All forms of carbohydrates are made with sugar molecules. Carbohydrates were once broken into categories according to the complexity of their molecules, or simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates, with the complex variety being much preferred for athletes and others on healthy diets. Now, however, it’s been widely acknowledged that the proper breakdown of carbohydrates doesn’t fall into two clean-cut categories.
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Your body’s energy is produced through a process known as cellular respiration: this is where your cells use the nutrients you’ve ingested through food, along with the air you breathe, and transform them into adenosine triphosphate (ATP) – the fuel for cellular energy.
During an intensive bout of exercise, your body can use up to 200 or even 250 grams of carbohydrates depleting your full store of glycogen, or stored glucose. Once your exercise is finished, those carbohydrates need to be replenished quickly to keep you at your peak athletic performance. Refueling your body and rebuilding stores of glycogen, or stored glucose, is the last critical step of training.
