Competition Carbohydrate Ramp
Step carbs up daily into competition, then eat efficiently on the day
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 78%
Briggs holds protein and fat steady across competition week and ramps only carbohydrate, building it in a step-wise fashion rather than one large spike. From a Monday baseline (call it 100%), carbs step up: roughly 50-75g added mid-week, about 100g on Thursday, about 150g on Friday, so each day is a visible step higher. The size and speed of the ramp scale to the sport, the athlete's intensity, how many workouts the weekend holds, and gender, with men typically ramped a little faster. Across the competition weekend the athlete stays on normal wholesome foods, avoids overly spiking insulin, and uses sugar tactically only pre, intra and post the shorter event windows. For a peak first-timer this can approach very high intake, but that level is reached only after progressively harder events over time.
Origin
Described by Tim Briggs on Modern Wisdom from prepping CrossFit athletes, cyclists and triathletes for competition weekends with the same carbohydrate-loading protocol.
Core principles
- 01Keep protein and fat consistent and only ramp carbohydrate towards the event
- 02Build carbs in a stepwise fashion each day rather than one big spike
- 03Men can usually be ramped faster than women due to more muscle and glycogen capacity
- 04On the day, eat your normal foods and avoid overly spiking insulin
- 05The goal is to arrive fuelled and healthy, not sweet, dehydrated or shaking on the scales
How to run it
- 1
Set the baseline
Establish your normal carbohydrate intake for the Monday of competition week; for a ramping athlete this baseline may already be 350-400g or more.
- 2
Add mid-week
Around Wednesday, add roughly 50-75g of carbohydrate on top of baseline while keeping protein and fat consistent.
- 3
Step up Thursday
Add around 100g of carbohydrate above baseline, treating each day as a clear upward step.
Pro tip Ramp men slightly faster than women given greater muscle mass and glycogen storage.
- 4
Peak Friday
Add around 150g of carbohydrate above baseline heading into the weekend.
- 5
Eat efficiently on the day
Over the competition weekend stay on normal wholesome foods, avoid big insulin spikes, and use sugar only in the pre, intra and post micro-windows around each event.
Pro tip Add roughly 250 extra grams of carbohydrate on top of baseline on a comp day if two big days are back to back.
Watch out Don't smash sugars and sweets left, right and centre on the day just because everyone else is.
In the wild
A CrossFit athlete with a ~350g baseline holds protein and fat steady, adds ~60g Wednesday, ~100g Thursday and ~150g Friday. Across the weekend they stay on rice, sweet potato and chicken, and use quick sugar only immediately around each workout rather than grazing sweets all day.
→ Arrives fuelled and healthy, performing at full output without a dehydrated, sugar-spiked crash.
Common mistakes
Spiking sugar all day at the comp
Grazing sweets left and right overspikes insulin; sugar should be used tactically only pre, intra and post each event.
Jumping to elite carb volumes untrained
Very high loads (near a kilo of carbs) only work after progressively harder events; a first-timer can't tolerate them straight away.
Is it for you?
Best for
Athletes from powerlifting through CrossFit to endurance who don't have to cut to a weight class.
Not ideal for
Fighters or lifters who must make a low weight class and therefore can't freely load carbohydrate.
From the transcript
“we'll keep fats and proteins consistent yep I'll just ramp up the carbohydrates towards workout one”
“Wednesday we'll probably add 50 to 75 grams of carbohydrate okay Thursday about 100 Friday 150”
From the episode
How To Eat For Performance - Tim Briggs - #070
Tim Briggs