14 ms·

I've occasionally tried 17 hour fasting followed my endurance exercise such as 8 mile run + 25 mile bike. I feel more energized and "lighter" without food in my

by wppick 9y ago

I've occasionally tried 17 hour fasting followed my endurance exercise such as 8 mile run + 25 mile bike. I feel more energized and "lighter" without food in my system. I also don't feel like I have a "crash" when my body uses up all the carbs in my body for energy. I know many people who feel terrible exercising on a fast, as if they are going to faint, so it might be something you should slowly work up to. I've also heard of taking BCAAs during fasting to preserve or even add muscle mass, but there seems to be conflicting opinions on this.

NikolaeVarius 9y ago
I definitely can't lift while in a fasted state, I simply can't produce a burst of energy. I find running to be easier as it just requires some steady state energy output and Glycogen stores tend to be good enough for steady state. I still like I'm about to faint both times though.
- freehunter 9y ago
  Everything I've ever read on weightlifting says that aerobic exercise during a fast will destroy muscle gains. Aerobic exercise doesn't require large muscles, so if you don't have fuel to power your body it will break down big muscles to power your other systems. My understanding is that it's better to just cut back the weight during the fast, but continue to lift to continue telling your body that you need to keep those muscles and not burn them.
  - NikolaeVarius 9y ago
    Truthfully it's less that I try specifically to work out faster but more that I work out in the morning and simply cannot fathom eating anything that early
  - bitL 9y ago
    Try full-body HIIT, there was some study showing lower muscle loss during fasting comparing to aerobic exercises.
freehunter 9y ago
When I was lifting more in college, I'd bulk for a month and cut fat for a month. My method was "protein-sparing modified fast", where it's still an absolutely massive cut in calories, but you do consume protein and continue to lift. The only thing you eat is protein, I was taking about 1400 calories per day of just whey powder. I'd usually manage to cut about 20 lbs in the 30 days. I would like to add that it's impossible to fast and add muscle mass at the same time. To add muscle you need an abundance of calories since you're literally building new parts of your body from food. If you're fasting, even if you're taking BCAAs, you don't have the extra calories to spend adding muscle, your body will use any available calories to retain, not build, muscle. You might think you're adding muscle because your tone is revealed as you become dehydrated and/or burn off extra fat, which might fool you into thinking your muscles are getting bigger. They're not.

by wppick 9y ago

NikolaeVarius 9y ago

I definitely can't lift while in a fasted state, I simply can't produce a burst of energy. I find running to be easier as it just requires some steady state energy output and Glycogen stores tend to be good enough for steady state. I still like I'm about to faint both times though.

freehunter 9y ago
Everything I've ever read on weightlifting says that aerobic exercise during a fast will destroy muscle gains. Aerobic exercise doesn't require large muscles, so if you don't have fuel to power your body it will break down big muscles to power your other systems. My understanding is that it's better to just cut back the weight during the fast, but continue to lift to continue telling your body that you need to keep those muscles and not burn them.
- NikolaeVarius 9y ago
  Truthfully it's less that I try specifically to work out faster but more that I work out in the morning and simply cannot fathom eating anything that early
- bitL 9y ago
  Try full-body HIIT, there was some study showing lower muscle loss during fasting comparing to aerobic exercises.

freehunter 9y ago

When I was lifting more in college, I'd bulk for a month and cut fat for a month. My method was "protein-sparing modified fast", where it's still an absolutely massive cut in calories, but you do consume protein and continue to lift. The only thing you eat is protein, I was taking about 1400 calories per day of just whey powder. I'd usually manage to cut about 20 lbs in the 30 days. I would like to add that it's impossible to fast and add muscle mass at the same time. To add muscle you need an abundance of calories since you're literally building new parts of your body from food. If you're fasting, even if you're taking BCAAs, you don't have the extra calories to spend adding muscle, your body will use any available calories to retain, not build, muscle. You might think you're adding muscle because your tone is revealed as you become dehydrated and/or burn off extra fat, which might fool you into thinking your muscles are getting bigger. They're not.