Training and the TKD
While an intake of 25-50 grams of carbohydrates prior to training is a good rough guideline,
some individuals have asked how to calculate the exact amounts of carbohydrate which they
should consume around exercise.
For weight training, the amount of carbs needed will depend solely on the amount of
training being done. Recall from the previous sections that a set of weight training lasting 45
seconds will use approximately 15.7 mmol/kg of glycogen. Individuals on an SKD typically
maintain glycogen levels around 70 mmol/kg and performance will be extremely compromised if
glycogen is lowered to 40 mmol/kg, allowing roughly 2 sets per bodypart to be performed.
Assuming ~30 mmol/kg used per bodypart in 2 sets, we can estimate how much
carbohydrate is needed to replace that amount of glycogen. To convert mmol of glycogen to
grams of carbohydrate, we simply divide mmol by 5.56.
30 mmol/kg divided by 5.56 = ~5 grams of carbohydrates to replace 30 mmol of glycogen.
So for every 2 sets performed during weight training, 5 grams of carbs should be consumed
to replenish the glycogen used. If a large amount of training is being performed, necessitating a
large amount of carbohydrate (greater than 100 grams) it may be beneficial to split the total
amount of carbohydrate up, consuming half 30’ prior to the workout and the other half when the
workout begins. This should avoid problems with stomach upset during training. Some
individuals have also experimented with consuming carbohydrates during training. All
approaches seem to work effectively and experimentation is encouraged.
Post-workout nutrition
For individuals wishing to consume carbs post-training to help with recovery, an additional
25-50 grams of glucose or glucose polymers are recommended. In this situation, the type of
carbohydrate ingested does matter and fructose and sucrose should ideally be avoided, since they
may refill liver glycogen and risk interrupting ketone body formation. This limits post-workout
carbohydrates to glucose or glucose-polymers, which are not used to refill liver glycogen (7).
With pre-workout carbs, there will be an increase in insulin after training ends. Even if
individuals do not want to take in carbs after training, ingesting protein can help with recovery as
the insulin from pre-workout carbs should push amino acids into the muscle cells. Consuming 25-
50 grams of a high quality protein immediately after training may help with recovery.
Fat should generally be avoided in a post-workout meal. First and foremost, dietary fat will
slow digestion of protein and/or carbohydrate. Second, the consumption of dietary fat when
insulin levels are high may cause fat storage after training (1).
Summary of the guidelines for the TKD
- Individuals following the SKD who want to perform high intensity activity will absolutely have
to consume carbs at some point around exercise. The basic guidelines for setting up a SKD (from