Been intermittent fasting for a few months now, i try going from 8pm until 12pm lunch time without eating. I train around 7am for long runs (around 5-20km) during the week fasted, and then around 6pm for the high intensity workout (non fasted). Body weight and fat percentage are down, muscle mass is up but not by a large amount. However on race day i do eat a breakfast as i rely on that meal to get me through to the first aid station, I've never raced fasted, and would not want to try it to be honest. But as a life style choice it's an easy thing to do.
I been training for half marathons for years before starting to train for triathlons, and because of work and kids I have to do all my training first thing in the morning. I have to get up at 4:30am to get my exercise and have run up to 13 mile training runs. I just don't have time to eat and then wait to digest my food before I exercise, otherwise I'd have to be up at 3:30am and I'd get no sleep. So that means I've been doing nearly all my workouts as fasted workouts for almost 10 years, now. That includes long runs, tempo runs, interval runs, and every other type of run, plus now doing swimming and bike riding. I do eat before races, but almost never before my training in the morning. Been trying to practice eating before & during my Saturday training to get some practice in for my triathlons, but that's the only time I ever eat before or during a workout.
N=1, but I swam competitively for years and had 2 hour morning sessions year-round for nearly 8 years and almost never ate before hand. I didn’t miss more than 1-2 days of school a year, so I’m not sure that training fasted compromises your immune system.
I regularly (3 days a week) do a 90 minute fasted ride first thing before work. It's pretty high intensity with a few big hills. When I first started doing it, I struggled with the lower energy levels but now I am really used to it and can go pretty hard for the whole session. I read somewhere that the body can store glycogen for about 90 mins so I guess that supports that theory anyway. What I like about fasting and exercise is your body is not over reliant on gels, carb drinks etc… Anyway, interesting stuff :-)
Fasted training helped me in getting good at knowing the signals from my body and to know how to deal with it. When running, I run at low intensity level for about 50 minutes. Its ok to be hungry, but not to feel like starving.
When I was in the Army, we would conduct physical training at 6:30 AM Monday through Friday and I would very rarely eat before that. The training we conducted varied in intensity from easy to maximum efforts.
Exercise without breakfast is not fasting, a minimum of 12 hours with no food is then considered as fasting, your body will not switch to fat decomposition state and start to burn fat just because you skip your breakfast, it will still use the stored glycogen as the primary fuel until it is depleted.
This is the best vid I found so far on fastest training. Thanks for making the effort to get an expert involved in front of camera. and explaining it together with her. :)
Interesting I always thought fasting training was good for weight loss. I had the same misconception as others. I also thought that fasting training was all about NO FOOD I didn’t know all it is is no carbs. I’ll adjust with the next time I do one as I try to do 1-2 fasting training sections per week in my low to moderate training weeks. Great video!
First, GTN, you guys rock! My ask: While you covered fasted vs. fueled and what is your pre-race breakfast, how about a mini cooking show and recipes for breakfast?
Really learned a lot from this one, thanks for posting it up. I usually do a fasted lunch-run, and I can definitely relate to the experiences shared in this. Nice to see some hard science getting into the videos, it's useful. 👍
I have been doing intermittent fasting (16/8) for 4 months now and I will NEVER stop this amazing lifestyle. Now I always sport fasted in the mornings. The body is saternated with energy and fat, thus there is no need to eat prior to a few hours of sports. Unless you are doing a very heavy demanding thing.
I am not doing triathlon, but am cycling, running and doing strength workouts. If the cycling/running session is slow and under 1.5 hours OR I am doing intervals workout for less than 45 minutes, I don't have to eat beforehand. I usually have my last meal at 6pm and do the workouts at 12 am next day. This is not a problem. I am following the warrior diet (intermitted fasting). It works for me but it took around 3 weeks to get used to it. For me the main advantage is to be independent from frequent eating. Doing a slow 2 hour run is also no problem if I didn't eat 24 hours. But it depends on the person I guess. Even as a child I had no problems with undersugar even if I didn't eat the whole day and playing and running outdoors. What I have learned form my years of eating this way: Reduce your carbohydrate input. No carb is a bad idea, but I have slightly reduced my carbo input. I have no figures, but for ecample I would eat 10 eggs and 1 peace of bread or 200g of cheese and 150g of rice. And the most important thing I learned: Test several approaches, keep what works for you and remove what doesn't.
I use fasted training during my recovery sessions. I think it has made a bit of a difference when I then go out for the longer sessions because I need less fuel and seem to perform a bit better.
Had a fasted morning ride this morning, that said I didn't keep the intensity down because I done 30 minutes @ 300w, then the second 30 minutes at 280w on the bike. It may be down to being used to it, but I find a certain intensity is good (sustainable levels instead of sharp harder intervals).
What about doing an Ironman while being on a ketogenic diet? I’m currently 22 days in on my keto diet and 13 days on my Ironman Training. So far so good but I haven’t done more than two hours sessions. Once I’m fat adapted, could I go for 3 to 4 hours? Thank you for the awesome content you guys are producing here.
I have gotten used to doing all of my sessions fasted but I have breakfast before my long run and ride in the weekend if they’re longer than 2 hours. I’ve also found fasted cardio is a really good method of weight loss for me.
How’s about high fat/low carb, and vegan trends? HFLC swears that being fat-adapted is best for distance events, but there are a lot of pros out there that say vegan (higher carb) is better for recovery.
