How carbohydrate intake and muscle energy levels affect self-paced sprint exercise when athletes don’t know their carbohydrate status

Pre-ISE muscle glycogen was greater in the high carbohydrate condition (597 ± 115 mmol kg dry weight) compared to the low carbohydrate condition (318 ± 72 mmol kg dry weight).

• High carbohydrate ingestion led to a 4.9% increase in total distance covered during intermittent-sprint exercise compared to low carbohydrate ingestion.
• A greater hard running distance of 8.1% was observed in the high carbohydrate condition.
• Pre-exercise blood glucose levels were higher for the low carbohydrate condition but lower post-exercise compared to the high carbohydrate condition.
• Maximal voluntary torque, voluntary activation, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion did not differ between high and low carbohydrate conditions.

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