CARBOHYDRATE PERIODISATION ‘Train low’ protocols
We asked Prof James Morton if low-carb training is really worthwhile and advisable for amateur riders as well as pros. “I’ve spent the last 10-15 years of my research career looking at carbohydrate periodisation,” he said. “There is a definite rationale for doing it, regardless of whether you’re amateur or professional. It activates molecular signalling pathways, which instruct your muscles to make more mitochondria and become more aerobically trained, shifting your lactate threshold higher. For a given absolute intensity, you’ll be using more fat and less carbohydrate, meaning that as you get towards the end of a long ride you’ll have more carbohydrate left in the tank.”
A note of caution: lowcarbohydrate training should be conducted very carefully, ensuring that your overall intake is keeping up with expenditure, so as to avoid the serious risk of relative energy deficiency (RED-S). The intensity of your ‘train low’ rides should be low to moderate (Zone 1 and 2) and generally no longer than 90 minutes. Your other rides, especially the highintensity ones, should be carried out in a fully fuelled state. Most riders should not do more than two lowcarb rides per week.
Pre-breakfast ride
1. Postpone breakfast
2. Ride with low glycogen, e.g. commute to work
3. Refuel after ride
Double session day
1. Eat normal breakfast
2. Ride in the morning to deplete glycogen stores
3. Eat a low-carb lunch
4. Ride in the afternoon with low glycogen
5. Refuel after second ride
Long ride without fuelling
1. Eat normal breakfast
2. Ride for five or six hours without fuelling
3. Refuel after ride
Sleep low, train low
1. Eat low-carb evening meal
2. The next day, postpone breakfast
3. Ride with (very) low glycogen
4. Refuel after ride
Fuel for the work required
This one requires more planning, as Morton explained: “This is the model we’ve coined at Liverpool John Moores University: riders adjust their intake day by day, meal by meal, depending on what they have scheduled for the next day.”