Cycling time trial performance is improved by carbohydrate ingestion during exercise regardless of a fed or fasted state.

PURPOSE: We tested the hypothesis that carbohydrate ingestion during exercise improves time trial (TT) performance and that this carbohydrate-induced improvement is greater when carbohydrates are ingested during exercise in a fasted rather than a fed state. METHODS: Nine males performed 105 minutes of constant-load exercise (50% of the difference between the first and second lactate thresholds), followed by a 10-km cycling TT. Exercise started at 9 am, 3 hours after either breakfast (FED, 824 kcal, 67% carbohydrate) or a 15-hour overnight fast (FAST). Before exercise, after every 15 minutes of exercise and at 5 km of the TT, participants ingested 2 mL kg-1 body mass of a non-caloric sweetened solution containing either carbohydrate (8% of maltodextrin, CHO) or placebo (0% carbohydrate, PLA). RESULTS: Irrespective of the fasting state, when carbohydrate was ingested during exercise, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was lower throughout the constant-load exercise, while the plasma glucose concentration and carbohydrate oxidation were higher during the last stages of the constant-load exercise (P < 0.05). Consequently, TT performance was faster when carbohydrate was ingested during exercise (18.5 ± 0.3 and 18.7 ± 0.4 minutes for the FEDCHO and FASTCHO conditions, respectively) than when the placebo was ingested during exercise (20.2 ± 0.8 and 21.7 ± 1.4 minutes for the FEDPLA and FASTPLA conditions, respectively), regardless of fasting. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that even when breakfast is provided before exercise, carbohydrate ingestion during exercise is still beneficial for exercise performance. However, ingesting carbohydrate during exercise can overcome a lack of breakfast.

Caffeine increases peripheral fatigue in low- but not in high-performing cyclists.

The influence of cyclists' performance levels on caffeine-induced increases in neuromuscular fatigue after a 4-km cycling time trial (TT) was investigated. Nineteen cyclists performed a 4-km cycling TT 1 h after ingesting caffeine (5 mg·kg-1) or placebo (cellulose). Changes from baseline to after exercise in voluntary activation (VA) and potentiated 1 Hz force twitch (Qtw,pot) were used as markers of central and peripheral fatigue, respectively. Participants were classified as "high performing" (HP, n = 8) or "low performing" (LP, n = 8) in accordance with their performance in a placebo trial. Compared with placebo, caffeine increased the power, anaerobic mechanical power, and anaerobic work, reducing the time to complete the trial in both groups (p < 0.05). There was a group versus supplement and a group versus supplement versus trial interaction for Qtw,pot, in which the postexercise reduction was greater after caffeine compared with placebo in the LP group (Qtw,pot = -34% ± 17% vs. -21% ± 11%, p = 0.02) but not in the HP group (Qtw,pot = -22% ± 8% vs. -23% ± 10%, p = 0.64). There was no effect of caffeine on VA, but there was a group versus trial interaction with lower postexercise values in the LP group than in the HP group (p = 0.03). Caffeine-induced improvement in 4-km cycling TT performance seems to come at the expense of greater locomotor muscle fatigue in LP but not in HP cyclists. Novelty Caffeine improves exercise performance at the expense of a greater end-exercise peripheral fatigue in low-performing athletes. Caffeine-induced improvement in exercise performance does not affect end-exercise peripheral fatigue in high-performing athletes. High-performing athletes seem to have augmented tolerance to central fatigue during a high-intensity time trial.

Twice-a-day training improves mitochondrial efficiency, but not mitochondrial biogenesis, compared with once-daily training.

Exercise training performed with lowered muscle glycogen stores can amplify adaptations related to oxidative metabolism, but it is not known if this is affected by the "train-low" strategy used (i.e., once-daily versus twice-a-day training). Fifteen healthy men performed 3 wk of an endurance exercise (100-min) followed by a high-intensity interval exercise 2 (twice-a-day group, n = 8) or 14 h (once-daily group, n = 7) later; therefore, the second training session always started with low muscle glycogen in both groups. Mitochondrial efficiency (state 4 respiration) was improved only for the twice-a-day group (group × training interaction, P < 0.05). However, muscle citrate synthase activity, mitochondria, and lipid area in intermyofibrillar and subsarcolemmal regions, and PGC1α, PPARα, and electron transport chain relative protein abundance were not altered with training in either group (P > 0.05). Markers of aerobic fitness (e.g., peak oxygen uptake) were increased, and plasma lactate, O2 cost, and rating of perceived exertion during a 100-min exercise task were reduced in both groups, although the reduction in rating of perceived exertion was larger in the twice-a-day group (group × time × training interaction, P < 0.05). These findings suggest similar training adaptations with both training low approaches; however, improvements in mitochondrial efficiency and perceived effort seem to be more pronounced with twice-a-day training.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We assessed, for the first time, the differences between two "train-low" strategies (once-daily and twice-a-day) in terms of training-induced molecular, functional, and morphological adaptations. We found that both strategies had similar molecular and morphological adaptations; however, only the twice-a-day strategy increased mitochondrial efficiency and had a superior reduction in the rating of perceived exertion during a constant-load exercise compared with once-daily training. Our findings provide novel insights into skeletal muscle adaptations using the "train-low" strategy.