Is 7 to 12 grams of daily carbs too much?

7 grams to 12 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight is the recommendation made by the International Olympic

Committee for elite athletes.

You can find the general definition of "athlete" in the Tutor Answer Vault on Module 1, and you could think of a "serious" or "elite" athlete as an elite sports person who has a full-time training agenda, with a very high training volume and intensity, such as an aspiring Olympian or world-championship athlete across a variety of disciplines.

In other words, a professional who is "in it to win it"!

Remember that 7 grams to 12 grams of carbs is a range within which you should test diet-wise, whilst monitoring performance markers like power output, RPM, watts, reps, load, time to exhaustion, endurance, stamina, agility, reaction time, speed, heart rate, and so on.

You'll always want to begin testing the lower range: 7 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight for a period of time (for example, 2 weeks), then up the intake very slightly on weeks 2 and 4, and so on, whilst monitoring whether such increases make any difference in your athlete's performance.

If you see performance improvements, it's worth testing further. If not, there’s no point in increasing their carb intake.

By the way, carb loading isn't limited to training days. You'll be learning all about this and how to prepare for the competition in future modules, with practical tips on how to plan for your athlete!

Module 8 (Competition Diets for Endurance, Power and Strength), will address in great detail how to prepare for competitive events of different durations, such as “short heats” of less than 4 minutes which require explosive power, endurance events of more than 90 minutes, endurance events of less than 90 minutes, “multiple heats” in one day, and weekly events.

AUTHOR: Alex Ruani, Research Director

Updated on: 28/10/2026