I ride for one hour before my first meal of the day. I ride, get back, shower, check stocks, and eventually eat a carb free breakfast which might end up being eaten around lunch time. The pounds are falling off and I feel terrific.
I enjoyed your presentation and maybe next time, go for several days and then compare? My morning fasted bike commutes are a sort of lifestyle choice and while there are times when I might eat something beforehand, I really enjoy my 15-mile commute sans breakfast, even when I am racing the time clock. But I suppose the length/time is appropriate as it takes me an hour to 75 minutes to cover that distance and I do it year around so I am used to it and it has been my understanding that fasted workouts are most beneficial when they are done over time, teaching the body to better burn fat when carbs are not within easy reach. Or something like that.
Hey, great video, PLEASE can you do more nutrition videos. Allow me to comment some more. I really struggle to get proper nutrition, I run almost always breakfast-free, simply cannot run with full stomach. Q: how do you guys train after breakfast, what is the length of your break between meal and session. Is it st. you get used to? I need st like 2-3h break before a run.
Same for me, my best runs are in the early morning with an empty stomach, having eaten before a workout often gives me stitches For me riding fueled works better, how's that going for you? (Mainly commented to get notified about answers to your question lol)
I find it depends on what I eat. A smallish bowl of pasta or rice and some fruit juice goes down in 45minutes for me. But stuff with milk or oats or any thing complex or that has fat in it takes about 3hours+ for me
Hi Jan, It depends what I eat. If I keep it dry and simple such as toast I can run straight after but I try to avoid much milk just before an intense session. Again I can eat closer to cycling than I can to running.
I’m not sure I agree with this video. They’re saying not to do strenuous activity. After three months of acclimating to one meal per day (6pm), I started a strenuous training regiment, and I’m kicking my training partner’s butts... and I train during my lunch hour, and am still fine to wait to eat until 6pm. Maybe look more into the science before you go talking like you understand it. I just ran a 3:37 marathon, fasted. No bonk, but both of my 3 meal per day buddies struggled after 18-20 miles. OMAD is pretty bad ass. They don’t listen, but after seeing me kick their butts this weekend, they’re suddenly more curious. The body has to adjust, but I’ve been doing OMAD for 6 months, and I’ve never felt stronger or more stable. It’s awesome.
Maybe its just that you train more than them, where top athletes can burn about twice the amount of fat a normal person can. In combination with that long runs like marathons and over 20km runs you have mostly depleted your storages, and would only run on fat if you do not supply your body with continuous water and energy
There are so many things wrong in this video, saying fasting is no good for immune system is one of them, I wish they had engaged a nutrition scientist (not nutritionist) to discuss this topic than find someone who don’t really know the science, I bet she would say breakfast is the most important meal of the day too.
Great video guys. I try to do some of my commutes of around 35 mins in Z2 fasted. Is this ok? I would love more nutrition videos. Keep up the good work👍
I enjoy my fasted workouts but I have to admit sometimes I feel flat on the bike some times but running I love it.. I never do longer than an hour session though.. it saves so much time and your body gets used to it.
Very well done! But there was one aspect that was confusing: When doing fasted training, should you also avoid fat? Why? Because you want to train your body to extract energy from its fat reserves. However, if you ingest some fat immediately before your fasted training, will the fat you've ingested short-circuit the goal, causing your body to use the newly ingested fat instead of the stored fat? If ingested fat does muck up the process, then the only food you should eat within 4-6 hours before fasted training is protein.
Lost 40 lbs in 1 semester of college running fasted 3 or so days per week. So I would say it works great for weight loss. I feel a lot better fueled fasted in the morning than running in the afternoon to be honest. Its just learning about your own body.
I don't understand why you can't do hard fasted sessions. I did almost 2 months of riding every other morning to work, high effort for 45-55 minutes, and then I ate breadkfast at work. I think it only doesn't work if you are trying to do a hard session for longer than an hour, but anything less, you should be able to train up to that.
That is something I couldn't understand either until I started studying sports nutrition. I think that the dietitian chose wrong words by stating that you "can't". Of course you can. You can do whatever you want. However, it is not optimal as she mentioned for a few reasons: 1) immunity 2) carbohydrates (and ketones) are muscle sparing. If you do an intense session, your body will break down muscles for energy. This does not need to pose a risk for a recreational athlete, but if you do it consistently, several times a week over a year, you are going against yourself. 3) excessive stress on your body 4) The point of fasted training, as it was mentioned is to train your fat burning. It does not matter if you are fasted or fed, once you cross certain level of intensity, you will start burning carbs as a primary source of fuel (check point 2). To conclude, you can do it, but it is better to get some carbs and proteins before your harder sessions. Hope it helps you understand it better ;)
I tend to burn off around 2000+ calories at least five consecutive days per week fasted. Since early adulthood I have trained/exercised on an empty stomach. I eat food usually 16-22 hours after my past meal, I may have done 2-3 training sessions prior to eating. FYI fasting and intermittent fasting is great for naturally boosting HGH levels. PEACE!
