ArticleJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition2023
Improved physical performance of elite soccer players based on GPS results after 4 days of carbohydrate loading followed by 3 days of low carbohydrate diet.
Article in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Influence of Carbohydrate Intake on Different Parameters of Soccer Players' Performance: Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Impact of sodium alginate energy gel on the marathon performance of amateur runners: a randomized controlled study.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Immuno-oncological effects of aerobic exercise combined with anti-PD-L1 antibody blockade in a murine breast cancer model.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Article
- Article
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Astronauts: An Immunological Perspective.Biomolecules · 2025Review
- Fueling Soccer Players: A Scoping Review and Audit of Literature Related to Soccer-Specific Guidelines for Carbohydrate Intake.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Article
- Sports Nutrition Knowledge and Carbohydrate Intake in Young Male Elite Football Players: Insights from a Case Study of HNK Hajduk Academy.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- The Effect of Dietary Supplementation on Physical Performance in Adolescent Male Soccer Players Infected with SARS-CoV-2.Nutrients · 2025Article
- Prediction of football injuries using GPS-based data in Iranian professional football players: a machine learning approach.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
- Anthocyanin-Rich Blackcurrant Supplementation as a Nutraceutical Ergogenic Aid for Exercise Performance and Recovery: A Narrative Review.Current developments in nutrition · 2025Article
- Liberal Preoperative Fasting in Adults Undergoing Elective Surgery: A Scoping Review Protocol.Anesthesiology research and practice · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCarbohydrate loading is an established sports nutrition strategy for endur- 16 ance exercise performance. We tested if carbohydrate loading could improve the performance of 17 elite soccer players under ecologically valid circumstances using Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
methodsTwenty-two adult Iran Premier league soccer players were divided into a carbohydrate-loading group (CLG) and Control group (CG). The carbohydrate loading group restricted carbohydrate intake for three days to 1.5 g/kg/d while increasing exercise intensity. From days four to seven, exercise intensity was decreased and carbohydrate intake was considerably increased up to 7.5 g/kg/d on the day of the match, during which performance was analyzed using GPS data. The control group performed the same exercise training but maintained their habitual carbohydrate intake of 5-6 g/kg/d. The data were analyzed using a univariate ANCOVA with baseline data from a pre-intervention match as the control variable.
resultsThe carbohydrate loading team scored significantly higher on running distance, maximum speed and the number of top and repeated sprints; the carbohydrate loading group scored significantly lower on player load, metabolic power and running imbalance compared to the control team during their match.
conclusionsOur findings suggest carbohydrate loading enabled elite soccer players to achieve greater running outputs with greater metabolic efficiency and lower fatigue compared to their habitual diets.
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