Very interesting insight about how glycogen storages can play a huge role in your training (article from Cyclingnews).
First, a little information about glycogen from my favorite “I don’t know what this is” website, Wikipedia.
Glycogen is a polysaccharide of glucose which functions as the secondary short term energy storage in animal cells. It is made primarily by the liver and the muscles, but can also be made by the brain and stomach. Glycogen is the analogue of starch, a less branched glucose polymer in plants, and is commonly referred to as animal starch, having a similar structure to amylopectin.
Due to the body’s inability to hold more than around 2,000 kcal of glycogen,long-distance athletes such as marathon runners, cross-country skiers, and cyclists go into glycogen debt, where almost all of the athlete’s glycogen stores are depleted after long periods of exertion without enough energy consumption. This phenomenon is referred to as “hitting the wall”. In marathon runners it normally happens around the 20 mile (32 km) point of a marathon, where around 100 kcal are spent per mile, depending on the size of the runner and the race course. However, it can be delayed by a carbohydrate loading before the task.
When experiencing glycogen debt, athletes often experience extreme fatigue to the point that it is difficult to move.
Thanks Wikipedia for a good insight. If you’d to like to read the whole article go here.
Below is a table of explaining how you can manipulate your glycogen storages depending on what stage of training your at. Incorporating some thought into how you plan your eating can take your training even further.
|
Stage of training |
Training Goal |
Glycogen manipulation |
|
Base
|
Your aim is to increase both strength and endurance,so you’re looking to build mileage and resistance at this stage of training. | Try LOW glycogen endurance sessions two or three times per week, but ensure that glycogen level is HIGH before strength work. |
|
Build up
|
Start introducing speedwork while maintaining your high mileage and strength gains. | Do LOW glycogen endurance sessions twice per week early in the day then replenish glycogen before embarking on strength or speedwork later in that same day. |
|
Consolidation |
You want to mainly be doing high quality sessions, decreasing the mileage and strength work. | Keep glycogen HIGH in the morning before quality work; you could still incorporate one or two secondary sessions per week in a LOW glycogen state. |
|
Competition |
Your aim here is to maximise overall performance. | Keep glycogen HIGH at all times. |
|
Recovery |
This phase is about pure rest and recovery to prepare for another session. | Keep glycogen HIGH at all times. |
