Ergogenic effect of carbohydrate intake on the resistance training performance

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ergogenic effect of carbohydrate supplementation during the resistance training, comparing it to a placebo solution and water. Eight male non-training subjects carried out three trials of resistance training, consuming one of the three fluids each session. After training, the subjects were asked to carry out an exhaustion test (fail on concentric phase) in a single exercise to each muscular group. Comparing the average of repetitions, it was observed a better performance on carbohydrate trial in almost all muscular groups. Concerning the biceps exercise, the number of repetitions in the carbohydrate trial (8.0±4,2) was significantly higher than with the placebo (6.5±4,0), and in the quadriceps exercise, carbohydrate trial (24.4±6,4) was higher when compared with the water trial (19.3±3,8) and placebo trial (21.0±6,0) (P < 0,05). Therefore, it can be observed the existence of an ergogenic effect on carbohydrate supplementation carried out during high volume resistance training.