Plan carbohydrate intake around training.
Carbohydrate needs around training scale with body mass and session length rather than being fixed amounts. The pre-session meal is sized from how long you have to digest — roughly 0.5 g per kg for each hour of runway — the in-session feed is a per-hour rate, and the post-session dose replaces roughly 1 g per kg to start glycogen resynthesis while the muscle is most receptive.
Carbohydrate periodisation
Pre = weight kg x (window minutes / 60) x 0.5; during per hour = weight kg x rate; post = weight kg x 1.0
These figures are population-average estimates for general planning only and are not medical or dietetic advice. Individual energy and nutrient needs vary widely with body composition, activity, medication and health status. Consult a qualified health professional or registered dietitian before making significant changes to what you eat, and especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, are under 18, or have a medical condition or a history of disordered eating.
Below about 60 minutes stored glycogen covers the work and the in-session figure can be ignored. The per-hour rate becomes meaningful from roughly 75-90 minutes of continuous effort onward.
About 0.4-0.6 g/kg/h suits moderate endurance work, 0.8-1.0 g/kg/h suits hard or long sessions, and rates near the top of the range need a mix of glucose and fructose to be absorbed without gut distress.
It matters most when you train again within eight hours. With a full day of recovery, total daily carbohydrate matters far more than the timing of that single feed.