Weight training and ketosis high/low reps? - any good plans?

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I did some research on the web and is still not too sure about weight lifting and ketosis... Basically i try to do some weights then cardio everyday thinking that weights will help build muscles. I did read some people mentioning 5x5 training and others mentioning going heavy and low rep. I am curious what people here do while on ketosis? My daily routine is about ~40mins weights (high reps for now) M-F and cardio - Zumba/ high "step count" exercises. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
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    There is no real answer here - some of it depends on your goals.

    There is absolutely nothing wrong with either choice: low-weight/higher-reps or higher-weight/low-reps. Both have their place, and often I mix it up and do a bit of both. The combination of using both builds overall strength (low-reps/high-weight) as well as endurance (lower-weight/high-reps). If you stick with one and hit a plateau, switching to the other can help you break through it.

    I personally only do weight training 3x a week, and about 3/4 of my exercises are compound lifts - things like squat, deadlift, overhead press, bent-over row and bench press account for the bulk of my routine. I sometimes add other things in there. On Monday I ended up doing my normal squat routine PLUS over 65 reps of 45-degree leg presses to really shock my legs.

    The truly important things when it comes to resistance training are to use proper form (if you can't maintain proper form, the weight is too heavy, reduce it a bit), and get enough rest and protein to ensure strength and/or muscle gains. (But not too much protein - it's a balancing act.)

    Weight-training has the added benefit of being a form of interval training, and as-such helps tremendously with glycemic control and insulin-sensitivity also.
  • karryann2008
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    I train to meet my fitness goals not to how I eat. I mainly do a mix of heavy low rep compound lifts and higher isolations. Also do circuits. I'm in keto almost constantly
  • Shaselai
    Shaselai Posts: 151
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    my current routine i try to avoid anything dealing with squats and lunges and focus on the exercise on the weight machines instead. the routine typically call for 15 reps 4 sets - it might be too much? I had a fitness trainer for a few sessions and when i trained with him he had me do (forget the exact name) reps from heavy weight to lower weight nonstop like 50lbs 5 reps, 40 lbs 6 reps etc...
    I am not sure how i can identify a "plateau" though for weightlifting...
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    Try both, go for heavy weights and less reps. Figure out what works best for your body. Make sure you eat proper diet, its equally important.
  • Shaselai
    Shaselai Posts: 151
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    Try both, go for heavy weights and less reps. Figure out what works best for your body. Make sure you eat proper diet, its equally important.

    what do you mean what works best for your body? like how can i tell which is better? weight loss or general mood?

    From what I gathered HIIT is good for getting into Keto as it burns out carbs quickly BUT eats up muscles later since no/little carb to consume.

    LISS seems to be good for Keto since it doesnt eat up as much muscle for the duration?

    As for me i dont have much muscle mass to begin with given my weight - obviously i dont want to lose more muscle but I would like to gain more... is there something i can do to accomplish that?
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    Try both, go for heavy weights and less reps. Figure out what works best for your body. Make sure you eat proper diet, its equally important.

    what do you mean what works best for your body? like how can i tell which is better? weight loss or general mood?

    From what I gathered HIIT is good for getting into Keto as it burns out carbs quickly BUT eats up muscles later since no/little carb to consume.

    LISS seems to be good for Keto since it doesnt eat up as much muscle for the duration?

    As for me i dont have much muscle mass to begin with given my weight - obviously i dont want to lose more muscle but I would like to gain more... is there something i can do to accomplish that?

    Ok, hold on there with eating the muscle. No one is eating the muscle in either scenarios.
    In HIIT, your body can't use ATP (energy) from fat oxidation, so it switches to Glycogen or Glucose. Glycogen can provide two ATP from each molecule, in HIIT if the muscle glycogen is low, you would also get two additional ATP(energy) from Lactic acid. The lactic acid stuff is cleared by your body but the by product it is Hydrogen. You won't fall off, but it can be bad for your bones long term. So if you are in Ketosis, the liver works hard to produce glycogen if you don't eat some carbs before the work out.

