; it works with muscles.  When we want a knee to be “stronger,” what we really want is the muscles around the knee to be stronger.

For most of us, the big muscles on the front of our thighs are good and strong.  That means we have it relatively easy when it comes to straightening our knees.  The hamstrings along the back of our legs work to bend our knees; they tend to be less strong, so we want to focus on them.  Also, a lot of knee injuries come from twisting or moving sideways, which means that we need to train the muscles on the inside and outside of our thighs (adductors and abductors, if you want the fancy terms), and work with balance.

Additionally, because bodies are connected wholes, working knees means working hips and ankles.  Strength in those places supports our knees.

Progress comes from lots of little steps.

Fashion Intervention Optional

The most difficult part of workouts, I think, for most people is not what I expected when I started training people.  It’s not lifting heavy stuff.  It’s not dealing with the sometimes boring routine of cardio.  It’s not even the most hated exercises, like burpees, lunges, or YTA.  It’s the stretching.

I am going to blame the Protestant work ethic.  It won’t mind, since it is only a concept and has no feelings.  As we may or may not remember from history, the Puritans imported it into the United States, along with smallpox and funny hats.  The line goes that good people work hard, exercise self-discipline, and practice frugality.  (I seem to be in a frame of mind this week in which I interpret various religious ideas well beyond my level of expertise; sorry about that!)  They (the Puritans) were not really much of a live-it-up crowd.

In the way of culture, many of us have absorbed the idea that we have to be working hard All The Time.  Also, if something feels good, it’s probably either wrong or bad for us or both.

We show up at our workouts ready to suffer.  We will sweat and lift and huff and strain.  And then, at the end, we skip out on the stretching.  Stretching takes extra time, time that we really shouldn’t be spending on something that, you know, feels nice.

Here’s the deal:  we need to sit our inner Puritan down and explain that stretching is essential.  When we don’t stretch, we are setting ourselves up for injury.  We’re choosing to limit our range of motion, which means that as we age we’ll be in real trouble.  We are worth spending an extra few minutes on.