It would be good to point out that fat adaptation only realy becomes of intrest in 70.3 or 140.6 events. A discussion on measuring the level of fat adaptation would be intresting and how does it change the fuelling strategy.
well, triathletes aren’t necessarily restricted to triathlons are they ? A lot of them do road races as well, like marathons. You can benefit from fasted training to avoid the dreaded 30k wall of a marathon. It’s true that your glycogen stores can get you through most shorter distance races. With that said, the ability to use fat stores can also help you in getting faster, because you’ll learn to deplete your glycogen stores a little slower. It might not be useful for a sprint distance triathlon, but for an olympic distance triathlon or a half marathon it can be useful. Sure it might not change your nutrition strategy on these events (fast carbs all the way), but it can make you slightly faster. Given that you also work on low stores it can also be useful for your swimming/cycling/running economy as well, again helping you getting faster. Fasted workouts is not only about “not bonking” during a race. I don’t know about the fuelling strategy though, but I’m not sure it might be related to your ability to use different energy sources. Slow release carbohydrates are still carbohydrates, if you try to ingest fats (in the form of cheese for instance) your body may not have time and your gut might not receive enough blood flow to break them down, but proteins may be useful for long events, especially towards the end because that means your body will have them readily available to reconstruct all those broken muscle fibers. I’ve heard that a good window for that is 20 to 30 minutes after a workout, but I’ve also seen some races where they would have ham sandwiches at some aid stations, so they might be very useful indeed.
I experimented with faster vs fueled rides. I think its always better to carb up before any workout and fuel for the intensity. Instead of no carbs try low carbs, go for fruit and limit over eating throughout the day. Better said than done🍕🍟
That's not really gonna do anything. Your body isn't going to be doing any muscle repair while you're training. That's for afterwards. Sorta like trying to brush your teeth while eating a chocolate bar
I do all of my sessions fasted it is so easier on an empty stomach. My muscles are still full of glycogen from the day before. I do up to 20k. I also do my hard sessions fasted too and have breakfast straight after.
I wish I watched this video before fasting and climbing a mountain on my tribike. I blew up and was barely able to get home with lots of muscle injury.
Saying that an athlete cant train on a low carb based diet is bullshit, some of the worlds best endurance athletes train low and race high, meaning that you train low on carbs and when its raceday you eat carbs during the race. It takes some time for the body to get used to using fat as energy, but when it does its much more effective
@@linksmx She's NOT saying 'an athlete can't train on a low carb diet' - and she DOES recommend getting 'the body used to using fat as energy' - she suggests fasting training 3x week!
The problem with gastes training after they years of doing it, is a potential (really High) liver damage, so without hepatic glycogen you stress way to hard your liver, if you train fasted, please take a blood analysis every 3 months to look after your hepathic function.
I tried biking to the pool then back to my house without eating :-\ I should've watched this video before leaving. I definitely needed food not even halfway through the swim.
I would disagree with the low energy on the fasted day, I have trained with weight and played tennis for 3-4 hours while fasted and on the fasted day I never got tired, I had the same amount of energy as when I started when I finished, and I my energy levels remained the same, I never got tired, and I had more energy because of utilizing ketone bodies for fuel and because of low insulin! Please tell me that they weren't training or running in a fasted state without water? Okay and when I eat I get tired more when I train! I could also be used to IF more and training in a fasted state more! But still you should try it
Been fasting for over a year and every day walk run 8k - 12k i also add sprints and hills on some days i really dont have a problem with sickness or any lack of energy .I am considering doing my first triathlon and my primary concern has always been should i eat b4 or continue with my fast into the 18-20 hr which doing the race will take me to get to my first meal ..thanks for the info , i will try to eat on race day
Quite often I fast whole day for upto 18hrs and then cycle 1.5hrs including uphill back home. Not intense though. I am much better in cadence. And feel fresh and much lighter on the bike as no food in tummy, no water in muscles and all carbs depleted in muscles and liver stores. If I can do it anyone can.
You're not carb depleted after an overnight fast! Your liver might be a bit depleted but your muscle glycogen is still there. How long you can exercise fasted depends how much your body is used to it so it is trainable. 3.5 hours is my limit from a 14 hour overnight fast but I regularly do 60-90 minutes fasted on the bike, in fact I always start my morning (8-9am) rides fasted. An espresso though obviously! 😁
Easiest way to do fasted training is to do a LCHF diet and intermittent fasting 18/6. If your body still burn carbs as the main source of energy then fasted training can be difficult.
I always get out and run at 5:30AM with no breakfast for up to 10 miles. I’ve done up to 18 miles fasted and fine with low intensity and long runs. Also do up to 30 mile easy rides fasted a couple of times a week. Can’t do speed sessions well fasted though.
While happy to see you guys are covering more and more nutrition topics, honestly in this case, I am a bit shocked how inadequate some of the information given in this video is. You don’t reach actual carb depletion just within a couple of hours. It’s the liver glycogen that you run out of relatively fast (but not even that fast), your muscle stores don’t deplete so easily as they are big. Elsewise, what sense would carb-loading on a pre-race day have if you depleted your stores over night anyways? How long and how intense? Well, that totally depends on the level of fat adaption you’ve reached. There’s enough people out there who have been training fasted every single day over years. Watch your own vid where you asked PROs what they have for breakfast on RACE DAY. There you will see how much variety on the no->low->high carb scale there is - even in the context of RACING(!). If your expert’s opinion was correct, Matt Reed should bonk after 5 minutes into the swim.