    In Aerobic threshold, low intensity exercises, the body can run on fat oxidation, which supplies 34 ATP per molecule compared to 2 from glycogen. I personally do exercises which are endurance, low rep lifting to use fat as fuel except when I do my interval sprints.
    Bottom line, remember once your intensity gets closer to Anerobic threshold, you will use carbs/glycogen. It doesn't matter if you are in ketosis or not. So do what works for you best in terms of how you feel, energy levels and could be weight loss too. Tweak as you go, if you feel the need to add some complex carbs add them. Remember, even in the studies when the subjects were starving majority of the fuel came from fats after glycogen in the body was depleted.

    From my own personal experience, my glucose level usually rises after a HIIT, because liver produces glycogen needed to fuel my body. My BHB(ketone) level falls to around 0.7 from 1.5-2.0. In a low intensity lifting or long endurance runs, my ketone level stays pretty much flat with may be a slight fall because my body is using fat oxidation as fuel.
  • Shaselai
    Shaselai Posts: 151
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    i see... so with that said is there a regimen that is designed for people in keto from both HIIT and HISS point of view so i can use it as a blueprint then adjust as i go?
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
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    i see... so with that said is there a regimen that is designed for people in keto from both HIIT and HISS point of view so i can use it as a blueprint then adjust as i go?
    What I do is eat enough carbs to stay in ketosis, (I'm not just in ketosis, but keto-adapted) AND fuel my workouts. I typically have my heavy carbohydrate meal about 1 hour before a hard workout to help fuel it.

    It's not unusual for me to have 50+ grams of carbohydrate in the meal prior to an intense workout. But I'm a big eater and workout pretty intensely.

    As Leonidas said, it's finding what works best for you. This works amazing for me, helping me fuel incredibly intense workouts AND keep amazing glycemic control.
  • Shaselai
    Shaselai Posts: 151
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    ok this is weird but i read elsewhere that people say while in ketosis doing exercise will cause loss slowdown because the body becomes more efficient through exercising... is that true at all?
  • albertabeefy
    albertabeefy Posts: 1,169 Member
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    ok this is weird but i read elsewhere that people say while in ketosis doing exercise will cause loss slowdown because the body becomes more efficient through exercising... is that true at all?
    No.
  • Leonidas_meets_Spartacus
    Leonidas_meets_Spartacus Posts: 6,198 Member
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    ok this is weird but i read elsewhere that people say while in ketosis doing exercise will cause loss slowdown because the body becomes more efficient through exercising... is that true at all?

    Stop reading blogs unless it's from folks like DR Attia or Phinny or Volek . Read the books Art and science of low carb living/performance.
  • rauljg42
    rauljg42 Posts: 30
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    I have done both. I cycle my workout plan every couple of months. What matters is the consistency. Just continue weight training. When you go heavy lower the reps. IF your lifting medium/light increase the reps. Make sure you work out all body parts. Bodybuilding.com have plenty of different plans to choose from. Just stick with it.
  • rauljg42
    rauljg42 Posts: 30
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    Basically describing the Targeted Keto Diet.

    http://www.ruled.me/targeted-ketogenic-diet-indepth-look/
  • rauljg42
    rauljg42 Posts: 30
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    i see... so with that said is there a regimen that is designed for people in keto from both HIIT and HISS point of view so i can use it as a blueprint then adjust as i go?
    What I do is eat enough carbs to stay in ketosis, (I'm not just in ketosis, but keto-adapted) AND fuel my workouts. I typically have my heavy carbohydrate meal about 1 hour before a hard workout to help fuel it.

    It's not unusual for me to have 50+ grams of carbohydrate in the meal prior to an intense workout. But I'm a big eater and workout pretty intensely.

    As Leonidas said, it's finding what works best for you. This works amazing for me, helping me fuel incredibly intense workouts AND keep amazing glycemic control.


    Basically describing the Targeted Keto Diet.

    http://www.ruled.me/targeted-ketogenic-diet-indepth-look/