Research
Energy balance
Ingesting 30–60 g of rapidly absorbed carbohydrate per hour during exercise lasting longer than one hour reduces fatigue and improves performance.
For any exercise session lasting more than an hour, consume 30-60 grams of carbohydrates per hour. Use drinks or gels containing 4-8% carbohydrate. This helps you maintain energy and delay fatigue.
StrongSupportsVERY_HIGH confidence
Fatigue can be reduced by adding carbohydrate to the fluids consumed so that 30–60 g of rapidly absorbed carbohydrate are ingested throughout each hour of an athletic event.
Why this rating
Consensus recommendation based on extensive literature.
Source
Fluid and fuel intake during exercise
Edward F. Coyle · Journal of Sports Sciences · 2003
DOI 10.1080/0264041031000140545
narrative_reviewCited 406×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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