Abstract

Background: There is a natural linkage between nutrition and exercise physiology. When a skeletal muscle fiber is repeatedly stimulated, the tension developed by the fiber eventually decreases even though the stimulation continues. This decline in muscle tension as a result of previous contractile activity is known as fatigue. Carbohydrate supplemen- tation during exercise delays fatigue by 30–60 min. Ingestion of glucose drink half an hour prior to the exercise improves the muscular performance and delays the occurrence of fatigue.
Objective: To study the effect of pre-exercise glucose drink on muscle performance by bicycle ergography and time to fatigue in non-athletes.
Materials and Methods: A total of 30 male medical students with mean age of 18.6 ± 1.56 years were recruited for the study. Subjects were made to perform exercise on bicycle ergometer in two sessions each session separated by 1 week. In second session, subjects were given glucose drink half a hour prior to exercise. Work done was calculated and the time for fatigue, total distance traveled was noted in both the sessions. Result: There was a significant difference in the time to fatigue (12.09 ± 7.42 min), work done (6964.00 ± 4517.96 J), total distance travelled in the r fi st session is (2.12 ± 1.54 km) in the second session having greater values than in the time to fatigue (7.09 ± 4.96 min), work done (4305.33 ± 3065.19 J), and total distance traveled (3.55 ± 2.42 km) in the first session. Conclusion: The performance is better and time to fatigue is delayed in exercise performed after taking glucose drink.