Over the last 2 years steady fat loss has been my goal.
In 5 weeks I will end a 2 year diet where I will have lost aprox 42kg/ 90lbs. I plan to start a lean bulk at the beginning of August.
I train first thing in the morning as it is what’s best for myself. I wake at 7am, train fasted at 8am, start work at 10am where I have my first meal which is usually overnight oats.
I have 2 questions…
A - What are your thoughts on training fasted?
and
B - Best approach to prevent atrophy?
Thanks.
What was your third question?
Edit: My question made more sense prior to his edit.
Only 2, my bad.
Thanks
Not a fan. I’m hungry, less focused and certainly not as strong or effective. Do I believe you’re losing. Ton of muscle by doing so? Nah, that’s exaggerated to push articles and supplements.
Don’t diet too hard or for too long. Don’t train too frequently or too infrequently. Ensure your workouts are As effective aS possible (for me that means not being hungry -lol). Make sure your diet is actually meeting all your needs and not just focused one one macro as seems to be fairly common with some people.
S
This has answered my main concern, thanks.
I believe the 24 hour approach is just as - if not more important.
Reps!
It’s fine on upper body days but I hate it on lower body days. I tried doing a leg workout fasted and my performance sucked and I felt nauseous; however, I know someone who always does it and feels fine.
Eat to fuel your body. You’ve been dieting down so you should know what your body needs to maintain your current (or goal) weight. Atrophy occurs from not using your muscles and starving yourself. If you’re training and starving yourself then you’ll actually maintain your muscle for awhile…all the way into single digit body fat. I think you’ll catch yourself long before you experience atrophy.
Yeah, I hate training fasted. I’m fine if I ate 3 hours prior, but anything more than that and I risk nausea and shitty performance, especially on squat day for some reason.
But if it is working for you, why not stick with it? My workouts are powerlifting focused, with many workouts throughout a cycle focusing on heavy doubles and triples, sometimes overloaded with accomodating resistance or reverse bands. Without fuel, I cannot effectively perform above 90 or 95% of my max.
But if you are more of a bodybuilding type program and you can power through it on an empty stomach, then it seems you are fine. Why not experiment, perhaps eating half your oats pre-workout?