Low carb availability impairs power output, muscle activation and efficiency in female cyclists 🚴♀️
Links between carb availability and muscle function.
Low carbohydrate availability reduces power output at the moderate-to-heavy transition, impairs efficiency, and increases median power frequency during cycling in females
Study Details
This new study recruited 9 well trained female cyclists to complete 2 x cycling tests 🚲
Prior to cycling tests, participants completed glycogen depleting exercise followed by 24 hrs of either…
📈 High carb availability (≥ 9 g/kg)
📉 Low carb availability (≤ 1 g/kg)
Key Findings
💥 Power output at the first ventilatory threshold was reduced in LOW
…with no between-trial difference in power output at the lactate threshold ❎
⚠️ Gross cycling efficiency during submaximal cycling was reduced in LOW
⚡️ Electromyographic median power frequency of the quadriceps was higher in HIGH during submaximal cycling
Conclusion
These data suggest that…
1️⃣ low carb availability reduces power output at the moderate-to-heavy transition
2️⃣ possibly due to increased recruitment of higher-threshold motor units to compensate for glycogen-depleted fibres
3️⃣ which subsequently impairs gross cycling efficiency
Carb availability is likely important in ‘durability’ of the moderate-to-heavy intensity transition ✅
Reference
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00421-026-06260-3
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