GLOSSARY

Exercise Performance is the outcome of a sporting task under defined conditions. Nutrition is one contributor among training, skill, physiology, environment and competition demands.

For example, an athlete may perform longer in a laboratory capacity test without showing the same improvement in a paced race. Specify the outcome being assessed and compare conditions. Nutrition decisions should support meaningful performance and recovery rather than being declared successful from a single surrogate marker.

A nutritional strategy should be evaluated by the quality and relevance of evidence, the athlete's response and the feasibility of implementation. Molecular signaling, a substrate-oxidation change, a laboratory capacity test and race performance are different outcomes. Association does not establish cause, and a response in one small study need not generalize to all athletes. Define the intended benefit before changing the plan, then evaluate training quality, recovery and performance under comparable circumstances rather than judging success by novelty.

Fatigue is a reduced ability or willingness to sustain the required task and has interacting central and peripheral contributors. Low carbohydrate availability can matter, but heat, hydration, pacing, sleep, muscle damage and illness can also contribute. A late-race slowdown does not prove that all glycogen is exhausted or that blood glucose is low. Persistent or unusual symptoms require appropriate assessment. A useful fueling review investigates plausible causes instead of assigning every performance decline to one missing nutrient.

Carbohydrate requirements vary with the intensity, duration and importance of the work. Daily intake relative to body mass describes a different quantity from an intake rate during exercise, which is commonly expressed per hour. A larger daily target does not mean the same amount should be consumed in every session. Match supply to the schedule, starting stores and practical tolerance, and distinguish grams eaten from grams absorbed or oxidized when discussing a fueling plan.