Tapers and Carb Loading

Sounds like foreign language, huh! Nope, this is what an athlete does 2-3 days prior to his/her endurance event.

Tapering means dropping the level of training down to very low intensity or no activity whatsoever. It allows the body to not only rest, but allows the "Carb Loading" to take effect.

Carb Loading often mistakenly gets called "carbing up" but it just doesnt mean sitting down to a big bowl of pasta just before the event itself. Rather, Carb Loading is all about moving your diet from low carbohydrate (high protein) to high carbohydrate. It means breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks will generally have things like breads, potatoes and pasta in it. This goes on for 2-3 days prior to the endurance event.

Why do they do this?

Its not as simple as "carbohydrates give you energy". Yes, they do give you energy but through the process of tapering and carb loadings, you are effectively allowing your muscles (which are unusually resting) to store up glycogen in abnormally large amounts so that when its time to require your muscles to perform over a long period of time, your muscles can do it.

So, tomorrow, i'm gone to sit on my backside in front of the TV and eat a huge big bowl of pasta and ENJOY IT! Its been so long!