I NEVER eat before training, I essentially fast train every time. Gonna start eating breakfast beforehand and experiment a little, just hate the idea of feeling full and sick throughout a run🤢
Last time I checked scrambled eggs won't carb you up ? I have no problem with shorter rides fasted , but if you want to go for anything more than an hour and half to two, would be wise to carb up
I have to take this information with a touch of scepticism. Speaking from experience I get zero side-effects from training fasted and over extended periods, we're talking weeks and months and I've yet to have an issue with my immune system or fatigue. Nor have I found any change to my metabolism or more particularly fat synthesis - though I understand this could be down to genetics. I'm always interested in the actual science-based evidence so in this case what the dietician has said and in relation to what she said specifically about training fasted helping to "adapt the physiological system.." and "to utilise their fat stores more efficiently", the answers are a little wishy washy for me. I was hoping to actually get into the science buts and bolts behind it all to hopefully come away with some new understanding. It's a very common sight because these 'experts' on nutrition like to think they know the answer but the truth is they don't for certain so they beat around the bush by delivering convoluted answers such as those given in the video. I mean her answer for when to train fasted and why was insulting, it's 'better to fast train in the morning because it's easier to just get up and go'? How about this question "when is it best to wear shoes and at what time?", I'll get this "well in my professional opinion it's best to put your shoes on just before you go outside". I like to think I figured out how to be practical around the age of 15. For me a waste of time this video.
"Not more than 3 sessions a week" - had a laugh. I'm doing a 5k swim set 6 days a week, plus a bike ride to and from the pool. Also do hard intensity work in those session. Doesn't affect the imune system or anything...
When I switched to training before food in the mornings my body fat percentage plummeted! From 10% to 7% I feel so energetic before food now after 1.5 years of this madness! Highly recommend.
hi! I do most of my workouts in the morning before breakfast and work, but am trying to do some sweet spot and even Vo2 max interval work...is there any good way to do these workouts in the mornings?
I hope they update this video because what the dietitian said in this video is not backed by modern science, especially the part she said fasting is bad for immune system, which has been proven not true scientifically.
I been thinking of trying this but I'm far from as fit as I want to be and also I got diabetes (type 2). Is this something I should (or even could) try, especially with my diabetes in mind?
That really depends on the amount you eat, what you eat and how good you are at training on a full stomach. If you feel comfortable to train, that is usually a good starting point. Beyond this, it's quite difficult to answer without more information.
I also have been fasting for years, I entered a cycling race once and I had use go number 2 about 10 minutes into a very steep 20 mike hill climb event. Anybody ever try to ascend while fighting off bubble guts? Breakfast and I are no longer on speaking terms.
1st what is that that looks delicious at 2:34??? Second. Iv wrestled my whole life and people who are not used to fasted exercise mast Mikey are letting their brain tell them they are hungry and tired. I wake up 3am run right away and do anywhere from easy runs to 10mile speed training and I feel fine. I only feel before my long runs on Sunday’s.
One may be carb depleted in their liver but muscles would still be fully loaded unless they had been depleted with an exercise before a fasted run. So I still don't get how it improves fat metabolism in itself. Once your muscles are low in glycogen then yes, you start training your fat metabolism...but not before I guess.
You cant beat the bullet proof coffee (with Creatine) prior to an early session. Haven't looked back since giving it a go. Try it with pure peanut butter instead of butter...
This experiment will be flawed because it takes weeks or months to get USED TO EXERCISING VIGOROUSLY FASTED. However once your body adapts to it IT IS FANTASTIC. PS. YOU CAN DO IT EVERYDAY THE BODY CAN EVEN ADAPT TO GOING HARD FASTED. THE STRESS WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER ITS NOT DAMAGING.
Been intermittent fasting for a few months now, i try going from 8pm until 12pm lunch time without eating. I train around 7am for long runs (around 5-20km) during the week fasted, and then around 6pm for the high intensity workout (non fasted). Body weight and fat percentage are down, muscle mass is up but not by a large amount. However on race day i do eat a breakfast as i rely on that meal to get me through to the first aid station, I've never raced fasted, and would not want to try it to be honest. But as a life style choice it's an easy thing to do.
I been training for half marathons for years before starting to train for triathlons, and because of work and kids I have to do all my training first thing in the morning. I have to get up at 4:30am to get my exercise and have run up to 13 mile training runs. I just don't have time to eat and then wait to digest my food before I exercise, otherwise I'd have to be up at 3:30am and I'd get no sleep. So that means I've been doing nearly all my workouts as fasted workouts for almost 10 years, now. That includes long runs, tempo runs, interval runs, and every other type of run, plus now doing swimming and bike riding. I do eat before races, but almost never before my training in the morning. Been trying to practice eating before & during my Saturday training to get some practice in for my triathlons, but that's the only time I ever eat before or during a workout.
It _always_ looks like he's about to have a laugh attack when interviewing 😆
N=1, but I swam competitively for years and had 2 hour morning sessions year-round for nearly 8 years and almost never ate before hand. I didn’t miss more than 1-2 days of school a year, so I’m not sure that training fasted compromises your immune system.
have run fasted for over 40 years [up to 30 milers] with no problems ...
I regularly (3 days a week) do a 90 minute fasted ride first thing before work. It's pretty high intensity with a few big hills. When I first started doing it, I struggled with the lower energy levels but now I am really used to it and can go pretty hard for the whole session. I read somewhere that the body can store glycogen for about 90 mins so I guess that supports that theory anyway. What I like about fasting and exercise is your body is not over reliant on gels, carb drinks etc…
Anyway, interesting stuff :-)
Fasted training helped me in getting good at knowing the signals from my body and to know how to deal with it.
When running, I run at low intensity level for about 50 minutes.
Its ok to be hungry, but not to feel like starving.
When I was in the Army, we would conduct physical training at 6:30 AM Monday through Friday and I would very rarely eat before that. The training we conducted varied in intensity from easy to maximum efforts.
