Carb loading worth it for amateur fighters?

Here's the short: I've never carb loaded before. Fighting at the weekend in an amateur bout on sunday, 3x3 mins. Is there any point in carb loading, and if so what should and shouldn't I be consuming and when?

The long(er): I have used the search function but for some reason I couldn't find anything, even though I'm sure carb loading for MMA must have been discussed here before. A google search produces various results mostly aimed towards endurance athletes, so I am slightly confused. An important factor in my case also, would be the fact that I am a heavyweight currently at 240lbs so cutting weight is something I will not be worrying about for this fight.

Thanks in advance for any advice

 

Uh, i could be wrong but i think carb loading is mostly for marathons and shit where they are at risk of depleting their glycogen stores over a long period of endurance exercise. Not for short amateur fights.

 

For 3x3mins it wont help in the slightest. I may be wrong but it may well be a hindrance being loaded up with carbs. I never eat carbs before I train, it makes me feel sluggish and lazy, not really ideal when your about to get punches and kicks thrown at you.

 

Thanks guys. I'm guessing the only thing I should keep constant is my creatine intake then.

 

Wait a second. Not sure about carbing up exactly, but as a HW you should eat well before the fight, and the week of the fight. I went to a buffet 3-4 hours before and ate some cakes and sausages - seemed to give me a boost.

At 3x3, honestly staying calm and relaxed should be enough to have a good cardio.

 

Nope. 9 minutes of activity will come nowhere close to depleting your glycogen stores.

Only things that will help are caffeine, creatine, beta alanine, and bicarb.

 

Are you even allowed to take a PWO before a fight?

 

I did once, in front of everybody, nobody cared. It's amateur, so anything goes.

 

Well I don't use PWO so I won't be starting on fight night. All I'm going to do is eat big, clean meals in the next few days and snack on high energy foods like nuts, whilst keeping my creatine intake up. Need to be more prepared on fight day this time though, last time I forgot to bring water! Doh!

 

No real need to "load", just make sure you aren't depleted. Perceived energy levels are closely tied to actual cellular energy status.

Just make sure your muscle glyc is topped off, not stuffed.

 

Interesting.

 

^This.

It's usually pretty easy to tell when you're depleted, too. You can usually see it in the mirror, and feel it in the gym. It's hard to describe what full depletion looks like, but it almost looks like your muscles have been deflated. You'll also feel slower in the gym when doing repeated explosive efforts, and sometimes lethargy in general. This state can occur if you cut your carbs and calories and up your training during an improperly-implemented cut to make weight. It can also occur in general if you're just upping your training to prepare, but haven't added additional carbs and calories to your diet to compensate.

I don't see the harm in eating a few bagels and some pasta to make sure that everything is good.

 

Pre workout is bad anyway before fighting, you don't want stimulants making your heart beat out of your chest when youre trying to rest between rounds.

 

Caffeine isn't banned anymore. I have a sneaking suspicion that there's an upper limit on the dose allowed, but that's far above the levels required to get an ergogenic benefit from it. Creatine and Beta Alanine should be supplemented well in advance to saturate the body, and bicarb is taken just before an event.

If its a PWO blend with a suspect ingredient which may get you in shit through drug testing, I'd avoid it.

 

There is an upper limit, but it varies by governing body (IOC, NCAA, etc.).

 

My advice for you is that alot of the places I have fought at or cornered at won't allow you to bring food or drinks into the back.. So find out when you are expected to fight and eat like an hour and a half before that time. I usually go with some slow digesting carbs and a protein bar.


Then some places I have been to guys were in the back popping pills and drinking Jack3d before their fights. It all depends how strict the commission is that you are fighting at.

 

Is this your debut or have you fought before?

 

Not every where, just depends who is the commission and etc. I know a guy that was making his ammy debut and he had an unopened can of redbull in the back, one of the commissioners was walking through and saw it and made a big deal about it. Said he was only going to let him fight since it was unopened and then confiscated it.

Also a place that I have fought at allowed you to put on thai boxing liniment before your fight to warm up. Which is pretty dumb if you ask me, that stuff is slick and it would burn if it got in your eyes or a cut. They had some outrage when that was announced so I don't know if you can still or not.

Edit: thai boxing liniment for mma fights

 

I would still do a little carb load the night before

 

This. I wouldn't eat much carbs right before the fight. It might make you crash. Just make sure your glycogen stores are topped off, and best to do that the night before. Then just eat small meals with lots of protein leading up to the fight if you must.