Physical loading in professional soccer players: Implications for contemporary guidelines to encompass carbohydrate periodization

Despite more than four decades of research examining the physical demands of match-play, quantification of the customary training loads of adult male professional soccer players is comparatively recent. The training loads experienced by players during weekly micro-cycles are influenced by phase of season, player position, frequency of games, player starting status, player-specific training goals and club coaching philosophy. From a macronutrient perspective, the periodization of physical loading within (i.e., match versus training days) and between contrasting micro-cycles (e.g., 1, 2 or 3 games per week schedules) has implications for daily carbohydrate (CHO) requirements. Indeed, aside from the well-recognised role of muscle glycogen as the predominant energy source during match-play, it is now recognised that the glycogen granule may exert regulatory roles in activating or attenuating the molecular machinery that modulate skeletal muscle adaptations to training. With this in mind, the concept of CHO periodization is gaining in popularity, whereby CHO intake is adjusted day-by-day and meal-by-meal according to the fuelling demands and specific goals of the upcoming session. On this basis, the present paper provides a contemporary overview and theoretical framework for which to periodize CHO availability for the professional soccer player according to the “fuel for the work” paradigm.