Same here, breakfast was afterwards.
Exercise without breakfast is not fasting, a minimum of 12 hours with no food is then considered as fasting, your body will not switch to fat decomposition state and start to burn fat just because you skip your breakfast, it will still use the stored glycogen as the primary fuel until it is depleted.
This is the best vid I found so far on fastest training. Thanks for making the effort to get an expert involved in front of camera. and explaining it together with her. :)
Interesting I always thought fasting training was good for weight loss. I had the same misconception as others. I also thought that fasting training was all about NO FOOD I didn’t know all it is is no carbs. I’ll adjust with the next time I do one as I try to do 1-2 fasting training sections per week in my low to moderate training weeks. Great video!
First, GTN, you guys rock! My ask: While you covered fasted vs. fueled and what is your pre-race breakfast, how about a mini cooking show and recipes for breakfast?
Im always gettin a nice bowl of porridge with my own mixture of ingredients. Let it sit for 30mins at least and it works perfect for me.
Interview Dr. Feil on his train-low compete-high strategy
This one of the best explained videos on fasted training! thanks
Really learned a lot from this one, thanks for posting it up. I usually do a fasted lunch-run, and I can definitely relate to the experiences shared in this. Nice to see some hard science getting into the videos, it's useful. 👍
I have been doing intermittent fasting (16/8) for 4 months now and I will NEVER stop this amazing lifestyle.
Now I always sport fasted in the mornings. The body is saternated with energy and fat, thus there is no need to eat prior to a few hours of sports. Unless you are doing a very heavy demanding thing.
I think this is your best video yet, GTN! I like that ti was very informative and you engaged an expert. Good questions and answers.
I am not doing triathlon, but am cycling, running and doing strength workouts. If the cycling/running session is slow and under 1.5 hours OR I am doing intervals workout for less than 45 minutes, I don't have to eat beforehand. I usually have my last meal at 6pm and do the workouts at 12 am next day. This is not a problem.
I am following the warrior diet (intermitted fasting). It works for me but it took around 3 weeks to get used to it. For me the main advantage is to be independent from frequent eating. Doing a slow 2 hour run is also no problem if I didn't eat 24 hours. But it depends on the person I guess. Even as a child I had no problems with undersugar even if I didn't eat the whole day and playing and running outdoors.
What I have learned form my years of eating this way:
Reduce your carbohydrate input. No carb is a bad idea, but I have slightly reduced my carbo input. I have no figures, but for ecample I would eat 10 eggs and 1 peace of bread or 200g of cheese and 150g of rice.
And the most important thing I learned: Test several approaches, keep what works for you and remove what doesn't.
I use fasted training during my recovery sessions. I think it has made a bit of a difference when I then go out for the longer sessions because I need less fuel and seem to perform a bit better.
Had a fasted morning ride this morning, that said I didn't keep the intensity down because I done 30 minutes @ 300w, then the second 30 minutes at 280w on the bike. It may be down to being used to it, but I find a certain intensity is good (sustainable levels instead of sharp harder intervals).
What about doing an Ironman while being on a ketogenic diet? I’m currently 22 days in on my keto diet and 13 days on my Ironman Training. So far so good but I haven’t done more than two hours sessions. Once I’m fat adapted, could I go for 3 to 4 hours? Thank you for the awesome content you guys are producing here.
I have gotten used to doing all of my sessions fasted but I have breakfast before my long run and ride in the weekend if they’re longer than 2 hours.
I’ve also found fasted cardio is a really good method of weight loss for me.
How’s about high fat/low carb, and vegan trends? HFLC swears that being fat-adapted is best for distance events, but there are a lot of pros out there that say vegan (higher carb) is better for recovery.
I ride for one hour before my first meal of the day.
I ride, get back, shower, check stocks, and eventually eat a carb free breakfast which might end up being eaten around lunch time.
The pounds are falling off and I feel terrific.
I enjoyed your presentation and maybe next time, go for several days and then compare? My morning fasted bike commutes are a sort of lifestyle choice and while there are times when I might eat something beforehand, I really enjoy my 15-mile commute sans breakfast, even when I am racing the time clock. But I suppose the length/time is appropriate as it takes me an hour to 75 minutes to cover that distance and I do it year around so I am used to it and it has been my understanding that fasted workouts are most beneficial when they are done over time, teaching the body to better burn fat when carbs are not within easy reach. Or something like that.
Hey, great video, PLEASE can you do more nutrition videos. Allow me to comment some more. I really struggle to get proper nutrition, I run almost always breakfast-free, simply cannot run with full stomach. Q: how do you guys train after breakfast, what is the length of your break between meal and session. Is it st. you get used to? I need st like 2-3h break before a run.
Same for me, my best runs are in the early morning with an empty stomach, having eaten before a workout often gives me stitches
For me riding fueled works better, how's that going for you?
(Mainly commented to get notified about answers to your question lol)
I find it depends on what I eat.
A smallish bowl of pasta or rice and some fruit juice goes down in 45minutes for me. But stuff with milk or oats or any thing complex or that has fat in it takes about 3hours+ for me
Before a shorter race I usually have a bowl of rice 3 hours before starting. Or for a longer race then rice and a small amount of tuna 2:30 before
Jan atLMB just eatv2 bananas before the workout, and have overnight oats in the fridge for after the training
Hi Jan,
It depends what I eat. If I keep it dry and simple such as toast I can run straight after but I try to avoid much milk just before an intense session. Again I can eat closer to cycling than I can to running.
