Interesting Article re: Fasted Resistance Exercise

[perpetual_injuries]

Just stumped upon this article and found it quite interesting. Only read the abstract, worth a quick look.

Conclusion from the abstract:

Our results indicate that prior fasting may stimulate the intramyocellular anabolic response to ingestion of a carbohydrate/protein/leucine mixture following a heavy resistance training session

Link to abstract and article:

http://www.springerlink.com/content/w8712615714k8150/

[drizzt]

Yep, it's how I've been training for the past few months :nod: Took a bit to get used to, but it's easy once you've done it for a couple of weeks.

Martin Berkhan's site is a good resource for reading up on IF and the benefits (where I started looking). In fact, the site you showed is one of the references he cites in a post of his.

Berkhan also recommends to ingest BCAAs pre and post workout:

For fasted sessions, ingest 10 g branched chain amino acids (BCAA) shortly prior (5-15 mins) to your training session. This does not count towards the 8-hour feeding window that I advocate post-workout; that starts with your post-workout meal. By ingesting BCAA pre-workout, we can sidestep the increased protein breakdown of fasted training while still reaping the benefits of the increased anabolic response as seen in this study. Not only that, BCAAs actually increase phosphorylation of p70s6k when ingested in the fasted state prior to training. So by training fasted, with BCAA intake prior to sessions, we get a double whammy of increased p70s6k phosphorylation that should create a very favorable environment for muscle growth in the post-workout period.

[perpetual_injuries]

Yeah that's actually where I first found the article. I just figured I would post the original source for the sake of reducing the 'Chinese whispers effect'.

I'm interested by the IF type of working out, I'm currently trying a paleo diet, so don't want to mix something else in with that otherwise I'll get confused as to which part is actually giving the results. I'm thinking of trying the IF after about 1-2 months on Paleo.

How has it work for you?

[Chemo]

I think IF is true to the paleo lifestyle anyway

you kill something then eat as much as you can.

Think cave man or animal bro :3

[perpetual_injuries]

Ug likes meat.

[drizzt]

Yeah that's actually where I first found the article. I just figured I would post the original source for the sake of reducing the 'Chinese whispers effect'.

I'm interested by the IF type of working out, I'm currently trying a paleo diet, so don't want to mix something else in with that otherwise I'll get confused as to which part is actually giving the results. I'm thinking of trying the IF after about 1-2 months on Paleo.

How has it work for you?

Oh, true, well there ya go then

I made a very vague attempt at Paleo before settling on IF. The main reason for the switch was I was getting a little tired of restrictive diets, and I quickly found Paleo too tough to follow (although it does depend how rigorously you follow it).

IF on the other hand fit really well with my day-to-day life. When I looked at it, I probably ate in a 10 hour window in general anyway, so shortening that by 2 hours and making it a consistent thing was pretty easy. Aside from that, I follow the training guidelines (BCAA pre/intra/post workout + biggest meal of the day immediately after), target a rough low carb/low cal/high fat non-training day, and higher cals/lower fat/higher carbs on training days. Cycles cals, carbs and fat quite nicely with 3-4 training days per week, with a high protein emphasis throughout (which I don't always adhere to through slackness mainly :shifty: ).

Overall with minimal cardio I've managed to maintain a pretty low bodyfat, and strength has been improving (just completed a Sheiko cycle doing IF). Can only imagine much better results if I stuck to the diet religiously... although part of the diet is that it isn't meant to be overthought.

So in short, yep, very happy, low impact on lifestyle with good results :grin:

[Ronin]

I'd have to agree with Drizzt on this one. In the past I've combined IF with keto, and was able to quite happily do a 5x5 template. Took some time off from IF to experiment with diet a bit more, but have returned to it. Now running it on a more calorie-restricted plan, high pro, lo-carb/lo-fat. happy to say that the last two months' measurement sessions have shown favourable results, BF% is coming down, muscle mass is coming up, definitely no problems maintaining strength. And it really is an easy way to live. No more carrying containers of food everywhere for a start. No more watching the clock making sure I don't become catabolic because it's been 2hrs & 5 min since I last ate, instead of just 2hrs . And both times I've switched to IF, I've found that it has been pretty easy to adjust to the fasted periods. Hunger has only rarely been a problem. In fact, today for example, I didn't start eating until about 2 hrs later than I normally would, and didn't really notice it.

All in all, I'd highly recomend it, but also realise that it isn't for everyone. Not necessarily claiming that IF is better than frequent feeding, just that it is another option. It seems everyone seizes on the idea that "Thou shalt eat every 2-3 hours or thou shalt enter catabolism" and blindly accepts it as the only way, but there are alternatives.

[vracula]

I love If have been doing it for 2 months now,getting stronger in the gym and is just easier to maintain really,I get tired of eating the same thing everyday,however it is easier when you really hungry instead of just shoving food down your throat,my diet hasn't been stellar but eating in a fixed time frame has helped control calories,I haven't seen or felt any muscle wastage.even during the christmas holidays I ate and drank whatever i wanted but remained around the same weight I was before.

I mainly just try to stay away from simple carbs really and maintain my insulin levels .I have started eating blueberries with cottage cheese somewhere between my lunch and my pre workout whey shake,it really killed that sweet tooth for an afternoon snack.

it is very easy to maintain in my opinion,frequent feedings work for some people but the whole starvation mode thing that has been focused upon for years is overrated IMHO.

[ThePman]

I wrote a research review for Alan Aragon's AARR several months ago looking at this paper. The conclusions I reached on looking at the data:

1. There was only a notable change in one measured growth factor at +1 hour, which is associated with the upregulation of muscle protein synthesis, not a definitive measure.

2. The actual change in MPS wasn't measured. No measure of fractional synthesis rates, no measure of protein loss, no measure of net protein balance. I'm wary of any research that extrapolates from regulatory factors without measuring real gains (i.e., measurable growth).

3. Subjects came in fasted, which already implies a lower basal synthesis rate (lack of aminos + circulating insulin = reduced genetic activity + protein synthesis). Add training and now you get a stimulus; a few growth factors overshoot. Because of #2, we have no idea how this plays out over the long run.

4. Six subjects. Untrained subjects. Statistical power is sketchy, at best.

Don't get me wrong, it's an interesting result, but it's also a slice-of-time look at a handful of relevant factors. There's not enough information here to get excited about in the sense of How To Train.

[steak]

Good post Pman 8)