Table 3.
Recommendations for daily carbohydrate intake for athletes involved in repeated days of strenuous, prolonged physical activity and training
| Exercise intensity | Description | Dietary carbohydrate | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | Easy activity such as yoga, tai chi, walking, or any exercise done at a light effort (can easily talk or sing during the activity) | 3–5 g/kg BW/d | Normal dietary intake is usually sufficient to restore muscle glycogen content |
| Moderate | One hour or more of activity such as walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling at a modest effort (can carry on a conversation without problem, but cannot sing) | 5–7 g/kg BW/d | A diet in which at least 50% of the energy (calories) comes from carbohydrate food is usually sufficient to restore muscle glycogen content |
| High | One hour or more hard exercise such as interval training, running, swimming, bicycling at a modest effort (can carry on only very brief conversations) | 6–10 g/kg BW/d | Postexercise carbohydrate/protein intake, with high-carbohydrate meals and snacks, is needed to fully restore muscle glycogen within 24–36 h |
| Very-high | Very hard exercise for an hour or more or very prolonged exercise such as interval training, ice hockey, soccer, basketball, running, swimming, bicycling at an intense effort (cannot speak during the effort) | 8–12 g/kg BW/d | Postexercise carbohydrate/protein intake, with high-carbohydrate meals and snacks, is needed to fully restore muscle glycogen within 24–36 h |