I’m not sure I agree with this video. They’re saying not to do strenuous activity. After three months of acclimating to one meal per day (6pm), I started a strenuous training regiment, and I’m kicking my training partner’s butts... and I train during my lunch hour, and am still fine to wait to eat until 6pm. Maybe look more into the science before you go talking like you understand it.
I just ran a 3:37 marathon, fasted. No bonk, but both of my 3 meal per day buddies struggled after 18-20 miles. OMAD is pretty bad ass. They don’t listen, but after seeing me kick their butts this weekend, they’re suddenly more curious. The body has to adjust, but I’ve been doing OMAD for 6 months, and I’ve never felt stronger or more stable. It’s awesome.
Maybe its just that you train more than them, where top athletes can burn about twice the amount of fat a normal person can. In combination with that long runs like marathons and over 20km runs you have mostly depleted your storages, and would only run on fat if you do not supply your body with continuous water and energy
There are so many things wrong in this video, saying fasting is no good for immune system is one of them, I wish they had engaged a nutrition scientist (not nutritionist) to discuss this topic than find someone who don’t really know the science, I bet she would say breakfast is the most important meal of the day too.
Very informative and insightful! Great vid!
THANK YOU. GTN great video and you used an independent expert rather than the usual sponsored corporate "expert" .
I've never been able to function properly eating carbs in the morning , and fasted workouts are like a meditation .
Great video guys. I try to do some of my commutes of around 35 mins in Z2 fasted. Is this ok? I would love more nutrition videos. Keep up the good work👍
Great informative video!
excelente video! justo me aclararon las dudas que tenia.
Fasted - low intensity level no more than 2 hrs, after that time eat some carbs.
Great video and info, i found this really helpful.
I enjoy my fasted workouts but I have to admit sometimes I feel flat on the bike some times but running I love it.. I never do longer than an hour session though.. it saves so much time and your body gets used to it.
Next theory for you to check - are red bikes really the fastest?
Very well done! But there was one aspect that was confusing: When doing fasted training, should you also avoid fat? Why? Because you want to train your body to extract energy from its fat reserves. However, if you ingest some fat immediately before your fasted training, will the fat you've ingested short-circuit the goal, causing your body to use the newly ingested fat instead of the stored fat? If ingested fat does muck up the process, then the only food you should eat within 4-6 hours before fasted training is protein.
Hi D.Eldon, It is best to avoid anything too fatty pre training as it is harder to digest and might cause GI issues.
If Heather Fell and Lucy Charles presented this show together one day I would be a very happy man :)
Lost 40 lbs in 1 semester of college running fasted 3 or so days per week. So I would say it works great for weight loss.
I feel a lot better fueled fasted in the morning than running in the afternoon to be honest.
Its just learning about your own body.
I don't understand why you can't do hard fasted sessions. I did almost 2 months of riding every other morning to work, high effort for 45-55 minutes, and then I ate breadkfast at work. I think it only doesn't work if you are trying to do a hard session for longer than an hour, but anything less, you should be able to train up to that.
That is something I couldn't understand either until I started studying sports nutrition. I think that the dietitian chose wrong words by stating that you "can't". Of course you can. You can do whatever you want. However, it is not optimal as she mentioned for a few reasons: 1) immunity 2) carbohydrates (and ketones) are muscle sparing. If you do an intense session, your body will break down muscles for energy. This does not need to pose a risk for a recreational athlete, but if you do it consistently, several times a week over a year, you are going against yourself. 3) excessive stress on your body 4) The point of fasted training, as it was mentioned is to train your fat burning. It does not matter if you are fasted or fed, once you cross certain level of intensity, you will start burning carbs as a primary source of fuel (check point 2). To conclude, you can do it, but it is better to get some carbs and proteins before your harder sessions. Hope it helps you understand it better ;)
I tend to burn off around 2000+ calories at least five consecutive days per week fasted. Since early adulthood I have trained/exercised on an empty stomach. I eat food usually 16-22 hours after my past meal, I may have done 2-3 training sessions prior to eating. FYI fasting and intermittent fasting is great for naturally boosting HGH levels. PEACE!
It would be good to point out that fat adaptation only realy becomes of intrest in 70.3 or 140.6 events. A discussion on measuring the level of fat adaptation would be intresting and how does it change the fuelling strategy.
well, triathletes aren’t necessarily restricted to triathlons are they ? A lot of them do road races as well, like marathons. You can benefit from fasted training to avoid the dreaded 30k wall of a marathon. It’s true that your glycogen stores can get you through most shorter distance races. With that said, the ability to use fat stores can also help you in getting faster, because you’ll learn to deplete your glycogen stores a little slower. It might not be useful for a sprint distance triathlon, but for an olympic distance triathlon or a half marathon it can be useful. Sure it might not change your nutrition strategy on these events (fast carbs all the way), but it can make you slightly faster. Given that you also work on low stores it can also be useful for your swimming/cycling/running economy as well, again helping you getting faster. Fasted workouts is not only about “not bonking” during a race. I don’t know about the fuelling strategy though, but I’m not sure it might be related to your ability to use different energy sources. Slow release carbohydrates are still carbohydrates, if you try to ingest fats (in the form of cheese for instance) your body may not have time and your gut might not receive enough blood flow to break them down, but proteins may be useful for long events, especially towards the end because that means your body will have them readily available to reconstruct all those broken muscle fibers. I’ve heard that a good window for that is 20 to 30 minutes after a workout, but I’ve also seen some races where they would have ham sandwiches at some aid stations, so they might be very useful indeed.
