Macro partitioning
Female athletes should consume 500-1000 mL of a 6% carbohydrate solution per hour during prolonged endurance exercise (>90 minutes) to experience ergogenic effects, regardless of menstrual cycle phase.
If you are exercising for more than 90 minutes, drink 500-1000 mL of a 6% carbohydrate solution (like a sports drink) every hour. This helps maintain your blood sugar and energy levels, improving your performance. This strategy works regardless of where you are in your menstrual cycle.
During prolonged endurance exercise, females should consume 500-1000 mL of 6% carbohydrate solution per hour to experience ergogenic effects.
Why this rating
Based on narrative review of studies on intra-exercise carbohydrate supplementation in women.
Source
Sex differences and considerations for female specific nutritional strategies: a narrative review
Kealey J. Wohlgemuth et al. · Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2021
DOI 10.1186/s12970-021-00422-8
More from this paper
- Female athletes should maintain an energy availability of 40–45 kcal/kg fat-free mass per day to sustain eumenorrhea, bone health, and metabolic function, as habitual low energy availability leads to Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S) or the Female Athlete Triad.Good
- Female endurance athletes should consume 8-10 g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight in the 3 days leading up to an event (carbohydrate loading) to maximize muscle glycogen stores, with particular emphasis on this strategy during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle.Good
- Female athletes should consume 1 g of carbohydrates per kg of body weight in the hours prior to aerobic exercise to maximize carbohydrate availability, as pre-exercise feeding is likely more important during the follicular phase when carbohydrate oxidation rates are elevated.Good
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
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