1 week ago, If you would’ve asked me what to do to before a workout, my answer would’ve been short & simple: Eat.
“You HAVE TO eat quality foods around 2-3 hours prior to exercising. You need that energy & need something to feed off of. If you don’t, you’re going to feel like crap.” … Geez, I can’t remember how many times I told this to people seeking advice.
Now I’m not saying I was wrong, I’m just saying I was narrow-minded.
For the past 6 days, (after some research & having to convince myself) I’ve been training after completing an 18hr fast. Every day, I start my fast at 8pm. I train (hard) at 1pm the next day & eat my first meal of the day afterward at about 230.
Not only has fasted training been effective for me in burning fat (I’m already lean at 8-9%BF, but I’ve lost an additional 3 lbs this week), but I’ve been amazed at what it’s done for my energy levels. My energy is incredibly high when I work out.
I wish I could explain it in fancy scientific terms, but the best I can do are descriptive adjectives: my energy levels feel vibrant, natural, consistent & plentiful. This is in contrast to what I would feel before when I would eat 2-3 hrs before a workout. Somedays my energy was tremendous, but I felt lethargic on other days. It was inconsistent & it greatly affected my workouts. Being in a caloric deficit mode, it was already tough getting mentally ready to work out, but when my body didn’t want to be there either, it made things doubly unenjoyable.
But not anymore! My energy is AMAZING! I’m doing HIIT workouts, so I’m not slouching through my workouts either. It’s just been incredible for me.
I write all of this not to try to sway or persuade you to try fasted training.
I write this to advise you to try things with your exercise, nutrition & fitness. Throughout my bodybuilding journey, I’ve tried tons of new things I thought I would never do. & guess what? A lot of them have worked for my favor. So please do the same. Don’t be afraid to research new methods, ask questions & try them out yourself. At the end of the day, different things work for different people. So you might as well try things for yourself & see their effects. If they don’t work, then you’ve lost nothing, but gained a lot of knowledge. If you don’t try them, you’ve gained nothing & aren’t expanding your knowledge levels.
Just do it!.
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