Training while fasted

kimothy38

I've been doing IF for a month now and it's going well. I do 2 days at 800 calories and eat normally the other 5 days. IF suits me because I find logging calories really tedious and mentally I rebel against the idea of dieting. Anyhoo, I have realized something this week and wonder if anyone else has come across this too.
I see a personal trainer twice a week for a half hour strength circuit. It works out that I normally do Arms not fasted, and Leg day fasted. Last week though the sessions changed days and I found I had absolutely no energy to do arms - right from the get go I struggled through the circuit and it took me an extra 10 minutes to complete. I just thought it was an off day and didn't think too much about it. Then I did legs and breezed through it. Leg extensions that normally cripple me (intense burn in quads like hot water being poured on me) were fine and I actually did extra.
Hmmmmmmm..................what's going on.
That' when I realized that I'd done the arms workout fasted, and had no energy, and did legs on a normal eating day and totally nailed it.
I seriously didn't think training while fasted would have such an impact on workouts as they are only 30 mins and not hard core. So either I'll need to change the days I do fasting or try eating a protein bar half an hour before the workout to break the fast.

Cherimoose

kimothy38 wrote: »

I seriously didn't think training while fasted would have such an impact on workouts

Now you know..
That's why i prefer a simple calorie deficit over IF when trying to reduce bodyfat. Same end results, more energy to get stuff done.

jenilla1

My performance sucks when I try to exercise fasted. I can sit around and do day to day tasks fairly well while fasting, but any kind of activity that takes significant physical effort doesn't go well if I haven't eaten recently. I think it depends on the person, but it looks like that may be true for you, too.

sijomial

It will probably get better....
I did 5:2 while losing weight and at first fasted exercise was horrible. Even a very gentle hour of exercise flattened me!
After a few months it felt virtually the same as fed workouts. It also had a benefit for longer cycle rides in that the need to feed while riding was reduced markedly.

Or you could simply make your low calorie days your rest days of course.

rybo

It's going to take some trial and error. A one time instance isn't that telling.

I can work out fasted and non fasted. I haven't noticed a decrease in performance. Actually one of my more disappointing workouts recently was when I ate something a couple hours before a morning workout. Was it a one off? Was it normal? Who knows?

ocrXfitter

I work out fasted, but I do 14:10 (moving to 16:8 next week) daily so I still take in all my cals every day. You just have to find what works for you.

Ironandwine69

I takes the body a while to get used to IF. If you really like it, keep it up, you'll get used to train fasted.