A Look at Carbohydrate Depletion

Sports Nutrition: A Look at Carbohydrate Depletion

The basic principles of “carbohydrate loading” are well known to both professional and amateur athletes. The concept of carb depletion was popularized in the 1980s after the publication of research in exercise journals and subsequently in popular running and fitness magazines.

The timing was right for this concept to find a niche in the minds of elite and recreational runners, and the technique was adopted en masse as a means of building muscle glycogen levels just prior to competition.

The carbohydrate loading protocol has a not-so-nice phase termed 'carbohydrate depletion'. As the name suggests, the purpose of this phase is to deplete the body's carbohydrate supply in preparation for the next loading phase in the expectation that this would then enable more efficient use of the larger carbohydrate stores.

In order for for carb depletion to fully occur, one would undertake a long exercise session one week, followed by 3-4 days of continued exercise while resticting to the absolute minimum one's carbohydrate intake. Check out a specialist book or two at this resource:



The severity of this protocol is legendary, and the gains were certainly not felt in the short term, with athletes reporting overwhelming fatigue, irritability, reduced tolerance to any environmental, physical or social stimulus, and a notable reduction in performance. The body, brain and muscles were being deprived of fuel, and nothing functioned well, at least in the short term.

Research efforts in the 1980s developed an alternative carbohydrate loading technique that did away with the need for the painful carbohydrate depletion phase. Nevertheless, many athletes still persist in pursuing the difficult regime, and while this seems surprising, there may be a number of reasons why this is the case.

Firstly, athletes tend to be superstitious about what works for them. Endurance athletes may only reach their peak twice a year, so it is difficult to seperate the contributing factors to performance levels and have an accurate analysis of which factors acted positively and which negatively on an individual basis. If an athlete has performed well after a carbohydrate depletion-carbohydrate loading regime, they are likely to try it again, regardless of other factors that may have contributed to their success.

Secondly, stories regarding the success of rivals or famous athletes will either further solidify or somewhat liquify an athlete's analysis of their own experiences. This, combined with the mysteriousness and legendary status of the carbohydrate depletion protocol, may be sufficient to keep athletes persisting with it.
Ultimately, until strong evidence is available on whether or not carbohydrate depletion really works, athletes are likely to continue making up their own minds regarding whether to practice it or not. The choice will really be based on whether the individual athlete believes it will work for them or not.

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