The Effect of Carbohydrate Supplementation on Multiple Sessions and Bouts of Resistance Exercise

Abstract

The effects of carbohydrate (CHO) supplementation on multiple sets of resistance training exercise during the second training session on a given training day were examined with 6 resistance-trained men (mean ± SEM; age: 24.3 ± 2.1 years; height: 176.9 ± 1.6 cm; body mass: 82.6 ± 2.8 kg). The subjects participated in a randomized, counterbalanced, double-blind protocol with testing days separated by at least 1 week. A CHO supplement consisting of 0.3 g?kg body mass⁻¹ or placebo (P) was ingested during the morning training session, 4 hours of recovery, and the sets of squats performed to exhaustion (STE). The STE consisted of sets of 10 repetitions of squats performed at 55% of 1 repetition maximum, with a 3-minute rest between sets, performed to muscular failure. Performance measured in number of sets (CHO: 18.7 ± 4.8; P: 11.3 ± 2.7), repetitions (CHO: 198.7 ± 46.8; P: 131.0 ± 27.2), and duration (CHO: 77.7 ± 19.4 minutes; P: 46.1 ± 8.9 minutes) were statistically different between the CHO and P trials. The results suggest that CHO supplementation enhances the performance of multiple STEs during the second workout on a given day.