Glycogen replenishment and repeated maximal effort exercise: effect of liquid carbohydrate.

We investigated the effects of carbohydrate ingestion on glycogen replenishment and subsequent short duration, high intensity exercise performance. During Session 1, aerobic power was determined and each subject (N = 6) was familiarized with the 100-kJ cycling test (100KJ-Test). During the treatment sessions, the subjects performed a 100KJ-Test (Ride-1), then consumed 0.7 g.kg body mass-1 of maltodextrin (CHO) or placebo (PLC), rested 60 min, and then performed a second 100KJ-Test (Ride-2). Muscle tissue was collected before (Pre-1) and after Ride-1 (Post-1), and before (Pre-2) and after Ride-2 (Post-2), and analyzed for glycogen concentration. Both treatments yielded a significant increase in glycogen levels following the 60-min recovery, but there was no difference between treatments. Time to complete the 100KJ-Test increased significantly for PLC, but not for CHO. These data indicate that the decrease in performance during Ride-2 in PLC was not the result of a difference in glycogen concentration.