The DOI matches its Crossref record; 48 of the 48 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Carbohydrate availability and exercise training adaptation: Too much of a good thing?
Abstract
Traditional nutritional approaches to endurance training have typically promoted high carbohydrate (CHO) availability before, during and after training sessions to ensure adequate muscle substrate to meet the demands of high daily training intensities and volumes. However, during the past decade, data from our laboratories and others have demonstrated that deliberately training in conditions of reduced CHO availability can promote training-induced adaptations of human skeletal muscle (i.e. increased maximal mitochondrial enzyme activities and/or mitochondrial content, increased rates of lipid oxidation and, in some instances, improved exercise capacity). Such data have led to the concept of 'training low, but competing high' whereby selected training sessions are completed in conditions of reduced CHO availability (so as to promote training adaptation), but CHO reserves are restored immediately prior to an important competition. The augmented training response observed with training-low strategies is likely regulated by enhanced activation of key cell signalling kinases (e.g. AMPK, p38MAPK), transcription factors (e.g. p53, PPARδ) and transcriptional co-activators (e.g. PGC-1α), such that a co-ordinated up-regulation of both the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes occurs. Although the optimal practical strategies to train low are not currently known, consuming additional caffeine, protein, and practising CHO mouth-rinsing before and/or during training may help to rescue the reduced training intensities that typically occur when 'training low', in addition to preventing protein breakdown and maintaining optimal immune function. Finally, athletes should practise 'train-low' workouts in conjunction with sessions undertaken with normal or high CHO availability so that their capacity to oxidise CHO is not blunted on race day.
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In the citing paper
“there is a deliberate decision to undertake exercise with low glycogen stores to induce a greater skeletal muscle adaptive response (6)”
From Postexercise muscle glycogen resynthesis in humans. (2017) · cites this paper as [6]
In the citing paper
“Traditional sports nutrition has approached fueling for endurance training with the promotion of adequate or high CHO intake to promote sufficient CHO availability [62].”
From Considerations of Low Carbohydrate Availability (LCA) to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) in Female Endurance Athletes: A Narrative Review (2023) · cites this paper as [62]
In the citing paper
“However, over the past decade, low carbohydrate or ketogenic diets have become more popular [62].”
From Considerations of Low Carbohydrate Availability (LCA) to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) in Female Endurance Athletes: A Narrative Review (2023) · cites this paper as [62]
In the citing paper
“Several studies demonstrated that during periods in which CHO availability was strategically reduced (known as “training low”) there was an increase of molecular markers related to endurance training-induced adaptation [31,32].”
From Carbohydrate Availability and Physical Performance: Physiological Overview and Practical Recommendations (2019) · cites this paper as [31]
In the citing paper
“There is also evidence that lowering carbohydrate availability can promote specific adaptations in the muscle.”
From Periodized Nutrition for Athletes (2017) · cites this paper as [6]
In the citing paper
“accumulating data have now demonstrated a potent effect of reduced carbohydrate availability in modulating those acute exercise-induced increase in cell signalling and gene expression responses that regulate endurance training adaptations [57,58]”
From New strategies in sport nutrition to increase exercise performance (2016) · cites this paper as [58]
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Self-citation
Metadata
- Authors
- Bartlett, J. D., Hawley, J. A., & Morton, J. P.
- Affiliations
- Liverpool John Moores University (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Morton, James P.
- Venue
- European Journal of Sport Science
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2014-06-19
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 3-12
- ISSN
- 1536-7290 (ISSN-L)
- 1746-1391
- OpenAlex
- W2002709664
- Cited by
- 230
- References
- 48
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 25 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 10.29
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- European Journal of Sport Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Victoria University Research Repository (Victoria University) (submittedVersion)
- Research Bank (Australian Catholic University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- GlaxoSmithKline
- Australian Institute of Sport
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Muscle metabolism and nutrition
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology (medical) › Cardiovascular and exercise physiology
- Keywords
- carbohydrate availability, endurance training adaptation, skeletal muscle, mitochondrial biogenesis, lipid oxidation, caffeine, protein intake, AMPK, PGC-1α, PPARδ, p53, exercise capacity, carbohydrate oxidation, immune function, protein degradation
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Physiological, Dietary Carbohydrates, Energy Metabolism, Humans, Exercise, Muscle, Skeletal, Athletes, Sports Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
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