this chanel is incredible. .. Pacheco from Brazil
I experimented with faster vs fueled rides. I think its always better to carb up before any workout and fuel for the intensity. Instead of no carbs try low carbs, go for fruit and limit over eating throughout the day. Better said than done🍕🍟
As I recall circa 2006 I used to try & cycle late morning as part of a sweat out programme due to being diagnosed with Benzene & V.O.Cs poisoning
scott davies said he uses protein powder in his water, to help prevent muscle loss, during longer fasted rides. would like to know more about this
That's not really gonna do anything. Your body isn't going to be doing any muscle repair while you're training. That's for afterwards. Sorta like trying to brush your teeth while eating a chocolate bar
I do all of my sessions fasted it is so easier on an empty stomach. My muscles are still full of glycogen from the day before. I do up to 20k. I also do my hard sessions fasted too and have breakfast straight after.
I live Keto/LCHF life and can easily go hard for 2 hours fasted no problem. Afterwards I do not eat carbs and have no problems.
I wish I watched this video before fasting and climbing a mountain on my tribike. I blew up and was barely able to get home with lots of muscle injury.
Expert cites, trust me bro, as her main source of information instead of studies nice.
Damn! She really knows her stuff. I really loved this. Great great video
Nick Goldston she doesnt tho
Oh, Ok. Good point. Great reasoning.
Saying that an athlete cant train on a low carb based diet is bullshit, some of the worlds best endurance athletes train low and race high, meaning that you train low on carbs and when its raceday you eat carbs during the race. It takes some time for the body to get used to using fat as energy, but when it does its much more effective
@@linksmx She's NOT saying 'an athlete can't train on a low carb diet' - and she DOES recommend getting 'the body used to using fat as energy' - she suggests fasting training 3x week!
The problem with gastes training after they years of doing it, is a potential (really High) liver damage, so without hepatic glycogen you stress way to hard your liver, if you train fasted, please take a blood analysis every 3 months to look after your hepathic function.
I tried biking to the pool then back to my house without eating :-\ I should've watched this video before leaving. I definitely needed food not even halfway through the swim.
I usually eat before I ride but not before I run (unless hours before)
I would disagree with the low energy on the fasted day, I have trained with weight and played tennis for 3-4 hours while fasted and on the fasted day I never got tired, I had the same amount of energy as when I started when I finished, and I my energy levels remained the same, I never got tired, and I had more energy because of utilizing ketone bodies for fuel and because of low insulin! Please tell me that they weren't training or running in a fasted state without water? Okay and when I eat I get tired more when I train! I could also be used to IF more and training in a fasted state more! But still you should try it
Mark up at 6:30a, Heather at 6:08a! And great hair Heather! :)
Been fasting for over a year and every day walk run 8k - 12k i also add sprints and hills on some days i really dont have a problem with sickness or any lack of energy .I am considering doing my first triathlon and my primary concern has always been should i eat b4 or continue with my fast into the 18-20 hr which doing the race will take me to get to my first meal ..thanks for the info , i will try to eat on race day
🙏 thank you.
Always good staff here!
Quite often I fast whole day for upto 18hrs and then cycle 1.5hrs including uphill back home.
Not intense though.
I am much better in cadence. And feel fresh and much lighter on the bike as no food in tummy, no water in muscles and all carbs depleted in muscles and liver stores. If I can do it anyone can.
You're not carb depleted after an overnight fast! Your liver might be a bit depleted but your muscle glycogen is still there. How long you can exercise fasted depends how much your body is used to it so it is trainable. 3.5 hours is my limit from a 14 hour overnight fast but I regularly do 60-90 minutes fasted on the bike, in fact I always start my morning (8-9am) rides fasted. An espresso though obviously! 😁
I do fastest sessions of 3-6hrs without breakfast. I also do intermittent fasting of 18-20hrs between
Easiest way to do fasted training is to do a LCHF diet and intermittent fasting 18/6. If your body still burn carbs as the main source of energy then fasted training can be difficult.
I always get out and run at 5:30AM with no breakfast for up to 10 miles. I’ve done up to 18 miles fasted and fine with low intensity and long runs. Also do up to 30 mile easy rides fasted a couple of times a week. Can’t do speed sessions well fasted though.
While happy to see you guys are covering more and more nutrition topics, honestly in this case, I am a bit shocked how inadequate some of the information given in this video is.
You don’t reach actual carb depletion just within a couple of hours. It’s the liver glycogen that you run out of relatively fast (but not even that fast), your muscle stores don’t deplete so easily as they are big. Elsewise, what sense would carb-loading on a pre-race day have if you depleted your stores over night anyways?
How long and how intense? Well, that totally depends on the level of fat adaption you’ve reached. There’s enough people out there who have been training fasted every single day over years. Watch your own vid where you asked PROs what they have for breakfast on RACE DAY. There you will see how much variety on the no->low->high carb scale there is - even in the context of RACING(!). If your expert’s opinion was correct, Matt Reed should bonk after 5 minutes into the swim.
I do only fasted run/cycle in the morning. If I eat anything less than 45 min before I workout, it I tend to puke it all out.
Any chance of us getting some guided training session videos like the guys from GCN do?
I NEVER eat before training, I essentially fast train every time. Gonna start eating breakfast beforehand and experiment a little, just hate the idea of feeling full and sick throughout a run🤢
Heather, is Michelle Vesterby the background on your phone?
