In 2001, sports scientists at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, published the results of an experience that realized and you showed that a small amount of 40 g features easy absorption of carbohydrates during training, develop muscle mass faster than athletes who did not, causing a real impact on body composition, a fact that can be discussed here.
The researchers recruited 15 men aged between 18 and 25 who exercise regularly practiced by placing them under a 12-week training, the volunteers went to the gym 3 times a week and trained with the large muscle groups with the press banking, seated row, military press, triceps extensions, biceps curls, leg press, leg extensions and curls.
- The men performed 3 sets for each exercise using a weight that could only complete 10 repetitions, about 75% of 1RM.
- Individuals rested 1 minute between reps and 2 minutes between different exercises.
Half the group ate water during training sections and half ingested a sports drink containing 6% sugar, drinking 8.5ml per kg of body weight during training, the volunteers also took a drink between exercises and was cited for an average practitioner weighing 90 kg, equivalent to drinking 750 ml, 46g of sugar or 184 kcal.
In addition to a previous experience, the researchers trained men at 4 in the afternoon, four hours after the last meal; here levels of cortisol in men who drank only water, rose almost 100% and men who drank the aforementioned beverage produced an increase of only 6%.
- After 12 weeks, the group consuming the sports drink lost more fat than the group consuming water, although the differences are not statistically significant, the group consuming water lost some lean body mass, while the group consuming the drink sport gained some lean muscle mass, but again, the effect was not significant.
- What was interesting is that after 12 weeks the muscle fibers of the volunteers from the group that consumed sports drink, is developed more in 20% to the muscle fibers of the volunteers from the group that consumed only water, and the effect was greater in muscle fibers fast of type-II which grew 23% faster.
The increased growth seems to have occurred probably due to the inhibitory effect of cortisol caused by carbohydrates consumed during the training sessions, and while most sports drinks decreased cortisol, grew faster muscle fibers of the volunteers.
Bodybuilding athletes according to the study might naturally conclude that it is worth consuming sports drinks during training session, or better yet, fruit, or fruit juice in the appointment of scientists seems to be a good idea, but you could conclude that the training session would be more efficient if the plan shortly after a full meal, the nutritional value of a full meal is much higher than that of a sports drink, so the effect would be even higher but this is at the discretion of each parameter and does not establish a general nutrition.
The individuals tested in this study, trained between 15:00 and 16:00, and most of them had not eaten any food since lunch.