Carbohydrates are the last of the three main macronutrients. Just as with fat and protein, there are a lot of debates around carbs. Before we get into these, let's first find out what carbohydrates actually are. carbs are found in foods including fruits, vegetables, grains, potatoes, pastries and candy and are considered the body's preferred energy source. We're specifically carbs are sugar molecules that are a union of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. Think of carbs as one or more sugar molecules that are bound together and broken down by the body to be used as fuel.

When you consume high carb foods, your body breaks them down into simple sugar glucose, which is then transported throughout the body to provide energy, fuel important reactions and maintain blood sugar levels. Any glucose that is not used is stored in your liver and muscles as glycogen or if the stores are for as fat during high intensity activities such as weight training or screening Your body uses glycogen and converts it back to glucose for new fuel. Have glycogen levels are low, hard workouts become increasingly difficult to complete and your performance will suffer. Next to its importance for workouts carbohydrates have other benefits. They include supplying the nervous system with fuel. well maintained blood glucose levels will directly benefit the nervous system, which not only means better concentration, but also better muscle recruitment, more fatigue resistance and even more workout motivation.

Much of the fatigue of long duration training is due to a tired nervous system and not the result of sore muscles. So providing the nervous system with an adequate source of blood glucose is important for optimizing workout intensity and duration. refueling glycogen stores in addition to glycogen its role as a provider of energy for high intensity workouts. It's storage in the muscle plays a role in the regulation of muscle growth. low levels of glycogen themselves have been shown to down regulate muscle growth. That is just having low muscle glycogen levels, irrespective of training intensity and protein intake can improve muscle gains and increase the risk of muscle loss.

This is just another reason why getting enough carbs is a very important factor when wanting to build muscle secreting insulin, the more carbs you eat, the more insulin is secreted. This is important because insulin has a profound effect on muscle growth. When insulin is secreted into the blood, it binds to target receptors on the muscle cell surface and increases muscle growth because of the powerful anabolic effect of insulin, and the fact that carb consumption secrets more insulin than the other macronutrients, fat and protein, carbohydrate consumption is anabolic to muscle tissue. This means it helps grow it