Last time I checked scrambled eggs won't carb you up ? I have no problem with shorter rides fasted , but if you want to go for anything more than an hour and half to two, would be wise to carb up
You should do some videos with the GCN crew
Interested to see what I should eat before a 40km ride then 5km run training session. Any suggestions?
Consider how long you will be exercising for and at what intensity then work backwards from that. Also it depends how soon before this you can eat.
A controlled comparative study is more complex than that .
Great editing :)
Thanks supernpstr!
I have to take this information with a touch of scepticism. Speaking from experience I get zero side-effects from training fasted and over extended periods, we're talking weeks and months and I've yet to have an issue with my immune system or fatigue. Nor have I found any change to my metabolism or more particularly fat synthesis - though I understand this could be down to genetics. I'm always interested in the actual science-based evidence so in this case what the dietician has said and in relation to what she said specifically about training fasted helping to "adapt the physiological system.." and "to utilise their fat stores more efficiently", the answers are a little wishy washy for me. I was hoping to actually get into the science buts and bolts behind it all to hopefully come away with some new understanding. It's a very common sight because these 'experts' on nutrition like to think they know the answer but the truth is they don't for certain so they beat around the bush by delivering convoluted answers such as those given in the video. I mean her answer for when to train fasted and why was insulting, it's 'better to fast train in the morning because it's easier to just get up and go'? How about this question "when is it best to wear shoes and at what time?", I'll get this "well in my professional opinion it's best to put your shoes on just before you go outside". I like to think I figured out how to be practical around the age of 15. For me a waste of time this video.
"Not more than 3 sessions a week" - had a laugh. I'm doing a 5k swim set 6 days a week, plus a bike ride to and from the pool. Also do hard intensity work in those session. Doesn't affect the imune system or anything...
Can you guys look into ways in which to increase your FATMAX though diet and training?
5:57 was that an omelet for the whole crew?
When I switched to training before food in the mornings my body fat percentage plummeted! From 10% to 7% I feel so energetic before food now after 1.5 years of this madness! Highly recommend.
josh Hall-Brown that’s cause your body is burning fat rather than the food you just ate
beautiful birds in the back :)
What's a "professional" dietician?
Heather FELL A.K.A. i FELL in love with Heather because she's beautiful 😂
Too late mate, I fell in love with heather first
hi! I do most of my workouts in the morning before breakfast and work, but am trying to do some sweet spot and even Vo2 max interval work...is there any good way to do these workouts in the mornings?
Nice screen savers
I hope they update this video because what the dietitian said in this video is not backed by modern science, especially the part she said fasting is bad for immune system, which has been proven not true scientifically.
At 6:00AM my stomach doesn’t agree with a breakfast before exercise. So by necessity my morning commutes on the bike are fasted training sessions.
It sounds like the commute is a common method of fasted training! How far to you have to ride for work?
I appreciate the experiment but intermitent fasting does need practice like months before one could be used to it and do it on runs..
I been thinking of trying this but I'm far from as fit as I want to be and also I got diabetes (type 2). Is this something I should (or even could) try, especially with my diabetes in mind?
Hi Daniel, with regards to fasted training and diabetes this is really something you should discuss with your doctor!
I do my runs fasted.. and never have a problem.. I just carb up the night before..
Hello, if you decide to fuel, how long should you wait before starting the training?
That really depends on the amount you eat, what you eat and how good you are at training on a full stomach. If you feel comfortable to train, that is usually a good starting point. Beyond this, it's quite difficult to answer without more information.
I also have been fasting for years, I entered a cycling race once and I had use go number 2 about 10 minutes into a very steep 20 mike hill climb event. Anybody ever try to ascend while fighting off bubble guts? Breakfast and I are no longer on speaking terms.
Intermittent fasting, some claim that it boosts human growth hormone (hgh) up to 300% is this beneficial for older adults with age group races?
Heather- what did you put on that toast? I saw spinach and mushrooms. What else?
Howard Sklar tofu i hope
It was all mixed in with eggs, can't remember what else now.
1st what is that that looks delicious at 2:34??? Second. Iv wrestled my whole life and people who are not used to fasted exercise mast Mikey are letting their brain tell them they are hungry and tired. I wake up 3am run right away and do anywhere from easy runs to 10mile speed training and I feel fine. I only feel before my long runs on Sunday’s.
You need to be fat adapted. If it was your first fasted training you will find it hard. It takes people from 2 to 4 weeks before being fat adapted.
One may be carb depleted in their liver but muscles would still be fully loaded unless they had been depleted with an exercise before a fasted run. So I still don't get how it improves fat metabolism in itself. Once your muscles are low in glycogen then yes, you start training your fat metabolism...but not before I guess.
Find a morning run with no breakfast ok but I need food before a morning ride
You cant beat the bullet proof coffee (with Creatine) prior to an early session. Haven't looked back since giving it a go. Try it with pure peanut butter instead of butter...
This experiment will be flawed because it takes weeks or months to get USED TO EXERCISING VIGOROUSLY FASTED. However once your body adapts to it IT IS FANTASTIC. PS. YOU CAN DO IT EVERYDAY THE BODY CAN EVEN ADAPT TO GOING HARD FASTED. THE STRESS WILL MAKE YOU STRONGER ITS NOT DAMAGING.
Me looking around amd acknowledging I have been running fasted uphill for 15-20km for the last few months lol
Oh i do all my training as carb deplested WTF ok will do some with fueling