Carbohydrate Loading and Supplements

What Carbohydrate Loading and Supplements covers

Carbohydrate Loading and Supplements is examined in A2 Unit 3, Evaluating physical education. It covers glycogen loading: depletion, repletion and tapering, protein supplements: whey and casein and creatine, caffeine and the misuse of supplements.

The 3 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• Glycogen loading: depletion, repletion and taperingCarbohydrate loading and who benefits, the sprinter, the depletion and repletion phases, supercompensation and glycogen synthase, tapering, the traditional and modified methods, drawbacks, timing and hitting the wall.Open →
• Protein supplements: whey and caseinWhy performers take protein supplements, whey and casein and when each is taken, strength athletes' daily protein needs with a worked example, the risks of excess protein, timing, and protein with carbohydrate.Open →
• Creatine, caffeine and the misuse of supplementsCreatine and who benefits, its side effects and the endurance runner, caffeine and its side effects and status with WADA, use and misuse, contaminated supplements and Informed Sport, and creatine for a rugby player.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Carbohydrate Loading and Supplements further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Depletion phase vs Repletion phase

  Depletion phase: days of hard training on a low-carbohydrate diet to empty glycogen stores. Repletion phase: days of high-carbohydrate eating to refill glycogen stores above normal.

• Whey protein vs Casein protein

  Whey protein: a fast-digesting milk supplement taken straight after training. Casein protein: a slow-digesting milk supplement taken before sleep.

• Creatine vs Caffeine

  Creatine: a supplement that boosts the muscles' fuel for the ATP-PC system. Caffeine: a stimulant of the central nervous system that reduces perceived effort.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is carbohydrate loading?

   Model answer

   Carbohydrate loading is a dietary strategy to increase the glycogen stored in muscles before an event. Larger glycogen stores delay fatigue in long endurance events.

2. 2

   Which performers benefit from carbohydrate loading?

   Model answer

   Endurance performers in events lasting over about 90 minutes benefit most. Marathon runners, road cyclists and long-distance triathletes are examples.

3. 3

   Why does carbohydrate loading give a sprinter no advantage?

   Model answer

   Glycogen stores do not run out in a short sprint. Sprinters rely mainly on the ATP-PC system, so extra glycogen adds nothing.

4. 4

   What happens in the depletion phase of carbohydrate loading?

   Model answer

   The performer trains hard for several days to exhaust muscle glycogen. The diet in the depletion phase is low in carbohydrate and high in protein and fat.

5. 5

   What happens in the repletion phase of carbohydrate loading?

   Model answer

   The performer eats a high-carbohydrate diet for about three days before the event. Glycogen stores refill to above their normal level, which is called supercompensation.

6. 6

   Why does depletion lead to larger glycogen stores?

   Model answer

   Muscles emptied of glycogen respond by storing more than before. The enzyme glycogen synthase becomes more active after depletion.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Carbohydrate Loading and Supplements revision questions

What does Carbohydrate Loading and Supplements cover in WJEC A-Level Physical Education?

3 subtopics: glycogen loading: depletion, repletion and tapering, protein supplements: whey and casein and creatine, caffeine and the misuse of supplements. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Carbohydrate Loading and Supplements organised?

By the WJEC 601-8485-1 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.